Ancient Coin - AR Stater -Pamphylia Mint - Circa 460-430 BCE (2,800 hundred year old coin)

Denomination: AR Stater (17mm, 4h)                           

Mint:  Pamphylia 

Weight: 10.85 gm                                                                                

Mount: 18K gold

Date: Circa 460 - 430 BCE                                                                     

Grade: VF (Rare)

Description: Obverse: Pamphylia side. Pomegranate; dotted guilloche border. Reverse: Helmeted head of Athena right within incuse square. (same dies). Struck with worn dies. Rare.

History: During the Late Bronze Age, this area lay on the western periphery of the Hittite sphere of influence. An agreement between Hittite ruler Tudhaliya IV and the king of Tarhuntasha delineated the latter's western boundary at Parha, a city later situated in Pamphylia, alongside the Kastaraya River. West of Parha lay the Lukka lands.

In later times, the populace here spoke Pamphylian, a unique Greek dialect influenced by nearby Anatolian languages. After Cyrus's conquest of Croesus, Pamphylia came under Persian rule. Darius incorporated it into his initial tax district, alongside other regions. Between 468 and 465 BC, Athenians led by Cimon vanquished the Persians at the Eurymedon, thus adding Pamphylia to their expanding "Delian League" empire. Near the end of the Peloponnesian War, weakened Athenians lost control to the Persians.

Following Alexander the Great's victory over Darius III, Pamphylia returned to Greek authority, now under Macedonian rule. After Antiochus III's defeat in 190 BC, Pamphylia became part of the provinces annexed by the Romans under Eumenes of Pergamum. Subsequently, it became associated with piracy alongside Pisidians and Cilicians  as a major hub and slave market.