Cyprus ANCIENT PERIOD
Figure 2. Ancient and Medieval Sites
Human settlements existed on Cyprus as early as 5800
B.C.,
during the Neolithic Era or New Stone Age. The Neolithic
Cypriots'
origin is uncertain. Some evidence, including artifacts of
Anatolian obsidian, suggests that the setters were related
to the
peoples of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). The discovery
of copper
on the island around 3000 B.C. brought more frequent
visits from
traders. Trading ships were soon bringing settlers to
exploit the
mineral wealth.
During the long progression from stone to bronze, many
Neolithic villages were abandoned, as people moved inland
to settle
on the great plain (the Mesaoria) and in the foothills of
the
mountains. Also during this era of transition, Cypriot
pottery was
distinctive in shape and design, and small figurines of
fertility
goddesses appeared for the first time. During the same
period,
Cypriots were influenced by traders from the great Minoan
civilization that had developed on Crete, but, although
trade was
extensive, few settlers came to Cyprus. The Minoan traders
developed a script for Cypriot commerce, but unfortunately
extant
examples still await decipherment. The cultural advances,
thriving
economy, and relative lack of defenses invited the
attention of
more powerful neighbors, and during the Late Bronze Age
(about 1500
B.C.), the forces of the Egyptian pharaoh, Thutmose III,
invaded
the island.
After 1400 B.C., Mycenaean and Mycenaean-Achaean
traders from
the northeastern Peloponnesus began regular commercial
visits to
the island. Settlers from the same areas arrived in large
numbers
toward the end of the Trojan War (traditionally dated
about 1184
B.C.). Even in modern times, a strip of the northern coast
was
known as the Achaean Coast in commemoration of those early
settlers. The newcomers spread the use of their spoken
language and
introduced a script that greatly facilitated commerce.
They also
introduced the potter's wheel and began producing pottery
that
eventually was carried by traders to many mainland
markets. By the
end of the second millennium B.C., a distinctive culture
had
developed on Cyprus. The island's culture was tempered and
enriched
by its position as a crossroads for the commerce of three
continents, but in essence it was distinctively Hellenic.
It is to
this 3,000 years of Hellenic tradition that the
present-day Greek
Cypriots refer when arguing either for enosis or for their
own
dominance in an independent state.
Later Greek poets and playwrights frequently mention
the early
influences of Cyprus. Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and
beauty,
was said to have been born out of the sea foam on the
island's west
coast. The most important of many temples to Aphrodite was
built at
Paphos, where the love goddess was venerated for
centuries, and
even in modern times young women visited the ruins to make
votive
offerings and to pray for good marriages or fertility
(see
fig. 2,
Ancient and Medieval Aites). Aphrodite is mentioned by
Homer in the
Iliad and Odyssey, as is a Cypriot king,
Kinyras, of
Paphos.
The Late Bronze Age on Cyprus was characterized by a
fusion of
the indigenous culture and the cultures brought by
settlers from
the mainland areas. This fusion took place over a long
period and
was affected by shifting power relationships and major
movements of
peoples throughout the eastern Mediterranean area. Cyprus
was
affected particularly by the introduction of iron tools
and
weapons, signaling the end of the Bronze Age and the
beginning of
the Iron Age, near the end of the second millennium B.C.
Iron did
not displace bronze overnight, any more than one culture
immediately displaced another (pockets of native Cypriot
culture,
for example, existed for several more centuries), but the
introduction of iron heralded major economic changes, and
the
numbers of Greek settlers ensured the dominance of their
culture.
An important eastern influence during the early part of
the
first millennium B.C. came from a Phoenician settlement.
The
principal Phoenician concentration was at Kition, the
modern city
of Larnaca, on the southeast coast. Three thousand years
later some
Turks and Turkish Cypriots would try to use such
influences to
prove that eastern cultures predated Greek influence on
the island.
On this basis, modern Cypriots were said to be descended
from
Phoenician Cypriot forebears. Greek Cypriots responded
that, even
though visits by Phoenician traders probably occurred as
early as
the third millennium, colonists did not arrive until about
800 B.C.
The Phoenicians settled in several areas and shared
political
control with the Greeks until the arrival of the
Assyrians.
In 708 B.C. Cyprus encompassed seven independent
kingdoms that
were conquered by the Assyrian king, Sargon II. During the
Assyrian
dominance, about 100 years, Cypriot kings maintained
considerable
autonomy in domestic affairs and accumulated great wealth.
The
number of city-kingdoms increased to ten, one of which was
Phoenician. The Cypriot kings were religious as well as
secular
leaders and generally commanded the city's defense forces.
When
Assyrian power and influence began to decline, near the
end of the
seventh century, Egypt filled the resulting vacuum in
eastern
Mediterranean affairs.
The Egyptian pharaohs had built a powerful fleet of war
ships
that defeated the combined fleets of Phoenicia and Cyprus,
setting
the stage for Egypt's domination of the eastern
Mediterranean.
During the Egyptian ascendancy, the Cypriot kings were
again
allowed to continue in power after pledging themselves
vassals of
the pharaoh. The main impact of Egyptian domination was
the
reorientation of commerce, making Egypt the principal
market for
Cypriot minerals and timber.
When Egypt fell to the Persians in the late sixth
century,
Cyprus was made part of a satrapy of King Darius. By the
time of
Persian domination, Salamis outshone the other
city-kingdoms in
wealth and splendor, and its kings were looked on as first
among
equals. Petty kings ruled at Amathus, Kition, Kyrenia,
Lapithos,
Kourion, Marion, Paphos, Soli, and Tamassos, but
leadership in the
fifth and fourth century struggles against the Persians
stemmed
from Salamis. The king of Salamis, Onesilos, is remembered
as the
hero who died leading the revolt against the Persians in
498 B.C.
The Cypriot kings continued to enjoy considerable
autonomy
while paying tribute to Persia, and were even allowed to
strike
their own coinage. They remained culturally oriented
toward Greece,
and when the Ionians revolted against the Persians, those
of the
Cypriot kings who were Greek also rebelled. The revolt was
suppressed quickly, apparently without retaliation.
In 411 B.C. another Greek Cypriot, Evagoras,
established
himself as king of Salamis and worked for a united Cyprus
that
would be closely tied to the Greek states. By force and by
guile,
the new king brought other Cypriot kingdoms into line and
led
forces against Persia. He also allied the Cypriots with
Athens, and
the Athenians honored him with a statue in the agora. As
the
Salamisian king gained prominence and power in the eastern
Mediterranean (even attacking Persian positions in
Anatolia), the
Persians tried to rid themselves of this threat, and
eventually
defeated the Cypriots. Through diplomacy Evagoras managed
to retain
the throne of Salamis, but the carefully nurtured union of
the
Cypriot kingdoms was dissolved. Although Cyprus remained
divided at
the end of his thirty-seven-year reign, Evagoras is
revered as a
Greek Cypriot of uncommon accomplishment. He brought
artists and
learned men to his court and fostered Greek studies. He
was
instrumental in having the ancient Cypriot syllabary
replaced by
the Greek alphabet. He issued coins of Greek design and in
general
furthered the integration of Greek and Cypriot culture.
Cypriot freedom from the Persians finally came in 333
B.C. when
Alexander the Great decisively defeated Persia at the
Battle of
Issue. A short time later, the Cypriot kings were granted
autonomy
in return for helping Alexander at the siege of Tyre. The
death of
Alexander in 323 B.C. signaled the end of that short
period of
self-government. Alexander's heirs fought over Cyprus, a
rich
prize, for several years, but in 294 B.C. it was taken by
Ptolemy,
one of Alexander's generals, who had established himself
as satrap
(and eventual king) of Egypt. Under the rule of the
Ptolemies,
which lasted for two and one-half centuries, the
city-kingdoms of
Cyprus were abolished and a central administration
established. The
Ptolemaic period, marked by internal strife and intrigue,
was ended
by Roman annexation in 58 B.C..
At first Rome governed the island as part of the
province of
Cilicia, and for a time Cicero, the famous orator, was
governor.
Later, when administration was vested in the Roman Senate,
the
island was governed by a proconsul and divided into four
districts,
Amathus, Lapithos, Paphos, and Salamis. The government
seat was at
Paphos and the center of commerce at Salamis.
Although the object of Roman occupation was to exploit
the
island's resources for the ultimate gain of the Roman
treasury, the
new rulers also brought a measure of prosperity as their
enforced
peace allowed the mines, industries, and commercial
establishments
to increase their activities. The Romans soon began
building new
roads, harbors, and public buildings. Although Paphos
supplanted
Salamis as the capital, the latter retained its glory,
remaining a
center of culture and education as well as of commerce. An
earthquake leveled much of Salamis in 15 B.C., but the
Emperor
Augustus bestowed his favor on the city and had it rebuilt
in the
grand Roman fashion of the time.
Salamis was shattered by earthquakes again in the
fourth
century. Again reconstructed, although on a smaller scale,
the city
never achieved its former magnificence. When its harbor
silted up
in medieval times, it was abandoned to the drifting
coastal sand
that eventually covered it. Twentieth-century
archaeologists have
uncovered much of ancient Salamis, revealing glories from
every
epoch from the Bronze Age to its final abandonment.
The single most important event during Roman rule was
the
introduction of Christianity during the reign of the
Emperor
Claudius. According to tradition, the apostle Paul landed
at
Salamis in A.D. 45, accompanied by Barnabas, also a
convert to
Christianity and an apostle. Barnabas's arrival was a
homecoming;
he was a native of Salamis, of Hellenized Jewish
parentage. The two
missionaries traveled across Cyprus preaching the new
religion and
making converts. At Paphos they converted the Roman
proconsul,
Sergius Paulus, who became the first Roman of noble birth
to accept
Christianity, thus making Cyprus the first area of the
empire to be
governed by a Christian.
In 285 the Emperor Diocletian undertook the
reorganization of
the Roman Empire, dividing its jurisdiction between its
Latin-
speaking and Greek-speaking halves. Diocletian's
successor,
Constantine, accepted conversion and became the first
Christian
Roman emperor. In 324 he established his imperial
residence at
Byzantium, on the shore of the Bosporus. Byzantium was
renamed
Constantinople and eventually became the capital of the
Byzantine
(Eastern) Empire.
Data as of January 1991
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