Stater - Mazaeus Tarsus

Mazaeus governed Cilicia under Artaxerxes III and later Darius III, making him one of the longest-serving and most powerful satraps of the Achaemenid west. When Alexander swept through in 333 BC, Mazaeus did not resist at Tarsus — the city was surrendered, reportedly to prevent its treasury from being destroyed. He later commanded the Persian right wing at Gaugamela in 331 BC, then surrendered Babylon to Alexander and was reappointed its governor, a remarkable accommodation on both sides.

The Tarsus mint under Mazaeus was among the most prolific silver producers in the late Achaemenid satrapal system, supplying pay for Persian mercenary forces operating in the region during a period of near-constant western military pressure.