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Tarsos, Cilicia, c. 420 - 410 B.C.
In historical times, Tarsos was first ruled by the Hittites, followed by Assyria, and then the Persian Empire. Tarsus, as the principal town of Cilicia, was the seat of a Persian satrapy from 400 B.C. onward. Indeed, Xenophon records that in 401 B.C., when Cyrus the Younger marched against Babylon, the city was governed by King Syennesis in the name of the Persian monarch. Alexander the Great passed through with his armies in 333 B.C. and nearly met his death here after a bath in the Cydnus. By this time Tarsus was already largely influenced by Greek language and culture, and as part of the Seleucid Empire it became more and more Hellenized. Strabo praises the cultural level of Tarsus in this period with its philosophers, poets and linguists. The schools of Tarsus rivaled those of Athens and Alexandria.GS87796. Silver stater, Casabonne Type D3 var. (horseman right, no palm etc.); SNG Ash 1838 var. (same); Kraay 1036 var. (same); SNG BnF- ; SNG Levante -; SNGvA -; SNG Cop -, VF, dark toning, crowded flan, die wear, test cut, Tarsos (Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey) mint, weight 10.719g, maximum diameter 20.3mm, die axis 330o, c. 420 - 410 B.C.; obverse horseman walking horse left, flower in right hand, reins in left hand, ankh under horse; reverse warrior standing right, wearing Persian dress, lance vertical in left hand, bow in right hand, palm tree behind, all in dotted square within incuse square, Aramaic inscription on right; extremely rare, only the 2nd known, the only other specimen known to Forum is CNG e-auction 431 (24 Oct 2018), lot 241; SOLD
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