Mazaeus, 361-334 BC, Stater

Mazaeus, Stater, AR, 361–334 BC, 10.38 g, 22 mm.

Struck at Myriandros, Cilicia. Baʿaltars, the local storm-god, seated left on a throne, holding a long scepter topped with an eagle; Aramaic BʾLTRZ to right; M to left; an uncertain letter beneath the throne as control. Lion walking left over a crescent; star above; Aramaic MZDY (Mazaeus) above. Hammered issue on the Cilician stater standard, with Aramaic legends and control marks as described. SNG Levante 185 (Myriandros). Mazaeus served as Achaemenid satrap of Cilicia in the later 4th century BC and later as satrap of Babylon under Alexander. This coin type integrates local cult (Baʿaltars, “Baal of Tarsos”) and imperial practice through Aramaic inscriptions, the administrative script of the western Achaemenid provinces. The lion, crescent, and star continue established Near Eastern iconography. Issued at the port of Myriandros near Issos, these staters circulated widely in the eastern Mediterranean immediately before Alexander’s campaigns.