Arbinas

Arbinas, also Erbinas, Erbbina, was a Lycian Dynast who ruled circa 430/20-400 BCE. He is most famous for his tomb, the Nereid Monument, now on display in the British Museum.[1] Coinage seems to indicate that he ruled in the western part of Lycia, around Telmessos, while his tomb was established in Xanthos.[2] He was a subject of the Achaemenid Empire.[3]

Arbinas
Portrait of Arbinas wearing the satrapal headdress, from his coinage.
Native name
Erbinas
Allegiance Achaemenid Empire
RankSatrap
Location of Lycia. Anatolia/Asia Minor in the Greco-Roman period. The classical regions, including Lycia, and their main settlements
Arbinas, in Achaemenid dress on the Nereid Monument.

Rule

He was the son of the previous Lycian king Kheriga.[4] On his inscriptions, Erbinas is described as a tyrannos, and "the man who rules over the Lycians".[4]

It seems the Lycia kingdom started to disintegrate during the rule of Arbinas, as numerous smaller rulers started to mint coinage throughout Lycia during his reign and after.[3]

Tomb
Main article: Nereid Monument

His monumental tomb, the Nereid Monument, now in the British Museum, was the main inspiration for the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.[5] Using the design of a Greek Temple for the building of a tomb was unheard of in mainland Greece.

Coinage
  • Coin of King Arbinas, wearing the Persian cap on the reverse. Circa 430/20-400 BC
  • Coin of King Arbinas. Athena and Herakles on each side. Circa 430/20-400 BC
  • Coin of King Arbinas. Athena and Herakles.

References
  1. Keen, Antony G. (1998). Dynastic Lycia: A Political of History of the Lycians and Their Relations with Foreign Powers : C. 545-362 B.C. BRILL. p. 145. ISBN 9004109560.
  2. Keen, Antony G. (1998). Dynastic Lycia: A Political of History of the Lycians and Their Relations with Foreign Powers : C. 545-362 B.C. BRILL. p. 146. ISBN 9004109560.
  3. Fried, Lisbeth S. (2004). The Priest and the Great King: Temple-palace Relations in the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns. p. 150. ISBN 9781575060903.
  4. Keen, Antony G. (1998). Dynastic Lycia: A Political of History of the Lycians and Their Relations with Foreign Powers : C. 545-362 B.C. BRILL. p. 47. ISBN 9004109560.
  5. André-Salvini, Béatrice (2005). Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. University of California Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780520247314.
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