Arbinas, also Erbinas, Erbbina, was a

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

n Dynast who ruled circa 430/20-400 BCE. He is most famous for his tomb, the

Nereid Monument The Nereid Monument is a sculptured tomb from Xanthos in Lycia (then part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire), close to present-day Fethiye in Mugla Province, Turkey. It took the form of a Greek temple on top of a base decorated with sculpted fri ...

, now on display in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Coinage seems to indicate that he ruled in the western part of Lycia, around Telmessos, while his tomb was established in

Xanthos Xanthos or Xanthus, also referred to by scholars as ''Arna'', its Lycian name, (, Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', , Latin: ''Xanthus'') was an ancient city near the present-day village of Kınık, in Antalya Province, Turkey. The ru ...

. He was a subject of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

Rule

He was the son of the previous Lycian king Kheriga. On his inscriptions, Erbinas is described as a ''tyrannos'', and "''the man who rules over the Lycians''". It seems the Lycia kingdom started to disintegrate during the rule of Arbinas, as numerous smaller rulers started to mint coinage throughout Lycia during his reign and after.

Tomb

His monumental tomb, the

, now in the

, was the main inspiration for the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Using the design of a

Greek Temple Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin , " temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the sacrifices and ritu ...

for the building of a tomb was unheard of in mainland Greece. According to Melanie Michailidis, though bearing a "Greek appearance", the Nereid Monument, the Harpy Tomb and the

Tomb of Payava The Tomb of Payava is a Lycian tall rectangular free-standing barrel-vaulted stone sarcophagus, and one of the most famous tombs of Xanthos. It was built in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, for Payava, who was probably the ruler of Xanthos, Lycia ...

were built according main

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

criteria "by being composed of thick stone, raised on plinths off the ground, and having single windowless chambers". The Nereid Monument was the main inspiration for the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. File:Reconstruction_Nereid_Monument_BM.jpg, The

is thought to be the tomb of Arbinas.

. File:Illustrerad Verldshistoria band I Ill 102.jpg, Reconstitution of the original tomb of Erbinas. File:Arbinas portrait in the Nereid Monument.jpg, Arbinas portrait.

. File:Official receiving Visitors, Xanthos, Nereid Monument, Frieze II, Block 879.jpg, Arbinas receives emissaries.

Coinage

File:DYNASTS of LYCIA. Erbbina. Circa 430-20-400 BC.jpg, Coin of King Arbinas, wearing the

Phrygian cap The Phrygian cap ( ), also known as Thracian cap and liberty cap, is a soft Pointed hat, conical Hat, cap with the apex bent over, associated in Classical antiquity, antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe, Anatolia, and Asia. The Phry ...

on the reverse. Circa 430/20-400 BC File:DYNASTS of LYCIA. Erbbina with Athena and Herakles. Circa 430-20-400 BC.jpg, Coin of King Arbinas. Athena and Herakles on each side. Circa 430/20-400 BC File:DYNASTS of LYCIA. Erbbina. Circa 400-380 BC.jpg, Coin of King Arbinas. Athena and Herakles.

References

Sources

* {{Achaemenid rulers 4th-century BC Iranian people Vassals of the Achaemenid Empire Lycians