Ancient Cyprus : island of conflict?

Abstract

This thesis examines the island of Cyprus during the sixth to fourth centuries B.C. The hypothesis is that during this period, Cyprus had a number of distinct political entities which aligned themselves according to self-interest and the pursuit of economic prosperity. Cyprus was divided into city-kingdoms which were governed by individual monarchs; they were not traditional Greek poleis. But too often, scholars apply broad and general Hellenic political concerns that are not always valid for the island’s locality and circumstances. There is a communis opinio that the island was continuously oppressed by greater powers and that all its states desired unification with the Greek mainland. Certainly Cyprus had a large Greek population and ties to the Hellenic world cannot be refuted. However, to suggest that these ties controlled the objectives and political agendas of the island’s individual city-kingdoms is to ignore the diversity of her population and the economic imperative to connect with Egypt and the Levantine coast. In order to build a clear and balanced perspective of Cypriot political history, the island’s circumstances need to be examined in both the broader context of the eastern Mediterranean and at a local level. This research employs a diachronic and thematic approach examining firstly, Cyprus’ internal dynamics, commercial character and representation prior to the Persian period; secondly, the nature of Cyprus’ relationship with Persia and the extent of local agency; thirdly, Cyprus’ interaction with the Greek mainland in the fifth century B.C.; and finally, the reign of Evagoras I, powerful ruler of the city-kingdom of Salamis from 411 – 374/3 B.C. This research demonstrates that local political agendas were much more influenced by the need to co-exist and trade with the Near East and Asia than by ideological motives of ethnicity and nationalism. Above all they were dictated by the material interests of the island’s city-kingdoms and the personal ambitions of individual monarchs.