Golden opulence of the imperial Achaemenids was legendary.
Roughly 180,000+ talents of pure gold and silver were looted from the Achaemenid imperial treasuries at Babylon, Ecbatana, Sardis, Susa and Persepolis by Alexander's army.
Each talent weighed about 60 pounds and at $845,000 per talent of gold in today's financial markets, the value of the stolen gold would have roughly been about $150+ billion dollars.
Interestingly enough, Alexander himself was reportedly indifferent to his acquired wealth, and occationally had to borrow money from his men. It is fair to say that Alexander's dazzling luck and tactical brilliance on the battlefield was the color of Achaemenid gold.
Achaemenid Armlet, Oxus Treasure, British Museum, UK
The splendid Oxus Treasure has been dated to 5th and 4th century BCE Achaemenid Persia.
