Description

The didrachm struck under the magistrate Pixodaros (ca. 340–334 B.C.) at Halicarnassus, in Caria, belongs to a pivotal period in the history of Asia Minor. Son of Hecatomnus and brother of Mausolus, Pixodaros was a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, vassals of the Persian Empire yet strongly influenced by Greek culture. His reign, marked by a shrewd policy of alliances, coincided with the final years of Achaemenid rule in Asia Minor, just before the campaigns of Alexander the Great. The coin reflects this dual cultural identity, combining Greek references with local dynastic power, and illustrates the strategic role of Halicarnassus at the crossroads of the Greek and Eastern worlds.