Abdashtart I (in Greek, Straton I) was a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

of the Phoenician city-state of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

who reigned from 365 BC to 352 BC following the death of his father,

Baalshillem II Baalshillem II was a Phoenician King of Sidon ( – ), the great-grandson of King Baalshillem I, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He succeeded Baana to the throne of Sidon, and was succeeded by his son Abdashtart I (in Gree ...

Reform

His accession appears to have taken place in a period of economic and political difficulty, since he immediately took 'emergency measures',Steiner, M.L. & Killebrew, A.E., ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE'' (Oxford, 2014), p. 117 reducing the precious metal-content of the Sidonian double

shekel Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...

by , thereby devaluing the Sidonian

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

in his first year.Sagona, C. (ed.), ''Beyond the Homeland: Markers in Phoenician Chronology'' (Leuven, 2008), p. 106 He also expanded the currency, adding bronze coinage as well as silver, which funded the expansion of the Sidonian

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. It is supposed that he gave his name to the city known in the

Hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

world as Straton's Tower, which was later renamed Caesarea by

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

. Joseph Patrich argues, however, that Straton's Tower may have been founded during the Ptolemaic Kingdom instead, in which case the naming may have been for a Ptolemaic general of the third century BC.

Revolt against the Achaemenid Empire

Abdashtart formed diplomatic alliances with

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. Relying on his increased fleet, by 360 BC or 359 BC he felt strong enough to revolt against the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

. Although the Persians were already fighting the Egyptians (whose Pharaoh Tachos had invaded Phoenicia), and although the rebels won two military victories against the generals of

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

in 358 BC and 356 BC, the revolt was suppressed in 355 BC and led to Persian occupation for the next four years, during which time the Sidonian currency was banned, minting privileges were stopped, and the Persian currency was forcibly introduced. The revolt has been described as 'a grave political error' for Abdashtart; not only did the Sidonians experience financial crisis and military repression, but they also lost swathes of territory to their neighbour, Tyre.

Later life

Straton King of Sidon inscription Acropolis of Athens

Coin of Abdashtart I, Achaemenid Phoenicia

The Persians left Abdashtart on the throne, and he proceeded to further diplomatic ties with Athens and

Salamis, Cyprus Salamis ( grc, Σαλαμίς, el, Σαλαμίνα, tr, Salamis) is an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km north of modern Famagusta. According to tradition, the founder of Salamis ...

, which had probably supported his revolt against Artaxerxes. Historians do not know whether he was the last of his dynasty, as it remains uncertain whether his known heir and successor,

Tennes Tennes (Tabnit II in the Phoenician language) was a King of Sidon under the Achaemenid Empire. His predecessor was Abdashtart I (in Greek, Straton I), the son of Baalshillem II, who ruled the Phoenician city-state of Sidon from (), having be ...

, was his son or some other close relative. Abdashtart was honoured by an inscription in the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

( IG II² 141):

References

Bibliography

* 4th-century BC rulers in Asia Kings of Sidon Rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire Rulers in the Achaemenid Empire 4th-century BC Phoenician people {{Achaemenid rulers