Obolos 17

CILICIA. Tarsos. Circa 440-410 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 10.80 g, 11 h). Horseman (Syennesis?) riding to left, wearing kyrbasia, holding lotus flower in his right hand and reins in his left, and with a bow in bowcase on the saddle; below horse, key symbol. Rev. Two Persian soldiers, standing vis-a-vis, each holding a vertical spear with both hands, with a bow over his far shoulder and with a bowcase over his shoulder; between them, possible traces of an erased inscription (TRZ), or nothing. Cf. Casabonne Type D1 = Traité II, 2, 526 and Pl. cvi, 6. Extremely rare. Struck from a worn obverse die and with minor scratches on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.

The name Syennesis was apparently a dynastic one used by the native kings of Cilicia, who were vassals of the Persians during the late 6th and 5th centuries BC. Kings with this name are known from the late 7th century onward: one was a commander under both Darius I and Xerxes I, and another was involved in the conflict between Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger as described by Xenophon.