Primary sourceArtifactc. 500-490 BCE

Silver Siglos of Darius I

Achaemenid royal mint · c. 500-490 BCE

A silver coin minted under Darius I, showing the king firing a bow, part of his new imperial currency system.

This coin was issued under Darius I and bears his image as the archer-king.

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Close-up photograph of a dark, worn ancient silver coin on a textured cream fabric background. The raised design shows a kneeling figure facing right, holding a drawn bow with an arrow, with a crown-like headdress and a rectangular-shaped border around the design. — Silver siglos issued by Darius I, c. 500-490 BCE.

About this source

What it is

This is a silver shekel, or siglos, issued under King Darius I of Persia around 500–490 BCE. The obverse shows the king kneeling and firing a bow, a common royal image on Achaemenid coinage of this period.

Why it matters

The siglos circulated alongside the gold daric as part of the bimetallic currency system Darius introduced across the Achaemenid Empire. Coins like this spread a consistent image of the king as archer-warrior to all corners of the empire, reinforcing his authority through everyday transactions.

Look closer

Why might a ruler choose the same image for both gold and silver coins?
What does the worn condition of the coin suggest about how it was used?
What can coins tell historians that written records cannot?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Darius the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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