Catalog
Double siglos - Baalmelek I
| Issuer | Kition |
|---|---|
| Year | 479 BC - 449 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A lion seated in profile to the right, rendered with powerful musculature in the Archaic style, occupying the central field. In the right field, a ram's head appears as a secondary symbol, likely a dynastic or civic emblem. The entire design is contained within an incuse square bordered by a dotted or beaded inner frame, a hallmark of early Kitian silver coinage. The Aramaic inscription identifying the issuing authority of Baalmelek I appears in the field. The incuse technique creates a strongly contrasting, deeply recessed border around the principal devices. |
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| Reverse lettering | l B`l mlk |
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| Additional information |
Kition, a Phoenician city-kingdom on Cyprus's southern coast, operated under Persian suzerainty during this period, and its coinage reflects that dual identity — Phoenician rulers issuing Greek-weight silver for an island economy caught between Aegean and Levantine commercial networks. Baalmelek I reigned during the decades following Xerxes' failed Greek campaigns, when Cyprus remained firmly within the Achaemenid sphere despite repeated Athenian-backed attempts to pry it loose, including Cimon's ultimately fatal expedition to the island in 450 BC.
The double siglos denomination — roughly equivalent to a didrachm — placed this issue squarely within regional trade rather than local petty exchange.