Arados, Phoenicia, Time of Baalshallim I-Ba'ana (452-402 BC), Shekel

Arados, Phoenicia; 1/16 shekel; AR; time of Baalshallim I–Baʿana, 452–402 BC; 0.91 g; 9 mm. Galley sailing left before a fortified city wall surmounted by three towers; uncertain symbol in exergue. Reverse with Persian Great King or royal archer standing right, drawing a bow, quiver over shoulder; incuse head (possibly of Bes) left and incuse goat’s head right; all within a deeply sunk square. Struck at Arados on a compact flan with the characteristic incuse reverse typical of the series. HGC 10, 230.

Arados (Arwad) served the Achaemenid Empire as a naval ally under its local dynasts during the fifth century BC, and its silver issues reflect this dual context: the royal archer type acknowledges imperial authority while the galley and city wall emphasize the island’s maritime strength and fortified harbor. Fractional silver of this module circulated in Levantine and Aegean trade and in provisioning Persian fleets, with small control devices such as Bes and animal heads functioning as issue or workshop marks within the city’s mint organization.