Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 7 24-25 Oct 2020
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EGYPT, Achaemenid Province. Sabakes. Satrap, 340-333 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.15 g, 9 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves and palmette. Rev. 𐡎𐡅𐡉𐡊 - 𐡉𐡍𐡓 (?) ('swyk' - 'ynr' (?) in Aramaic) Owl standing right, head facing; to left, olive sprig and crescent; to right, crescent above thunderbolt ('Sabakes symbol'). Nicolet-Pierre, Satrapes, 18-26 (O11/-). Van Alfen, Owls, Type III, 24-34 (O11/-). Very rare and of great historical interest. Beautifully toned and with an unusually complete particularly well readable reverse. The obverse struck from the usual somewhat worn die and with a test cut on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.
Sabakes was installed as Satrap of Egypt by Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC) after the king's successful campaign against Nektanebo II, the last independent native Pharao. To pay its Greek mercenaries, the Persian government introduced a series of locally struck imitative Athenian owls carrying, first, the name of the Great King in Aramaic on the reverse, and later that of the satrap Sabakes (= 'swyk' in Aramaic). Unfortunately, the reading of the second part of the legend, behind the owl's head, is disputed and the 'ynr' given in the description above just a suggestion based on this particularly clear example. The fate of Sabakes, however, is well known: he joined the forces of Dareios in the Battle of Issos against Alexander III in 333 BC, where he died a hero, defending his fleeing king. Sabakes was succeeded by Mazaios as Satrap of Egypt, who surrendered the province to Alexander in 332 without a fight as its Persian garrison had been mostly withdrawn by Sabakes prior to the Battle of Issos.
Sabakes was installed as Satrap of Egypt by Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC) after the king's successful campaign against Nektanebo II, the last independent native Pharao. To pay its Greek mercenaries, the Persian government introduced a series of locally struck imitative Athenian owls carrying, first, the name of the Great King in Aramaic on the reverse, and later that of the satrap Sabakes (= 'swyk' in Aramaic). Unfortunately, the reading of the second part of the legend, behind the owl's head, is disputed and the 'ynr' given in the description above just a suggestion based on this particularly clear example. The fate of Sabakes, however, is well known: he joined the forces of Dareios in the Battle of Issos against Alexander III in 333 BC, where he died a hero, defending his fleeing king. Sabakes was succeeded by Mazaios as Satrap of Egypt, who surrendered the province to Alexander in 332 without a fight as its Persian garrison had been mostly withdrawn by Sabakes prior to the Battle of Issos.