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Tetradrachm - Mausolus Mylasa
| Issuer | Caria, Achaemenid Satrapy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 377 BC - 370 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | HN Online#1713 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Zeus Labraundos stands in profile to the right, laureate, his long hair dressed in a characteristic plait falling behind; he is clad in a chiton with a himation draped and wrapped about the left arm. In his left hand he holds a long downward-pointing spear, while his right hand raises the double-headed axe (labrys) resting upon his shoulder — the cult emblem emblematic of the Labraundean sanctuary in Caria. A groundline appears beneath the figure, and the composition reflects the distinctly Carian religious identity promoted by Mausolus. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mausolus ruled Caria as a satrap under the Achaemenids but governed with the practical independence of a dynast, shifting his capital from Mylasa to Halicarnassus around 370 BC and systematically hellenizing his administration, coinage, and court. He is better remembered today for the tomb his widow Artemisia II commissioned after his death in 353 BC — the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders — but his monetary policy during his lifetime was the more consequential act, deliberately aligning Carian coinage with Aegean Greek weight standards to facilitate trade with the Ionian cities he was steadily absorbing into his sphere.