EGYPT, Achaemenid Province. Sabakes. Satrap, 340-333 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.15 g, 9 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves and palmette. Rev. 𐡎𐡅𐡉𐡊 - 𐡉𐡍𐡓 (?) ('swyk' - 'ynr' (?) in Aramaic) Owl standing right, head facing; to left, olive sprig and crescent; to right, crescent above thunderbolt ('Sabakes symbol'). Nicolet-Pierre, Satrapes, 18-26 (O11/-). Van Alfen, Owls, Type III, 24-34 (O11/-). Very rare and of great historical interest. Beautifully toned and with an unusually complete particularly well readable reverse. Faint scratches and the obverse struck from the usual somewhat worn die and with a test cut on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.


Sabakes was installed as Satrap of Egypt by Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC) after the king's successful campaign against Nektanebo II, the last independent native Pharaoh. To pay its Greek mercenaries, the Persian government introduced a series of locally struck imitative Athenian owls carrying, first, the name of the Great King in Aramaic on the reverse, and later, that of the satrap Sabakes (= 'swyk' in Aramaic). Unfortunately, the reading of the second part of the legend, behind the owl's head, is disputed and the 'ynr' given in the description above is just a suggestion based on this particularly clear example. The fate of Sabakes, however, is well known. He joined the forces of Dareios in the Battle of Issos against Alexander III in 333 BC where he died a hero, defending his fleeing king. Sabakes was succeeded by Mazaios as Satrap of Egypt, who surrendered the province to Alexander in 332 without a fight as its Persian garrison had been mostly withdrawn by Sabakes prior to the Battle of Issos.