Ancient Coin Stories

Let coins tell their stories…

Phoenicia, Arados AR Stater
King Gerashtart (Gerostratos)
Dated RY 6(?) = 335/334 BCE 10.35g, 18mm, 10h.
Laureate head of Ba’al-Arwad to right / Galley to right with [Pataikos on prow], above waves; MA G and date (all in Phoenician) above.
Betlyon 29, note 106; DCA 753; HGC 10, 36
Ex collection of Z.P., Austria

Now called Arwad and located in Syria, Arados has a history that stretches back more than four thousand years. One of the major Phoenician cities along with Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon, Arados was actually an island and today it’s the only inhabited island in Syria.

As with the other Phoenician cities, Arados maintained its trading independence through occupations by numerous empires. When Alexander the Great came along, they immediately surrendered the city to him and threw off the yoke of the Persians. Their navy then joined in the effort to reduce Tyre.

Roughly around this time, some evidence indicates that a large Jewish population lived there. Other documents show that the city was among the first Republics and was governed by the people for some time, though it was likely still heavily influenced by the most important traders.

Arados minted the typical Alexander coinage after coming under his control. This coin was minted before that time and depicts a Phoenician galley on the reverse. As with all Phoenician cities, trade was of vital importance to them.

1472 BCE

Thutmose III of Egypt takes Arados on his Syrian campaign.

1200 BCE

Arados, Byblos, and Sidon are pillaged by “sea peoples”.

1020 BCE

The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I records that he sailed in boats of Arados.

876 BCE

Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria makes Arados, Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos tributaries.

701 BCE

Byblos, along with Tyre, Sidon, and Arados, become vassal states to the Neo-Assyrian Empire under Sennacherib.

664 BCE

Ashurbanipal of Assyria forces Arados under King Yakinlu to submit and give one of his daughters to his harem.

586 BCE

Byblos, Tyre, Arados, and Sidon are under Neo-Babylonian control after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, becomes part of Nebuchadnezzar II’s territories.

539 BCE

Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, establishing Persian control over the former Babylonian Empire, which includes the Phoenician cities of Arados, Byblos, Tyre, Edom, and Sidon.

490 BCE

Arados, Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon continue to contribute ships and resources to the Persian navy under Darius I, playing a key role in the Persian military preparations for the Greco-Persian Wars.

480 BCE
September 26

Aegina plays a significant role in the Greek naval victory against the Persian Empire in the Battle of Salamis. Byblos, Arados, Tyre, and Sidon support Darius. Chalkis supports the Greek effort. Alexander I serves as a peace negotiator on behalf of the Persians.

411 BCE

Arados and Byblos face internal unrest as various local rulers assert their influence under the overall control of Persia. Tyre and Sidon maintain loyalty to Persian rule during this period, continuing their contributions to the Persian navy.

332 BCE

Sidon, Byblos, and Arados submit to Alexander the Great as he travels through Phoenicia.

305 BCE

Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, and Arados become part of the Ptolemaic Empire following the division of Alexander’s empire, aligning with Egypt.

259 BCE

Arados removes its royalty and becomes a free city in the Seleukid Empire.

259 BCE-
258 BCE

Antiochos II Theos of the Seleukid Empire fights the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt. Arados takes the side of Antiochos.

200 BCE

Byblos, Arados, Tyre, and Sidon fall under Seleukid control after the Battle of Panium, as the Seleukids gain dominance in the region.

64 BCE

Pompey incorporates Byblos, Arados, Sidon, Yehud, Edom, and Tyre into the Roman Republic as part of the province of Syria following Rome’s annexation of the eastern Mediterranean.

38 BCE

Marc Antony comes to Arados in search of money and is vigorously opposed.

14 CE

Byblos, Arados, Sidon, and Tyre are formally incorporated into the Roman Empire upon Augustus’ consolidation of the region, gaining status as a Romanized city.