Achaemenid Empire, AR Siglos (Darius I - Xerxes I, Carradice type IIIa)

ACHAEMENID PERSIA
Time of Darius I to Xerxes I (522-465 BC)
AR Siglos (15.29mm, 5.47g)
Struck 490-475 BC. Sardeis mint
Obverse: Kneeling/running figure of the Great King right, bearded and crowned, with transverse spear point downward in right hand, bow in left
Reverse: Incuse punch
References: Carradice type IIIa

Lightly toned silver. Darius I, also known as Darius the Great, was the third ruler of the Achaemenid empire - the great Persian empire founded by Cyrus the Great.
Darius reigned from 522 B.C. until his death in 486 B.C. Under Darius’s rule the Persian empire reached its territorial peak, stretching from Western Asia and parts of Greece all the way to the Indus Valley in the east, and including parts of North Africa and Egypt. Though Darius was successful in many military conquests and campaigns, he is also remembered as the Persian king who suffered defeat at the hands of the Greeks in the pivotal battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.

When Darius died in 486 B.C. he was succeeded by his son Xerxes I. Xerxes, like his father, was an energetic and ambitious ruler. Six years into his reign, he invaded Greece, in order to avenge Darius’s defeat in 490 B.C. At first this second invasion was more successful, but eventually the Greeks were able to once again drive out the invading Persians - this time for good.

Darius I is mentioned by name in the Biblical books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. Xerxes I, his son, is not named explicitly but is thought to have been the “King Ahasuerus” from the book of Esther.

Collection : Eastern Empires