GREEK. PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Temp. Darios I to Xerxes I. Circa 505-480 BC. Silver Siglos (5.38g). Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint. Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, drawing bow / Incuse punch. Carradice Type II (pl. XI, 12); Meadows, Administration 320; BMC Arabia pl. XXVII, 23; Sunrise 21. A very attractive old cabinet toning. aVF. Under Darius I (522-486 BC) and Xerxes I (486-465 BC), the Achaemenid Empire stood at its peak. Darius tightened control over a vast realm with strong administration, major roads, and standardised coinage, while Persepolis rose as the empire's showpiece capital. Xerxes inherited that power and carried it forward, presiding over an empire that blended the cultures of its many lands, from Egypt to India, and left a monumental legacy in stone and tradition. (P)

Estimate: AUD 500