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Stater- Datames Tarsus
| Issuer | Cilicia, Satrapy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 378 BC - 372 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Bearded male head facing left, wearing a crested Attic helmet with elaborate plume rendered in fine relief. The face displays strong, mature features characteristic of late Classical Greek die-cutting. An Aramaic inscription appears in the left field, reading the name of the satrap Datames. The figure is commonly identified as Ares, god of war, consistent with the military iconography of Cilician satrapal coinage of this period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Datames served as satrap of Cilicia under the Achaemenid crown but spent much of his tenure in near-constant military conflict — first suppressing rebellions in Cappadocia and Cataonia on behalf of Artaxerxes II, then eventually revolting against him himself. His authority to strike coinage in Tarsus was a practical military necessity as much as an administrative one; satraps financing campaigns needed portable, recognizable silver to pay mercenary troops. The Cilician mint at Tarsus was among the most active in the western Achaemenid sphere during this period precisely because of that demand.
Datames was assassinated around 362 BC, betrayed by his own son Sysinas.