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Type/Object Name: Ob: Warriors in battleship with lion head, winged hippocamp, murex shell. Inscription ZO (meaning uncertain). | Re: Lion attacking bull. Inscription ZB’L MLK GBL (“Ozbal king of Gebel” in Aramaic).

Dates: 365-360 BCE

Medium: Silver, Shekel

Dimensions: Diameter 25.2 mm, Weight 13.2 g

Credit Line: Courtesy of John Nebel

Notes: Conquests of Alexander the Great

Byblos was an important city on the western coast of Phoenicia in the eastern Mediterranean region. This coin was made when it was part of the Persian Empire and proclaims many powerful identities at once. The obverse shows a Greek-style ship with warriors in Greek armor in the upper part of the image. In the lower part, there is a winged hippocamp, or horse-fish, swimming above a murex shell. Murex shells were used to make purple dye and were a source of local wealth. The  of the hippocamp and the follow Persian portrayals, rather than Greek. The reverse shows a lion and bull, referring to the Persian king and the  (in southwestern Iran). The Aramaic inscription names a local ruler, Ozbal, while “Gebel” refers to the local territory. 

Collection: Coin, John Nebel

Bibliography: Betylon p. 118, no. 114.