A Monetary and Political History of the Phoenician City of Byblos in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C.E.

Phoenician coins from the Persian period, particularly those from Byblos (modern Jbeil, Lebanon), offer unprecedented insights into the political and economic history of the region, challenging long-held assumptions derived from Greek sources. A comprehensive catalog of 1,662 silver Byblian coins, analyzed through numismatic techniques including monetary inscriptions, iconography, and manufacturing processes, reveals details about coin circulation, trade exchanges, and conflicts involving Greeks, Cypriots, and Egyptians in the eastern Mediterranean. The study by Alain and Josette Elayi, spanning four stages of research—economy under Persian rule, hoard analysis, weight investigation, and monetary/political history—provides a Semitic-language perspective, correcting biases from Greek historical accounts.

Elayi, J., & Elayi, A. G. (2014). A Monetary and Political History of the Phoenician City of Byblos in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C.E. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575068893