First Persian Empire (Ngc Slab)(Ng)

The Achaemenid Empire—the First Persian Empire—is one of the greatest empires of antiquity. From its founding by Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid dynasty includes such notables as Darius the Great and Xerxes the Great. The fifth century BC includes two of the most famous battles in all of history: the Battle of Marathon, when the Greeks repulsed the Persian invasion in 490 BC, and the Battle of Thermopylae of ten years later, when a coalition of Greeks led by the King of Sparta defeated Xerxes I.–This silver siglos circulated in Persia during the fifth century BC. The obverse shows a hero-king with a bow and a dagger; on the reverse is the incuse punch.