Pharnabazus Stater

In the 370s BC, Artaxerxes II of Persia launched an attempt to retake Egypt, which had rebelled against Achaemenid rule. He appointed Satrap Pharnabazus to lead the campaign. Although Pharnabazus was based far away in Dascylium, in northwestern Asia Minor, he set up a secondary base in Cilicia. There, in the city of Tarsus, he minted many staters to fund the operation, as the region had abundant coin-making resources.

Pharnabazus's coins marked a departure from the earlier Tarsus designs. The obverse featured a three-quarter view of a woman's head, inspired by the famous depiction of Arethusa created by the engraver Cimon in Syracuse about 30 years earlier. The back reverse showed a bearded, helmeted male head. While often identified as Ares, the Greek god of war, it might instead represent a Persian satrap — a symbol of Persian authority.