Ancient history of Cyprus
Cyprus figures prominently in the early history of Christianity, being the first province of Rome to be ruled by a Christian governor, in the first century, and providing a backdrop for events in the New Testament[5] The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) claims that the city of Kourion, near present-day Limassol, was founded by Achaean settlers from Argos.
This is further supported by the discovery of a Late Bronze Age settlement lying several kilometres from the site of the remains of the Hellenic city of Kourion, whose pottery and architecture indicate that Mycenaean settlers did indeed arrive and augment an existing population in this part of Cyprus in the twelfth century BC.
[6] The kingdom of Kourion in Cyprus is recorded on an inscription dating to the period of the Pharaoh Ramses III (1186–1155 BC) in Egypt.
[8] The ten kingdoms listed on the prism[1] of Esarhaddon in 673–2 BC have been identified as Soloi, Salamis, Paphos, Kourion, Amathus and Kition on the coast, and Tamassos, Ledrai, Idalion and Chytroi in the interior of the island.
The main deity of ancient Cyprus was the Great Goddess, the Assyro-Babylonian Ishtar, and Phoenician Astarte, later known by the Greek name Aphrodite.
Other Gods venerated include the Phoenician Anat, Baal, Eshmun, Reshef, Mikal and Melkart and the Egyptian Hathor, Thoth, Bes and Ptah, as attested by amulets.
The Phoenician town of Carpasia, near Rizokarpasso (Turkish: Dipkarpaz), had houses built of rubble masonry with square stone blocks forming the corners.
Naked kouroi, however, although common in Greece, are extremely rare in Cyprus, while women (Korai) are always presented dressed with rich folds in their garments.
The most important obligation of the kings of Cyprus to the Shah of Persia was the payment of tribute and the supply of armies and ships for his foreign campaigns.
At the beginning of the 4th century BC, he took control of the whole island of Cyprus and within a few years was attempting to gain independence from Persia with Athenian help.
He was perhaps the greatest commander in history and led his army in a series of victorious battles, creating a vast empire that stretched from Greece to Egypt in Africa and to the Caspian Sea and India.
There was a mutuality of interests: Alexander the Great increased the capacity of his fleet, and the Cypriot kings achieved political independence.
Tyre, then the most important Phoenician city, was built on a small island that was 700 metres from the shore and had two harbors, the Egyptian to the south and Sidonian to the north.
The Cypriot kings, in command of 120 ships, each with a very experienced crew, provided substantial assistance to Alexander in the siege of this city, which lasted for seven months.
His gratitude was shown, for example, by the help he gave to Pnytagora, who seems to have been the main driver of this initiative to support Alexander, to incorporate the territory of the Cypriot kingdom of Tamassos into that of Salamis.
In 331 BCE, while Alexander was returning from Egypt, he stayed for a while in Tyre, where the Cypriot kings, wishing to reaffirm their trust and support for him, put on a great show of honour.
The mints of Salamis, Kition and Paphos began to stamp coins on Alexander's behalf rather than in the name of the local kings.
Away from the coast of Cyprus, the interior kingdoms were left largely independent and the kings maintained their autonomy, although not in issues such as mining rights.
Alexander sought to make clear that he considered himself the master of the island, and abolished the currencies of the Cypriot kingdoms, replacing them by the minting of his own coins.
The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, while still in his early thirties, put an end to Greek aspirations for global domination.
[13] The wars of Alexander's successors inevitably began to involve Cyprus, and focused on two claimants, Antigonus Monophthalmus in Syria (assisted by his son Demetrius Poliorcetes) and Ptolemy Lagus in Egypt.
Some Cypriot kingdoms chose alliance with Ptolemy, others sided with the Antigonus, yet others tried to remain neutral, leading to inevitable controversy and confrontation.
Other kings of Cyprus, however, including Praxippos of Lapithos and Kyrenia, the Poumiaton (Pygmalion) of Kition and Stasioikos of Marion, allied themselves with Antigonus.
Salamis extended its authority throughout eastern, central and northern Cyprus, since Kition and Lapithos were absorbed into it and Tamassos already belonged.
Furthermore, Nicocreon of Salamis took office as chief general in Cyprus with the blessing of Ptolemy, effectively making him master of the whole island.
Soon, King Nicocles of Paphos was considered suspect; he was besieged and forced to suicide, and his entire family put to death (312 BCE).
It was ruled by a series of governors sent from Egypt and sometimes formed a minor Ptolemaic kingdom during the power struggles of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.
From 22 BCE onwards, Cyprus was a senatorial province "divided into four districts centred around Paphus, Salamis, Amathus and Lapethus.
After forces were sent to Cyprus and the uprising was put down, a law was passed that no Jews were permitted to land on Cyprian soil, even in cases of shipwreck.
Amphorae found at Alaminos-Latourou Chiftlik and Dreamer's Bay, indicate that the oil produced in these areas was mostly used locally or shipped to nearby towns.
