Abdashtart I

For the 10th-century BC king of Tyre, see Abdastartus.
Sidonian octodrachm circa 354, illustrating the importance of the currency to Abdashtart's fleet

Abdashtart I (in Greek, Straton I[1]), the son of Baalshillem II, ruled Sidon from 365 to 352 BCE,[2] having been associated in power by his father since the 380s.[3] It is possible that he came to the throne in a period of economic- and therefore political- difficulty, having to immediately take what have been called 'emergency measures'[4] as in the first year of his reign he reduced, by two grams, the precious metal-content of the Sidonian double shekel[5] thereby devaluing the Sidonian currency.[6] He also expanded the currency, adding bronze coinage as well as silver, which funded the expansion of the Sidonian naval fleet.[7] It is supposed that he gave the city, which was duonymously known as Straton's Tower, his name, in its Hellenized form; it having been previously been known as Caesera.[8] Joseph Patrich argues, however, that Straton's Tower may have instead been founded during the Ptolemaic Kingdom.[9] In such a case, the naming may have been for a Ptolemaic general of the third century BCE.[10]

He formed diplomatic alliances with Athens and Egypt, and, combined with now having a more powerful navy, allowed him, by 360 or 359, to revolt against the Persians.[4] Although the Persian Empire was already fighting the Egyptians (whose Pharaoh Tachos had invaded Phoenicia), and although winning two military victories against the generals of Artaxerxes III in 356 and 358,[4] the revolt was suppressed in 355[2] and led to Persian occupation for the next four years, during which time the Sidonian currency was banned, minting privileges stopped, and the Persian currency was forcibly introduced.[11] The revolt has been described as 'a grave political error' for Abdashtart; not only did they experience financial crisis and military repression, but Sidon lost swathes of territory to its neighbour, Tyre.[4] The Persians left Abdahstart on the throne,[2] and Abdashtart proceeded to further diplomatic ties with Athens[12] and Salamis, Cyprus, which had probably supported his revolt against Artaxerxes.[4] Historians do not know whether he was the last of his dynasty, as they remain uncertain as to whether his known heir and successor, Tennes, was his son or some other close relative.[6]

Abdashtart was honored by an inscription in the Acropolis of Athens (IG II2 141).[13]

References

  1. ↑ Markoe, Glenn (2000). Phoenicians. U of California P. pp. 58–. ISBN 9780520226142.
  2. 1 2 3 Steiner, Margreet L.; Killebrew, Ann E. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE. OUP Oxford. pp. 109, 117. ISBN 9780191662553. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Sagona, C. (ed.), Beyond the Homeland: Markers in Phoenician Chronology (Leuven, 2008), p. 105
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Steiner, M.L. & Killebrew, A.E., The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE (Oxford, 2014), p. 117
  5. ↑ Elayi, J., & Jean Sapin, J., (trans. Crowley, J.,E. & Elayi, J.), Beyond the River: New Perspectives on Transeuphratene (Sheffield Press, 1998), p.126
  6. 1 2 Sagona, C. (ed.), Beyond the Homeland: Markers in Phoenician Chronology (Leuven, 2008), p. 106
  7. ↑ Moscati, S., The Phoenicians (Tauris, 2001), p. 524
  8. ↑ Isaac, B.H., The Near East Under Roman Rule: Selected Papers (Brill, 1997), p. 15
  9. ↑ Patrich, Joseph (2011). "Herodian Caesarea: The Urban Space". Studies in the Archaeology and History of Caesarea Maritima. Leiden: Brill. pp. 5–40. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004175112.i-500.6. ISBN 978-90-04-17511-2 – via Brill. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ Ameling, Walter; Cotton, Hannah M.; Eck, Werner; Isaac, Benjamin; Kushnir-Stein, Alla; Misgav, Haggai; Price, Jonathan; Yardeni, Ada, eds. (2011). "Caesarea". Caesarea and the Middle Coast 1121–2160. Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. 2. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 17. doi:10.1515/9783110222180.17. ISBN 978-3-11-022217-3 – via De Gruyter. (subscription required (help)).
  11. ↑ Markoe, G.E., Phoenicians: Peoples of the Past (California UP, 2000), p. 5959
  12. ↑ Bromiley, G., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Eerdemans, 1998), p. 502
  13. ↑ "Honours for Straton of Sidon: IG II2 141". Attic Inscriptions Online. Translated by Rhodes, P. J. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
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