Glossary Architecture and settlements
Polity
Also called: polities
A general word for an independent political unit, such as a kingdom, chiefdom or city-state, used when its exact form is uncertain.
Archaeologists of Cyprus use polity because the island's political units are often known only from settlements and objects. For the Late Bronze Age it avoids deciding whether Enkomi, Kition or Kalavasos were independent kingdoms, city-states or parts of one state of Alashiya. For the Iron Age the word covers the city-kingdoms, which included Greek-speaking states, Phoenician Kition and Eteocypriot Amathus.
Related terms
- City-kingdom
One of the small independent kingdoms, each ruled from a city, into which Iron Age Cyprus was divided until about 310 BCE.
- Settlement hierarchy
A ranking of settlements by size and function, from towns down to villages and hamlets, within one region or state.
Where it appears
- Neo-Assyrian Empire and Cyprus
- Cypro-Archaic Cyprus
- Cypro-Geometric Cyprus
- Cypro-Classical Cyprus
- Hittite Empire and Cyprus
- The Minoans
- The Mycenaeans and Cyprus
- The Phoenicians
- Weapons and Armour of Ancient Cyprus
- Architectural Transformations in Ancient Cyprus
- Hellenistic Cyprus
- Late Bronze Age Cyprus
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