Roman Cyprus


Roman Cyprus was a small senatorial province of the Roman Empire. It possessed several well known religious sanctuaries and figured prominently in Eastern Mediterranean trade, particularly the production and trade of Cypriot copper. The island of Cyprus was situated at a strategically important position along Eastern Mediterranean trade routes, and had been controlled by various imperial powers throughout the first millennium BC, including the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, and Macedonians. Cyprus was annexed by the Romans in 58 BC, but turbulence and civil war in Roman politics did not establish firm rule in Cyprus until 31 BC when Roman political struggles were ended by the Battle of Actium. Cyprus was assigned the status of a senatorial province in 22 BC. From then until the 7th century AD, Cyprus was controlled by the Romans. Cyprus officially became part of the Eastern Roman Empire in 293 AD.
Under Roman rule, Cyprus was divided into four main districts, Salamis, Paphos, Amathus, and Lapethos. Paphos was the capital of the island throughout the Roman period until Salamis was re-founded as Constantia in 346 AD. The geographer Ptolemy recorded the following Roman cities: Paphos, Salamis, Amathus, Lapethos, Kition, Kourion, Arsinoe, Kyrenia, Chytri, Karpasia, Soli, and Tamassos, as well as some smaller cities scattered throughout the island.

Timeline

  • 88 BC - Ptolemy X Alexander I bequeathes Egypt and Cyprus to the Roman Republic; the Romans choose not to act on this will and Cyprus passes to the next Ptolemaic heir.
  • 88–58 BC - Reign of King Ptolemy of Cyprus
  • 58 BC - Cato the Younger implemented the lex Clodia de Cypro making Cyprus part of the Roman province of Cilicia; Cato was proconsul of Cyprus from 58–56 BC.
  • 52–51 BC - Cicero, becomes proconsul of Cilicia and Cyprus.
  • 47 BC - Cyprus was restored under the Egyptian rule of Cleopatra.
  • 31 BC - Battle of Actium, Marc Antony and Cleopatra were defeated by Augustus and Cyprus returns to Roman rule.
  • 22 BC - Cyprus became a senatorial province separate from Cilicia with Nea Paphos as its capital.
  • 21–12 BC - Cypriot calendar created in honor of Augustus and the imperial family.
  • 18, 17 and 15 BC - Sizable earthquakes, the worst being in 15 BC which destroyed most of Paphos.
  • 2 BC - Revisions were made to Cypriot calendar.
  • 16 AD - Another large earthquake caused damage across the island.
  • 45 AD - Christian mission of Paul and Barnabas throughout the island.
  • 49 AD - Barnabas visited a second time.
  • 65/66 AD - Kourion's Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates rebuilt after earthquake.
  • 66 AD - Paphos was given the title Claudian.
  • 70 AD - Destruction of Jerusalem and influx of Jews into Cyprus.
  • 76/77 AD - Large-scale rebuilding after destructive earthquakes.
  • 116 AD - Jewish Revolt at Salamis
  • 269 AD - Brief Gothic Invasion
  • 293 AD - Diocletian reorganizes the Roman Empire into East and West regions; Cyprus falls under the East.
  • 342 AD - Salamis and Paphos were destroyed by a massive earthquake.
  • 346 AD - Salamis was refounded as Constantia, the capital of Cyprus.
  • 365 AD - Earthquake destroyed Kourion.

    Roman conquest of Cyprus

Cyprus had been a part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom prior to becoming a Roman province. Ptolemy X Alexander I bequeathed his kingdom, which at the time included Egypt and Cyprus, to the Roman Republic upon his death in 88 BC. However, the Roman Senate was reluctant to accept the kingdom as it was feared that whoever was sent to conquer the Ptolemaic Kingdom might become too powerful and threaten the democratic principles of the republic. From 88 to 58 BC, Cyprus was ruled by King Ptolemy, son of the King of Egypt, Ptolemy IX Soter, who had succeeded Ptolemy X. After Ptolemy refused to put up ransom when Publius Clodius Pulcher was kidnapped by Cilician pirates, Pulcher accused the king of colluding with pirates. This accusation provided a pretext for the annexation of Cyprus by the Roman Republic. The lex Clodia de Cypro was passed by the plebeian council in 58 BC and Cato the Younger was sent to annex Cyprus and serve as its new governor. Cato sent envoys ahead to offer Ptolemy the distinctive position of the High Priest at the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Paphos but Ptolemy refused and instead killed himself.
Cyprus was abruptly annexed by Rome and Cyprus was added to the Roman province of Cilicia. Cato sold much of the royal possessions and brought back 7,000 talents to Rome after taking his share of the profits. During this time Cyprus was exploited by the Roman rulers who saw positions in the provinces as a stepping stone in Roman politics.
In 51 BC Cicero was made proconsul in Cilicia, which included Cyprus. His proconsulship was sympathetic to the Cpyriots. However, by the end of his proconsulship Rome was engulfed in Caesar's civil war. In 47 BC, after coming to the aid of Cleopatra of Egypt in a civil war against her brother Ptolemy XIII, Julius Caesar agreed to return control of Cyprus to the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Caesar appointed Cleopatra's younger siblings Arsinoe IV and Ptolemy XIV as joint rulers of Cyprus.
Mark Antony and Octavian were struggling for power after Julius Caesar's death and, in 40 BC, Antony reaffirmed that Cleopatra was ruler of Cyprus at the Donations of Alexandria. The Battle of Actium in 31 BC marked the end of the War of Actium, resulting in Octavian gaining control of all of Egypt and Cyprus. Cyprus was left under control of Octavian's legate until it could be further dealt with. In 22 BC Cyprus was separated from the Cilicia and became a senatorial province without a standing army.

Overview

Cyprus was divided into four regions with thirteen known cities with Nea Paphos becoming the capital. Cyprus was allowed a large amount of autonomy remaining mainly Greek in culture while adopting and adapting Roman customs. No Roman colonies were established on the island. During this time period there are very few primary literary sources that mention Cyprus, let alone provide a detailed history. However, epigraphic and archaeological evidence indicates thriving economic, culture and civic life in Cyprus throughout the Roman period.
In 45 AD Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas visited Cyprus as part of Paul's first missionary journey to convert people to Christianity. Barnabas returned for a second visit in 49 AD but the spread of Christianity was slow, especially in the rural areas. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Emperor Vespasian, and his son Titus there was a large influx of Jewish refugees into Cyprus. In 115–117 AD a widespread Jewish revolt resulted in tens of thousands of deaths in Cyprus and around the eastern empire and in the expulsion of Jews from Cyprus. In 269 AD there was a brief Gothic invasion throughout the eastern empire including Cyprus. In 293 AD Cyprus became part of the Eastern Empire as the Roman Empire was divided under the Diocletianic reforms.

Roman military on Cyprus

There was very little significant Roman military presence on Cyprus, with the exception of two notable incidents; a local council was barricaded into their own council house by an equestrian troop and the Jewish massacre at Salamis which required outside military intervention. The proconsul had a legatus subordinate, which points to at least a token military presence, but there is almost no evidence of there being anything larger than the praetorian bodyguards on the island.
Every province of the Roman Empire was required to send men to fill the ranks of the Roman army as conscripts and Cyprus was no exception. The Cypriots contributed some 2,000 men to the foreign auxilia at any one time, but there are no notable military figures from Cyprus. There were two cohorts of auxiliary troops that performed well enough to be given the honor of citizenship before their 25 years of service was up, but other than those there is no other known outstanding Cypriot units.

Roman administrative system

The Roman administrative system was also fairly light; it seems that only unfavored citizens were sent to govern the island. The basic structure consisted of a proconsul at the top representing the Roman Senate and the emperor with two assistants in the form of a legatus and a quaestor. The proconsul had several duties, including:
  • High court judicial duties; if the magistrate and the local council couldn't rule on it, it was brought to the proconsul
  • Investing the high priest with his power as the representative for the emperor
  • Consecrating imperial statues and buildings in the name of the emperor
  • Promoting public and civic works such as aqueducts, roads, and centers of entertainment
  • Deciding on funding for "extravagant projects" such as honorary equestrian statues or repaving sanctuaries
  • Responsible for the internal security of the island
The Cypriots were essentially peaceful; there is no mention of outlaws needing to be dealt with or crimes severe enough to need police intervention, there was no real policing force on the island for the proconsul to oversee. The closest thing to a police force was a hipparch in office in Soli under Hadrian's rule, but this seems to have been a temporary situation.
Under the proconsul and the legate were the local councils; these were led by archons who were elected annually from among the members of the council. There were several other positions associated with the councils, but they were all local officials and not directly part of the Roman administrative structure.
The quaestor handled tax collection on the island; he had a board of ten Cypriots in each city to help him with his duties. In addition to this force, there were publicani who would bid for the right to collect taxes in each region.
The terms of office for the proconsul and the legate were staggered with that of the quaestor, that is to say the proconsul and the legate would see the last six months of the old quaestor's term and the first six months of the new one's term.