Corner of the Apadana Darius the Great inscription

Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent according to Oxford Atlas of World History 2002

The Apadana hoard is a hoard of coins that were discovered under the stone boxes containing the foundation tablets of the

Apadana Palace , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

. The coins were discovered in excavations in 1933 by Erich Schmidt, in two deposits, each deposit under the two deposition boxes that were found. The deposition of this hoard, which was visibly part of the foundation ritual of the Apadana, is dated to circa 515 BCE.

Foundation tablets

The gold and silver tablets retrieved from the stone boxes contained a trilingual inscription by Darius in

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

and

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

, which describes his Empire in broad geographical terms, and is known as the DPh inscription:

Foundation hoard

The coins found in the hoard were: * Northeastern deposit: Four gold lightweight

Croeseid The Croeseid, anciently ''Kroiseioi stateres'', was a type of coin, either in gold or silver, which was minted in Sardis by the king of Lydia Croesus (561–546 BC) from around 550 BC. Croesus is credited with issuing the first true gold coins wi ...

s (

Sardis Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

mint), a

tetradrachm The tetradrachm ( grc-gre, τετράδραχμον, tetrádrachmon) was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four Greek drachma, drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard ...

of Abdera, a stater of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...

. * Southeastern deposit: Four gold lightweight

s (

mint), three double-

sigloi The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BCE–450 BCE to 330 BCE. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from grc, σίγλος, he, שֶׁקֶל, '' shékel'') represented the first b ...

from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

(one attributed to Lapethus, one to

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

, and one to an uncertain mint). The Croesids were found in very fresh condition, confirming that they had been recently minted under Achaemenid rule. The deposit did not have any

Daric The Persian daric was a gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos, represented the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.Michael Alram"DARIC" ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', December 15, 1994, last updated N ...

s and

Sigloi The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BCE–450 BCE to 330 BCE. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from grc, σίγλος, he, שֶׁקֶל, '' shékel'') represented the first b ...

, which also suggests strongly that these coins typical of

Achaemenid coinage The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BCE–450 BCE to 330 BCE. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from grc, σίγλος, he, שֶׁקֶל, '' shékel'') represented the first ...

only started to be minted later, after 515 BCE.

Symbolism

According to numismat Martin Price, the coins in the hoard were probably selected not for the location they represented, but for the symbolic significance of their type. The lion attacking the bull in the Lycian coinage of the

s had obvious symbolism for the Achaemenids, the

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

on the coin of Abdera may have been used as the symbolic guardian of gold, and the turtle of the coin from

may have been chosen as a symbol of maritime power.

Other coin types of the Apadana hoard

File:CYPRUS, Lapethos. Late 6th-early 5th century BC. AR Stater – Double Siglos.jpg, Coin type of the

double Siglos from Lapethus found later near the hoard. Late 6th-early 5th century BCE File:CYPRUS, Uncertain. Late 6th-early 5th centuries BC. AR Stater (25.5mm, 10.28 g).jpg, Coin similar to the type of a

coin from an uncertain mint, found in the hoard. 5th century BCE

References

{{reflist Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire Treasure troves of classical antiquity Archaeological discoveries in Iran 1933 in Iran 1933 archaeological discoveries

Foundation tablets

Foundation hoard

Symbolism

Other coin types of the Apadana hoard

See also

References