User:Furius/Ptolemaic Cyprus

Cyprus was part of the Ptolemaic kingdom for most of the Hellenistic period. Along with Cyrenaica, it was one of the longest lasting Ptolemaic possessions outside Egypt. The period of Ptolemaic rule was marked by increasing political unification of the island and a greater degree of Hellenisation.

Wars of the Diadochi
Before the Hellenistic period, Cyprus had consisted of a number of city-states, each with their own king. These kingdoms voluntarily joined Alexander the Great's empire in 333 BC. When he died in 323 BC, his generals divided the empire between themselves and war soon broke out between them. In 323 BC, most of the Cypriot kings allied with Ptolemy, who had been appointed satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy intended to use Cyprus as a naval base to prevent his enemies from invading Egypt from the Levant. This was a strategy that had been developed during the wars between Egypt and Persia in the fourth century.


 * 1) Antigonus' invasion. In 315, Ptolemy sent his brother Menelaus to reconquer the island. In 312 BC, Ptolemy dethroned all the kings of Cyprus on suspicion that they favoured Antigonus, except for King Nicocreon of Salamis, whom he put in charge of the whole island. Nicocreon died the next year and Ptolemy's brother Menelaus succeeded him as king of Salamis and governor of the island. The most prestigious of the dethroned kings, Nikokles of Paphos, was accused of corresponding with Antigonus and forced to commit suicide the next year. This marked the end of the traditional system of city-kingdoms which had existed since at least the seventh century BC.

In 306 BC, Antigonus' son, Demetrius Poliorcetes, sailed from Athens, defeated the Ptolemaic fleet at the Battle of Salamis, and took control of Cyprus. Even after his father's empire fell in 301 BC after the Battle of Ipsos, Demetrius' forces retained control of Cyprus. It was only regained by Ptolemaic forces after Demetrius' final defeat in 287 BC.