Alexander in Babylon

"Entrée d'Alexandre dans Babylone" or "Le triomphe d'Alexandre", Charles Le Brun (1619–1690), oil on canvas, 1665, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

This silver double shekel (23 mm; 15.78 g; die axis 2h) belongs to the Babylonian series conventionally known as the “Baal / lion” coinage, struck at Babylon in the late fourth century BCE. The obverse depicts Baal seated left on a throne, holding a scepter, with a star in the left field; the reverse shows a lion walking left, with the Greek control letter Γ above. The type corresponds to Nicolet-Pierre 8 and SNG Copenhagen 264 and conforms to the local Babylonian weight standard rather than the Attic system used for Alexander’s imperial tetradrachms.

A type that paid the soldiers who stood watch at Alexander’s deathbed and fought in the "Wars of the Diadochi" that carved up Alexander's Empire.

Babylon after Alexander: Historical Setting

Babylon was one of the most important cities of the ancient world - administratively, economically, and symbolically. After the city surrendered peacefully to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, it became a principal royal residence and administrative center of the expanding Macedonian empire. Alexander invested heavily in Babylon, restoring temples, respecting local priesthoods, and planning major building projects.

Unlike the mass-produced Alexandrine tetradrachms bearing Herakles and Zeus, these local silver issues deliberately preserved Near Eastern iconography familiar to Babylonian elites, temple institutions, and regional mercantile networks. The choice to maintain traditional imagery suggests a conscious policy of continuity amid regime change, especially in a city whose cooperation was essential for imperial stability.

Historical color.

Alexander’s sudden death in Babylon in 323 BCE transformed the city from imperial capital to political fault line. His body lay in state there; his generals debated the future of the empire in its palaces. Babylon became the first arena of the Diadochi Successor Wars, hosting negotiations, betrayals, and shifting alliances that would shape the Hellenistic world.

Attribution and Dating

This coin is attributed to Babylon and dated broadly to the period ca. 328–311 BCE, encompassing the late years of Alexander’s reign and the early Diadoch era. The attribution rests on iconography, fabric, weight standard, and long-standing catalog traditions.

Most scholars place this issue after the satrapy of Mazaios (d. 328 BCE) and before or during the consolidation of power by Seleucus I Nicator. During this interval, Babylon passed through multiple hands - Perdiccas, Antipater’s appointees, Antigonus’ sphere of influence, and finally Seleucus - creating a context in which anonymous or semi-anonymous issues were politically expedient.

The Γ control mark remains debated. It may represent:

• an internal issue sequence within the Baal/lion series,

• a magistrate or financial official,

• or a workshop or accounting designation.

  
  

No consensus exists, and no ancient source securely links Γ to a named authority. Hoard evidence supports relative sequencing but not absolute attribution to an individual issuer.

Iconography and Cultural Messaging

The obverse figure is commonly identified as Baal, a West Semitic storm and fertility god, enthroned in a pose of divine kingship. The lion on the reverse is a long-standing symbol of power, protection, and divine authority in Mesopotamian tradition.

In Babylonian eyes, the image may have evoked Marduk as much as Baal, reflecting a deliberate iconographic ambiguity that allowed multiple audiences—Phoenician, Babylonian, and Hellenized elites—to recognize their own traditions. The star likely reinforces the divine or cosmic sanction of authority, a motif deeply embedded in Mesopotamian religious thought.

At a time when Macedonian generals competed violently for legitimacy, coins like this did not proclaim a single ruler’s portrait. Instead, they spoke the older language of divine order and continuity, suggesting that while kings might change, the cosmic and civic foundations of Babylon endured.

Function and Monetary Role

The weight and denomination identify the coin as high-value silver, unsuitable for daily retail exchange but ideal for large payments.

The primary function was likely state finance, especially logistical expenditure and military pay. Babylon lay at the crossroads of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Iran; armies moved through it repeatedly during the Successor Wars. Paying locals in a trusted local silver type, rather than unfamiliar Macedonian coinage, would have reduced friction and facilitated acceptance among diverse populations. Taylor (2018) notes they were introduced to bridge the gap between Persian and Greek cultures, serving a regional economic purpose alongside the international Alexander-type coinage. Iossif and Lorber argue that these coins depict Marduk and the Lion of Ishtar and were likely struck to integrate the Macedonian administration with the Babylonian religious hierarchy.

After Alexander’s death, Babylon repeatedly changed hands, was besieged, and served as a prize in negotiations. Coinage was not merely economic—it was operational infrastructure. Without reliable silver, armies dissolved, loyalties shifted, and power evaporated.

Coinage and Historical Causation

The coin avoids royal names and portraits, relying instead on traditional imagery.

This design choice reflects political instability and contested sovereignty. Naming a ruler on coinage risked obsolescence - or worse - should authority change. Anonymous or culturally conservative designs allowed successive regimes to reuse established monetary forms without ideological contradiction.

Scholarly conjecture. Some scholars suggest that such issues represent a deliberate policy of Babylonian autonomy in monetary imagery, even as political control fluctuated. Others argue it was simply pragmatic continuity in a time of administrative chaos. The evidence allows both readings, and the question remains open.

Significance

This coin stands at the intersection of empire and aftermath. It belongs to the moment when Alexander’s conquests had reshaped the Near East, but before a new political order solidified. Its imagery speaks not of triumphal kingship but of enduring structures—temples, gods, silver, and soldiers - that outlasted individual rulers. As such, it is a numismatic witness to Babylon’s final role as the pivot of the ancient world.

Selected bibliography

• Nicolet-Pierre, H. “Argent et or frappés en Babylonie entre 331 et 311 ou de Mazdai à Séleucos,” in Travaux de numismatique grecque offerts à Georges Le Rider (1999), 285–306 (type 8).

• SNG Copenhagen. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum: The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Babylon issues (264).

• Hill, G. F. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia (London, 1922).

• Iossif, P. & Lorber, C. C. “Marduk and the Lion: A Hoard of Babylonian Lion Staters,” in Liber Amicorum Tony Hackens (2007), 345–363.

• Taylor, L. W. H. “The Earliest Alexander III Tetradrachm Coinage of Babylon,” Numismatic Chronicle (2018).