Editing Alexander the Great (section)

=== Coinage ===
[[File:KINGS of MACEDON Alexander III the Great 336-323 BC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Silver [[tetradrachm]] of Alexander the Great struck by [[Balakros]] or his successor [[Menes of Pella|Menes]], both former ''[[somatophylakes]]'' (bodyguards) of Alexander, when they held the position of [[satrap]] of [[Cilicia]] in the lifetime of Alexander, {{circa|333–327&nbsp;BC}}. The obverse shows [[Heracles]], ancestor of the Macedonian royal line and the reverse shows a seated [[Zeus]] Aëtophoros.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=368240|title= eAuction 430. KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III 'the Great'. 336–323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 17.15 g, 1h). Tarsos mint. Struck under Balakros or Menes, circa 333–327 BC.|website=CNG |access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081840/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=368240|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The conquest by [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]] of [[Pangaeum]], and then of the island of [[Thasos]] between 356 and 342 BC brought rich gold and silver mines under Macedonian control.<ref>[[Arrian]], Anabasis VII, 3</ref>

Alexander appears to have introduced a new coinage in [[Cilicia]] in [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]], after the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, which went on to become the main coinage of the empire.<ref name="LE RIDER 2003, p153-214">G. LE RIDER, Alexandre le Grand : Monnaie, finances et politique, Chapitre V, "Histoire", PUF, 2003, p153-214</ref> Alexander minted gold [[stater]]s, silver [[tetradrachm]]s and [[Ancient drachma|drachim]]s, and various fractional [[Ancient Greek coinage|bronze coins]]. The types of these coins remained constant in his empire.<!-- But this is incorrect, because the minting of Philippeioi continued throughout Alexander's reign – see Le Rider.--> The gold series had the head of [[Athena]] on the obverse and a winged [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] ([[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]]) on the reverse.<ref>REBUFFAT Françoise, La monnaie dans l'Antiquité, Picard, 1996 .p204</ref> The silver coinage had a beardless head of [[Heracles]] wearing a lionskin headdress on the obverse and Zeus aetophoros ('eagle bearer') enthroned with a scepter in his left hand, on the reverse.<ref>Gerin, Dominique; Grandjean, Catherine; Amandry, Michel; De Callatay.  ''La monnaie grecque'', "L'Antiquité : une histoire", Ellipse, 2001. pp. 117–119.</ref> There are both Greek and non-Greek aspects to this design. Heracles and [[Zeus]] were important deities for the Macedonians, with Heracles considered to be the ancestor of the Temenid dynasty and Zeus the patron of the main Macedonian sanctuary, [[Dium]].<ref name="LE RIDER 2003, p153-214"/> The lion was also the symbolic animal of the Anatolian god [[Sandas]], worshipped at [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]].<ref name="LE RIDER 2003, p153-214"/> The reverse design of Alexander's tetradrachms is closely modelled on the depiction of the god [[Baaltars]] (Baal of Tarsus), on the silver staters minted at Tarsus by the Persian satrap [[Mazaeus]] before Alexander's conquest.<ref name="LE RIDER 2003, p153-214"/>

Alexander did not attempt to impose uniform imperial coinage throughout his new conquests. Persian coins continued to circulate in all the [[satrap]]ies of the empire.<ref>BRIANT Pierre, Alexandre Le Grand, "Que sais-je ?", PUF, 2011.</ref>