Ancient history of Cyprus

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The ancient history of Cyprus shows a precocious sophistication in the Neolithic era visible in settlements such as at Choirokoitia dating from the 9th millennium BC, and at Kalavassos from about 7500 BC.

Periods of Cyprus's ancient history from 1050 BC have been named according to styles of pottery as follows:

  • Cypro-Geometric I: 1050–950 BC
  • Cypro-Geometric II: 950–850 BC
  • Cypro-Geometric III: 850–700 BC
  • Cypro-Archaic I: 700–600 BC
  • Cypro-Archaic II: 600–475 BC
  • Cypro-Classical I: 475–400 BC
  • Cypro-Classical II: 400–323 BC

The documented history of Cyprus begins in the 8th century BC. The town of Kition, now Larnaka, recorded part of the ancient history of Cyprus on a stele that commemorated a victory by Sargon II (722–705 BC) of Assyria there in 709 BC.[1][2] Assyrian domination of Cyprus (known as Iatnanna by the Assyrians) appears to have begun earlier than this, during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BC),[3] and ended with the fall of the Neo Assyrian Empire in 609 BC, whereupon the city-kingdoms of Cyprus gained independence once more. Following a brief period of Egyptian domination in the sixth century BC, Cyprus fell under Persian rule. The Persians did not interfere in the internal affairs of Cyprus, leaving the city-kingdoms to continue striking their own coins and waging war amongst one another, until the late-fourth century BC saw the overthrow of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great.

Jug with Scenic Decoration, Cyprus, 800–600 BC, Neues Museum, Berlin

Alexander's conquests only served to accelerate an already clear drift towards Hellenisation in Cyprus.[4] His premature death in 323 BC led to a period of turmoil as Ptolemy I Soter and Demetrius I of Macedon fought together for supremacy in that region, but by 294 BC, the Ptolemaic kingdom had regained control and Cyprus remained under Ptolemaic rule until 58 BC, when it became a Roman province. During this period, Phoenician and native Cypriot traits disappeared, together with the old Cypriot syllabic script, and Cyprus became thoroughly Hellenised. 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]

  1. ^ "Prism | British Museum".
  2. ^ Yon, M., Malbran-Labat, F. 1995: "La stèle de Sargon II à Chypre", in A. Caubet (ed.), Khorsabad, le palais de Sargon II, roi d’Assyrie, Paris, 159–179.
  3. ^ Tadmor, Hayim (2011). The royal inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726–722 BC), kings of Assyria / Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada ; with the editorial assistance of Jamie Novotny. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575062204.
  4. ^ Gjersad, Einar (1979). The Phoenician Colonization and Expansion in Cyprus.
  5. ^ Viola, Frank (2004). The untold story of the New Testament church : an extraordinary guide to understanding the New Testament. Shippensburg, Pa.: Destiny Image. ISBN 0-7684-2236-1.