The island of Cyprus was situated at a strategically important position along Eastern Mediterranean trade routes, and had been controlled by various imperial powers throughout the first millennium BC, including the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Macedonians, and eventually the Romans.

In 47 BC, after coming to the aid of Cleopatra VII of Egypt in a civil war against her brother Ptolemy XIII, Julius Caesar agreed to return control of Cyprus to the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

[5] The Battle of Actium in 31 BC marked the end of last war of the Roman Republic, resulting in Octavian gaining control of all of Egypt and Cyprus.

Evidence of luxury items acquired through trade, impressively large administrative buildings in cities like Salamis, and richly decorated mansion homes like those found in Paphos point to a thriving economy.

With the port cities acting as distribution centers, Cyprus had connections with other locations across the Mediterranean, and seafaring was an important aspect of Cypriot daily life and culture.

[20] Although the minting and circulation of Cypriot coins has not yet been exhaustively studied, there is sufficient evidence to show widespread trade routes and interaction with other cultures in the Roman world.

These assumptions are based on inscriptions on statues and other dedicatory epigraphical evidence around the island that implies that the Koinon had a presence all over Cyprus, as well as the money and influence to affect many different cities.

The administrative privileges of the Koinon, by the end of the Roman period, included minting its own coins, participating in political relations with Rome, and bestowing honorary distinctions upon notable individuals.

[28] Inscriptions on statues, as previously mentioned, attest to this final function and indicate the fact that the Koinon was most likely a funded organization which received its dues in the form of an annual contribution from each city.

It is easy to see the extent to which politics and religion became intertwined not only with each other, but with society as well; the king maintained control over the Koinon, an administrative body founded by the various cities scattered across Cyprus for the purpose of coordinating religious activities and festivals.

Much of our information about Roman religion on the island comes from five sources: ancient literature, Cypriot numismatics, excavations and archaeological work, epigraphy, and burials.

Each god and goddess named represents a different region of Cyprus; thus, the tablet is basically confirming the entire island's allegiance to the Roman empire.

Evidence of imperial cult through inscriptions can be found as far back as the earliest Ptolemaic rulers, and continue on until 391 A.D., when the Roman emperor Theodosius I outlawed all pagan worship in the empire.

As noted in the Acts of the Apostles 13:1-14:27, on their journey to Paphos, Paul and Barnabas encountered the Roman Proconsul Sergius Paulus and a Jewish sorcerer, Elymas Bar-Jesus.

The earliest account of Paphos as the capital of the island actually comes from "The Acts of the Apostles" in the New Testament, where Paul and Barnabas stayed to preach to Sergius Paulus, who then converted to Christianity.

Acting as a representative body for all of Cyprus' cities, the Koinon was likely founded at Palaiaphos because the Temple of Aphrodite located there hosted a number of religious festivities which attracted Cypriots from all corners of the island.

By the end of the Roman period, the Koinon had gained the power to mint its own coins, bestow honorary titles on important individuals (including erecting statues), determine games and other religious events, and even control politics to a degree.

But Salamis, despite this new harbor, was supplanted by Paphos in the early 2nd century BC as the capital of this island; and this distinction, once lost, was not recovered until AD 346, when the city was re-founded as Constantia.

Also discovered at Salamis was a massive temple to Zeus with a ramp constructed in the late Republican or Augustan times and a vast colonnaded agora, which was in use throughout the Roman Imperial period.

[73] Salamis was destroyed by repeated earthquakes in the middle of the 4th century AD but was quickly rebuilt as a Christian city by the Emperor of Constantinople, Constantius II—hence its new name, Constantia.

[74] Kourion, located on the Southern coast of Cyprus and protected by cliffs on the north and east, was a walled acropolis with a necropolis to the southeast, and a well-preserved stadium and the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates in the west.

They give us insight into the Neronian restoration, repairs done to the Hellenistic theatre under Augustus, the remodeling of the theater into a hunting-theatre under Caracalla, and other important events in the city.

[75] The Sanctuary of Apollo, located approximately 1.5 km (1 mi) west of Kourion[76] was a significant feature of the city, being described as the most impressive cult-centre in Cyprus.

The House of the Achilles Mosaic, with its open courtyard surrounded by rooms on both sides and colonnaded portico to the northeast, was dated to approximately the first half of the fourth century AD and is most notable for the large mosaic depicting the famous Greek myth in which Odysseus, by sounding a false alarm, was able to fool Achilles, then disguised as a woman, to reveal his true identity, thus bringing about his participation in the Trojan War which is famously described in Homer's Iliad.

[77] The stadium, also excavated by the Pennsylvania University Museum, was located in the northwestern region of Kourion with its U-shaped foundation[77] and three entrance gates still standing today and remarkably preserved.

Based on the descriptions of the quake, it appears to have caused a tsunami and has been tentatively given the measurement of 11,[79] other sources state a magnitude 10,[80] on the Modified Mercalli scale of 0 to 12, with 12 indicating total destruction.

Arsinoe's importance depended on its proximity to the south Anatolian coast and the Aegean for trade as well as being a major center of exportation for the Imperial copper mines at Limni through the natural harbor at the site.

The chief deity of the Karpaz Peninsula was Aphrodite Acraea, whose temple was located at the tip of Cape Apostolos Andreas, and farmlands near modern Rizokarpasso were dedicated to the goddess.

[citation needed] Although the site still remains unexcavated (due to its location in the north), the few inscriptions that originated from this area indicate that the city was extremely important from an economical standpoint; so much so, in fact, that Ptolemy says that it is one of the four conventi that divided the island.

Neither temples nor theatres can be found at the site, but it is obvious that the city was accepting of Roman influence because of inscriptions suggesting a gymnasium where the Actaean games were performed in honor of Augustus' victory.