Alexander & Darius

Painting by Guillaume Courtois, Jacques Courtois ("Le Bourguignon"), and Pietro Berrettini Da Cortona, created between 1662–1664, depicting Alexander the Great and Darius III, located in the King's Apartment (Grand Couvert) at Versailles, dimensions 188.1 x 344.8 cm, oil on canvas.

The Battle of Gaugamela is a military engagement that shifts history. It leads to the collapse of the Persian Empire. The victory opens the path for Alexander III "The Great" to rule over much of the ancient world. Cilicia is the southeastern edge of modern Turkiye.


This coin was issued before the Battle of Gaugamela. Mazaeus was a key leader in the battles against Alexander, but peacefully surrendered Babylon after the defeat and Death of Darius III at Gaugamela (331 BCE).

For more on this coin see: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/masaeus-satrap-of-cilicia

Share coins of Cilicia under Persian rule, coins of Alexander the Great, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I love the lion attacking the bull on your coin!

I've got this one, a posthumous issue of Alexander. I had to buy this because my middle name is Alexander! I don't know much about it, but I like it.

 

Λ over torch with the HΓ monogram is Price 445
Kings of Macedon, Kassander as regent, 317-305 BC, or king, 305-298 BC. AR Tetradrachm in the name and types of Alexander III. Amphipolis mint. Struck circa 307-297 BC.
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, Λ above torch; monogram below throne.
Ref: Price 445

 

Cilicia, Tarsus; Satrap Mazaios, (361-334 B.C.)
AR Stater
O: Baal of Tarsos seated left, holding eagle, grain ear, grapes, and scepter; TR (in Aramaic) to lower left, M (in Aramaic) below throne.
R: Lion attacking bull, monogram below.
10.35g
25.1mm
Casabonne Series 2, Group C; SNG BN –; SNG Levante 106

Ex.Philip Ashton Collection
Ex Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid, #214, Lot #89

 

That is fantastic! I had to google Amphipolis, fascinating info.

 

The Versailles picture (that obviously would need cleaning and probably restoration) is attributed to Guillaume Courtois (alone) by the website of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. Where did you find that is was painted by "Guillaume Courtois, Jacques Courtois ("Le Bourguignon"), and Pietro Berrettini Da Cortona"?
This monumental picture was painted in the 1660s. It is said to be titled "Alexandre le Grand, vainqueur de Darius à la bataille d'Arbelles" (that is the battle of Gaugamela), but it could represent as well the battle of Issos. A smaller picture has been auctioned these last times, said to be of Jacques Courtois and to represent the battle of Issus. It is not the same picture, of course, but both works have much in common and it is obvious they represent the battle of Issus.


Smaller painting by Jacques Courtois, The Battle of Issus; Alexander The Great’s Army defeats Darius and the Persians - Auctioned but I don't know when and by whom.

The Versailles monumental canvas and the less monumental one represent the decisive moment when Alexander got so close to Darius' chariot that the two kings could see each other, just before Darius immediately retreated on his chariot. This dramatic moment is told by Diodorus Siculus and Quintus Curtius.

But there is something very amazing in these two pictures by Jacques Courtois. They are typically baroque, painted in the 17th c. style, OK. There was an European tradition of paintings representing the battles of Issus and/or Gaugamela, by Albrecht Altdorfer in the 16th c. or by Jan Brueghel the Elder c. 1600, for example. The Courtois pictures of the 1660s do not look like the previous ones, he focused on less characters, on the meeting of the two kings, the fear of Darius, the horses, some being seen from back, the fallen braves, etc.

The closest parallel we can find for Courtois' views of the battle is the huge Alexander mosaic of Pompei's House of the Faun. It's a 2nd c. BC Roman mosaic inspired by some then famous but now lost Hellenistic painting, probably by Philoxenos of Eretria. But the problem is that during Courtois' lifetime this mosaic was buried under several meters of ashes: it was discovered in 1831 !

 

It is possible this could be Darius III…


CILICIA Uncertain mint Early-mid 4th C BCE AR Tetartemorion 5mm 0.17g Persian king running dagger and bow - Crowned hd Achaemenid king CNG E239 Troxell Kagan 4

 

I regret that I used to have a print of that scene of Gaugemela. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged in one of my many moves. Frustrating.

I only have this Siglos of Darius III / Alexander III time period...


Persia Achaemenid
Type IV
Artaxerxes II to Darius III
375-336 BCE
AR Siglos
15.2mm 5.45g
running daggar bow
incuse
BMC 172ff rev

 

Alexander almost lost it all at the Battle of Granicus… he was a bit hasty in his decisions and battle plan. He was lucky to win the battle, and was almost killed by Spithridates.

Persian Satrap


Persia Spithridates Achaemenid satrap of Sparda-Lydia and Ionia- 334 BCE AE10 1.20g wearing Persian headdress - Forepart galloping horse r Klein 367, Cop 1538

Comment: This is the Satrap that ALMOST killed Alexander III of Makedon (later the Great) at the Battle of Granicus. Instead Cleitus lopped off his arm just as Spithradates was lowering his scimitar onto Alexander

 

Makedon Alexander III Lifetime Tet Tarsos mint- near Issus, Price 2999

 

ALEXANDER III When he died in Babylon

Makedon Alexander III - Alexandrine Babylon Di-Shekel Tet 24mm 16.35g LIFETIME 328-311 Baal - Lion

 

Although there is no easy way to share a stable link to the page at the Versailles : they list 3 auteurs
https://collections.chateauversailles.fr?queryid=6978a07e-7261-47bb-94c5-493840d81933

 

I have a handful of coins directly related to the Persian satrapy of Cilicia (and further east), Darius III, and Alexander III's lifetime during that 4th century BC era of large empire battles. But I'll just share one which literally arrived in the mail today from overseas.

This little silver obol was issued in Cilicia, by Datames, a Persia/Achaemenid-appointed satrap who ruled in the early 4th century BC. His name is included in the coin's legend.

Cilcica, Tarsos.
AR obol, 10 mm, .57 gr.
378-372 BC
Datames as Satrap.
Göktürk 25, SNG Levante 82, SNG France 278-281.

 

OOPS! The above image in my immediately prior post has the obverse and reverse images switched. Below is the correct positioning.

 

@Sulla80 Great write-up as always! I enjoy subscribing to your blog email notifications!

Question: Is the Masaeus/Mazaeus mentioned in your O.P. the same historical figure as the "Mazaios" who is cited for Phoenician coins, such as the two examples below of Betlyon 38 from Sidon?

 

Yes, the Mazaeus (or Masaeus, Mazaios) who fought at the Battle of Gaugamela and the Mazaios associated with Phoenician coinage are indeed the same historical figure. Mazaeus was a Persian satrap (governor) under the Achaemenid Empire, and he governed several regions, including Cilicia, Syria, and Phoenicia, and later, Babylon. His rule spanned the late fourth century BCE, specifically around the time of Alexander the Great’s campaigns.

 

Thank you very much @Sulla80! And...

... one hundred likes!

 

Here's a tetradrachm issued by Sabakes, a satrap of Darius III. He fell at the battle of Issus (November 333 BC).

Egypt, Sabakes Persian Satrap, tetradrachm, imitating Athens, circa 333 BC.
16.65 grams




And here's the last Achaemenid satrap of ancient Egypt under Darius III, Mazakes. He was Satrap for only a brief period, from 333 BC, following the death of Sabakes, to late 332 BC, when Alexander III invaded Egypt. He was replaced by Alexander with the Greek Cleomenes of Naucratis before Alexander embarked on his campaign to the east.

This coin has been harshly cleaned, with most of the original hoard surface removed.

Still it is an interesting coin, with Mazakes' name, MZDK on the reverse. This coin is unlike his tetradrachms in style, which are patterned after the Pi-Style owls of 4th century BC Athens. This coin is clearly based on the classical Athenian owl, which leads me to think that it is actually a pharaonic owl with a Mazakes countermark on the reverse, over the AOE. I have not seen other owls with this type of countermark; more research is needed.

The coin was purchased from Roma Numismatics in 2021.

Egypt, Mazakes, Persian Satrap, tetradrachm, imitating Athens, circa 333-332 BC.
15.94 grams

 

Gee, thanks, @robinjojo . . . Now I feel compelled to add a Mazakes example to my already too long Want Li$t! ;-)