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Shekel - Azemilcus
| Issuer | Tyre |
|---|---|
| Year | 347-334 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Shekel (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A male deity, identified as Melqart or a marine divinity, is depicted in right profile riding a hippocamp above two horizontal wave lines, grasping the reins in one hand and an arched bow in the other. The hippocamp, a mythological sea-horse, is rendered with careful detail characteristic of Phoenician engraving tradition. A dolphin swims rightward in the exergue below the waves, reinforcing the maritime iconographic program. The overall composition is dynamic, emphasizing the divine mastery over the sea, a theme central to Tyrian civic identity. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 3 (347 BC) - RY 3 (347/6 BCE) - 4 (346 BC) - RY 4 (346/5 BCE) - 7 (343 BC) - RY 7 (343/2 BCE) - 9 (341 BC) - RY 9 (341/0 BCE) - 10 (340 BC) - RY 10 (340/39 BCE) - 11 (339 BC) - RY 11 (339/8 BCE) - 12 (338 BC) - RY 12 (338/7 BCE) - 13 (337 BC) - RY 13 (337/6 BCE) - 14 (336 BC) - RY 14 (336/5 BCE) - 15 (335 BC) - RY 15 (335/4 BCE) - 16 (334 BC) - RY 16 (334/3 BCE) - |
| Additional information |
Tyre operated with remarkable monetary autonomy under Achaemenid suzerainty, and these civic shekels were the engine of Phoenician trade finance throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Azemilcus was the last king of independent Tyre — it was during his reign that Alexander besieged the city in 332 BC, a seven-month operation requiring the Macedonians to construct a causeway across open water to reach the island citadel. Azemilcus himself was absent commanding the Persian fleet when the walls finally fell.