Ancient CyprusAncient Cyprus

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City-kingdom

One of the small independent kingdoms, each ruled from a city, into which Iron Age Cyprus was divided until about 310 BCE.

Between seven and ten kingdoms shared the island in the Cypro-Archaic and Cypro-Classical periods, among them Salamis, Kition, Amathus, Paphos, Idalion, Tamassos, Marion, Soloi and Lapithos. Each had its own king, capital and sanctuaries, and most struck their own coins. They survived as clients of Assyria, Egypt and Persia, paying tribute while keeping their kings, until Ptolemy I abolished the monarchies around 310 BCE.

'City-kingdom' is a modern shorthand: the Cypriots called their states poleis and their kings basileis, or mlk in Phoenician. When and how the kingdoms formed is one of the main debates of Iron Age archaeology. See Cypro-Classical Cyprus.

Full entry: Cypro-Classical Cyprus

Related terms

  • Basileus

    The Greek word for 'king', used for the rulers of the Cypriot city-kingdoms; the plural is basileis.

  • Esarhaddon's prism

    An Assyrian clay prism inscription of 673/2 BCE naming ten kings of Cyprus: the only complete ancient list of the island's kingdoms.

  • Tribute

    Regular payments of goods, precious metal or services that a subject ruler owed to a more powerful king in return for keeping his throne.

  • Polity

    A general word for an independent political unit, such as a kingdom, chiefdom or city-state, used when its exact form is uncertain.

  • Acropolis

    The high, often fortified part of an ancient city, holding its main temples or palace; from the Greek for 'upper city'.

  • Royal tombs

    The monumental built tombs of the Iron Age kings and elite of Cyprus, best known at Salamis, where horses were killed at the funeral.

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