Description

Arwad (now in Syria), Byblos (now Jbeil in Lebanon), Sidon (Saida in Lebanon), and Tyre (Sour in Lebanon)―the four major cites of Persian-period Phoenicia―all minted their own coins. Archaeologists and historians have found these coins to be a major resource for the reconstruction of Phoenician history. They have increasingly been able to use them to discern important details of Phoenicia’s political history that were previously unknown or were presented only from the perspective provided by the reports of the Greek historians or were based on knowledge of the Greek language, rather than being based on knowledge of Semitic languages and the iconography and inscriptions of the Phoenicians themselves.