Cilicia: AR Obol Of Pharnabazos

I'm beginning to build an appreciation for these little Cilician silvers!

Cilicia, Tarsos
Satrap Pharnabazos, 380-374 BC
AR Obol
Baal seated left, holding lotus-tipped scepter
Helmeted bearded bust left, possibly Ares or the Satrap himself
SNG France 257



I'm not able to find terribly much on Pharnabazos. It seems the single most important event of his rule was that he was ordered by Artaxerxes II to ally with the Athenian general Iphicrates to crush the rebellion of the Egyptian Pharoah Nectanebo I, who had shrugged off Persian influence and asserted independence. The joint force of 200,000 Persians and Greek mercenaries attempted to sail up the Nile, but seasonal flooding stalled their progress long enough for the two generals' rivalry boil over; Nectanebo was able to crush and repel the invasion, and secured half a century of Egyptian independence and cultural revival.