CILICIA. Tarsus. Mazaeus, as Satrap (ca. 361-328 BC). AR stater (25mm, 1h). NGC VF, test cuts, scratches. B'LTRZ (Aramaic), Baaltars seated left, scepter in right hand; grain ear and grape bunch above Aramaic N to left; Aramaic M below strut / 'MZDI ZI'L'BRNH RAWHLK' (Aramaic), lion left, attacking bull right; circuit of crenelated walls below. Casabonne series 4, group B. SNG France 360. David Hendin, author of "Guide to Biblical Coins" and one of the world's foremost authorities on Holy Land coinage, has proposed that the walls represented on this issue of the satrap Mazaeus might be those of Jerusalem, rather than Tarsus, the city of issue. He translates the Aramaic inscription on the reverse as "Mazaeus who is over Beyond the River and Cilicia." The similarity of this inscription to a phrase used in the Old Testament books Ezra and Nehemiah suggests that it is a coded reference to Jerusalem, whose formidable circuit of walls was famous in antiquity. Mazaeus is also named on coins issued in Judah and Samaria, indicating he had authority in these regions.

HID09801242017

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