Abdashtart I

– a votive statue said to depict Abdashtart I, given by his father Baalshillem II at the Temple of Eshmun. His accession appears to have taken place in a period of economic and political difficulty, since he immediately took 'emergency measures', reducing the precious metal-content of the Sidonian double shekel by , thereby devaluing the Sidonian currency in his first year. He also expanded the currency, adding bronze coinage as well as silver, which funded the expansion of the Sidonian navy. It is supposed that he gave his name to the city known in the Hellenized world as Straton's Tower, which was later renamed Caesarea by Herod the Great. Joseph Patrich argues, however, that Straton's Tower may have been founded during the Ptolemaic Kingdom instead, in which case the naming may have been for a Ptolemaic general of the third century BC. ==Revolt against the Achaemenid Empire==

Abdashtart formed diplomatic alliances with Athens and Egypt. Relying on his increased fleet, by 360 BC or 359 BC he felt strong enough to revolt against the Achaemenid Empire. The revolt has been described as 'a grave political error' for Abdashtart; not only did the Sidonians experience financial crisis and military repression, but they also lost swathes of territory to their neighbour, Tyre. ==Later life==

. , at the time of Abdashtart I. Obv: Phoenician galley and waves. Rev: King of Persia and driver in chariot drawn by two horses. Ruler of Sidon standing behind the chariot, holding sceptre and votive vase. Dated 360/59 BC. The Persians left Abdashtart on the throne, and Salamis, Cyprus, which had probably supported his revolt against Artaxerxes. ==References==