Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus
Encyclopedia
The ten city-kingdoms of ancient Cyprus
were the Greek
, Graeco-Phoenicia
n or Graeco-Eteocypriot
, states listed in an inscription of the Assyria
n king Esarhaddon
in 673-672 BC:
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
were the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Graeco-Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n or Graeco-Eteocypriot
Eteocypriot
Eteocypriot was a pre-Indo-European language spoken in Iron Age Cyprus. The name means "true" or "original Cyprian" parallel to Eteocretan, both of which names are used by modern scholarship to mean the pre-Greek languages of those places. Eteocypriot was written in the Cypriot syllabary, a...
, states listed in an inscription of the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n king Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon , was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramean queen Naqi'a , Sennacherib's second wife....
in 673-672 BC:
- PaphosPaphosPaphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
, Πάφος (Greek) - SalamisSalamis, CyprusSalamis was an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km north of modern Famagusta. According to tradition the founder of Salamis was Teucer, son of Telamon, who could not return home after the Trojan war because he had failed to avenge his...
, Σαλαμίς (Greek) - SoloiSoli, Cyprusthumb|right|250px|Map showing the 10 ancient city Kingdoms of CyprusSoli or Soloi is an ancient Greek city in the island of Cyprus, located south-west of Morphou and on the coast in the gulf of Morphou and dates back to about the 6th century BC...
, Σόλοι (Greek) - KourionKourionKourion , also Curias or Latin: Curium, was a city in Cyprus, which endured from antiquity until the early Middle Ages. Kourion is situated on the south shores of the island to the west of the river Lycus , 16 M. P. from Amathus. , and was recorded by numerous ancient authors including Ptolemy...
, Κούριον (Greek) - ChytroiChytrithumb|right|250px|Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of CyprusChytri was one of the ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus in antiquity. It was beautifully located in the centre of the island, in the territory of Chytraea, west of Mesaoria. Today the modern town of Kythrea has preserved the ancient...
, Χῦτροι (Greek) - Kition, Κίτιον (Graeco-Phoenician)
- AmathusAmathusAmathus was one of the most ancient royal cities of Cyprus, on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles west of Larnaca and 6 miles east of Limassol...
, Ἀμαθούς (Graeco-Eteocypriot) - IdalionIdaliumIdalium was an ancient city in Cyprus, near modern Dali, Nicosia District. Idalium was one of 10 Cypriot kingdoms. The city was founded by the Achaean-Greeks and their king Chalcanor after the Trojan war . The Achaeans were traveling all night and one soldier when he first saw the sun said “idou...
, Ἰδάλιον (Greek) - LedraLedrathumb|right|250px|Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of CyprusLedra , also spelt Ledrae was an ancient city-kingdom located in the centre of Cyprus where the capital city of Nicosia is today. It was established in 1050 BC but by Hellenistic times it had dwindled to a small village...
i, Λῆδραι (Greek) - TamassosTamassosthumb|right|250px|Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of CyprusTamassos is an ancient Greek city-state of great archaeological significance in the central vicinity of Cyprus, located approximately 21 kilometeres south-west of the capital city of Nicosia.-Ancient Tamassos:The city-state prospered...
, Ταμασσός (Greek) - KyreniaKyreniaKyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
, Κυρηνεία (Greek) - LapethosLapithosLapithos or Lapethos is a town of Kyrenia District on the northern coast of Cyprus. According to Strabo, the settlement was founded by Spartans. In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians...
, Λάπηθος (Greek, Graeco-Phoenician for a short while) - MarionMarion, Cyprusthumb|right|250px|Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of CyprusMarion was one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. It was situated in the north-west of the island in the Akamas region, close to the present town of Polis. Both Strabo and Pliny the Elder mention the city in their writings.The city...
, Μάριον (Greek)