Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXI 24-25 Mar 2021
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Cyprus, Salamis AV Stater. Evagoras II, circa 361-351 BC. Turreted head of Aphrodite to left; EYA behind / Lion standing to left, eagle standing to left on its back with head reverted; star above. BMC p. cv, 1 and pl. XXIV, 11; Tziambazis 123; Markou, L'or 368 = Kraay-Hirmer, pl. 195, 679 = Hess-Leu, 12-13 April 1962, lot 339 = Leu 30, lot 199 = NAC 114, lot 332 (same dies). 8.27g, 20mm, 5h.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; one of only four known examples of this variety, with only six examples of the type known in total, of which just three are in private hands.
The rules of Evagoras I, his son Nicocles, and his son Evagoras II - kings of Salamis in the 4th Century BC - demonstrate well the cultural, political and military tug of war that dominated the Eastern Mediterranean at this time, between the two dominant centres in the region, Greece and Persia, in which all marginal states necessarily had to take part.
The policy of Evagoras I and Nicocles was to seek friendship with the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, in order to shore up their independence against the Persians, who sought to expand their power Westward over smaller states such as that of Salamis or Egypt. Furthermore, as Isocrates reported in his encomium to the king, Evagoras I actively strived to Hellenise Salamis: it had been under the control of the Phoenicians until he returned his family to its throne in 410 BC, and there had been a strong anti-Hellenic current under these rulers. Isocrates relates that because of Evagoras' pursual of Greek culture and refinement, Salamis' inhabitants under this king "have greater pleasure in owning Greek possessions and observing Greek institutions than their own, and more of those who occupy themselves with the liberal arts and with education in general now dwell in these regions than in the communities in which they formerly used to live" (Isoc.9.50).
Whilst we can witness the advancement of Hellenic culture further into Salamis under the reign of Evagoras II, nevertheless this King's political movements reversed those of his forebears. The former is demonstrated for example on this king's coinage, on which the Greek alphabet first replaced the old Cypriot syllabary as a means of rendering the Cypriot dialect of Greek called Arcadocypriot, and which depicts such Greek images as the turreted Aphrodite on this coin's obverse (a goddess with particular connection to Cyprus, having been born from the foam of its shores, but also a cognate of the goddess Astarte worshipped by Cypriot Phoenicians). On the other hand, Evagoras II sought a closer alignment with the Persians, abandoning the ties his predecessors had built with the Greeks. This, however, sparked a popular revolt led by his nephew Pyntagoras in 351 BC aiming for the continuation of independence in the style of the Greek polis, and Evagoras fled to his friends in the Persian court. After this he led a successful campaign against his nephew in Cyprus, which nevertheless ended when Artaxerxes III decided, surprisingly, to affirm Pyntagoras as king of Salamis, installing Evagoras instead as Satrap of Sidon following the defeat of the rebellion of Tennes, its last governor. Evagoras proved that his first failure as a king was not a fluke by once again inspiring a popular revolt with his poor governance, and was expelled from the city after only 3 years of rule, in 346 BC. He fled back to Cyprus, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced to execution by Pyntagoras, who later was to become an ally of Alexander the Great in his invasion of Persia.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; one of only four known examples of this variety, with only six examples of the type known in total, of which just three are in private hands.
The rules of Evagoras I, his son Nicocles, and his son Evagoras II - kings of Salamis in the 4th Century BC - demonstrate well the cultural, political and military tug of war that dominated the Eastern Mediterranean at this time, between the two dominant centres in the region, Greece and Persia, in which all marginal states necessarily had to take part.
The policy of Evagoras I and Nicocles was to seek friendship with the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, in order to shore up their independence against the Persians, who sought to expand their power Westward over smaller states such as that of Salamis or Egypt. Furthermore, as Isocrates reported in his encomium to the king, Evagoras I actively strived to Hellenise Salamis: it had been under the control of the Phoenicians until he returned his family to its throne in 410 BC, and there had been a strong anti-Hellenic current under these rulers. Isocrates relates that because of Evagoras' pursual of Greek culture and refinement, Salamis' inhabitants under this king "have greater pleasure in owning Greek possessions and observing Greek institutions than their own, and more of those who occupy themselves with the liberal arts and with education in general now dwell in these regions than in the communities in which they formerly used to live" (Isoc.9.50).
Whilst we can witness the advancement of Hellenic culture further into Salamis under the reign of Evagoras II, nevertheless this King's political movements reversed those of his forebears. The former is demonstrated for example on this king's coinage, on which the Greek alphabet first replaced the old Cypriot syllabary as a means of rendering the Cypriot dialect of Greek called Arcadocypriot, and which depicts such Greek images as the turreted Aphrodite on this coin's obverse (a goddess with particular connection to Cyprus, having been born from the foam of its shores, but also a cognate of the goddess Astarte worshipped by Cypriot Phoenicians). On the other hand, Evagoras II sought a closer alignment with the Persians, abandoning the ties his predecessors had built with the Greeks. This, however, sparked a popular revolt led by his nephew Pyntagoras in 351 BC aiming for the continuation of independence in the style of the Greek polis, and Evagoras fled to his friends in the Persian court. After this he led a successful campaign against his nephew in Cyprus, which nevertheless ended when Artaxerxes III decided, surprisingly, to affirm Pyntagoras as king of Salamis, installing Evagoras instead as Satrap of Sidon following the defeat of the rebellion of Tennes, its last governor. Evagoras proved that his first failure as a king was not a fluke by once again inspiring a popular revolt with his poor governance, and was expelled from the city after only 3 years of rule, in 346 BC. He fled back to Cyprus, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced to execution by Pyntagoras, who later was to become an ally of Alexander the Great in his invasion of Persia.