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Æ - Pyrrhus of Epirus
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 278 BC - 275 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΥΡΡΟΥ |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Pyrrhus held Syracuse only briefly, invited by the Sicilian Greeks as a liberator against Carthaginian pressure following the death of Agathocles. He swept across most of the island with remarkable speed, pushing Carthage to its last foothold at Lilybaeum before his campaign stalled — partly through siege difficulties, partly through the growing alienation of his own Sicilian allies, whom he governed with a harshness that eroded the welcome he had initially received. He left Sicily in 276 BC, reportedly lamenting what a fine battlefield he was abandoning to Rome and Carthage.
The brevity of his Syracusan tenure makes bronzes struck in his name genuinely scarce.