Editing Cyprus (section)

===Prehistoric and ancient period===
{{Main|Prehistoric Cyprus|Ancient history of Cyprus}}

Hunter-gatherers first arrived on Cyprus around 13–12,000 years ago (11,000 to 10,000 BC), based on dating of sites like [[Aetokremnos]] on the south coast and the inland site of Vretsia Roudias.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tsakalos |first1=Evangelos |last2=Efstratiou |first2=Nikos |last3=Bassiakos |first3=Yannis |last4=Kazantzaki |first4=Maria |last5=Filippaki |first5=Eleni |date=2021-08-01 |title=Early Cypriot Prehistory: On the Traces of the Last Hunters and Gatherers on the Island—Preliminary Results of Luminescence Dating |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716100 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=412–425 |doi=10.1086/716100 |issn=0011-3204 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225321/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716100 |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrival of the first humans coincides with the extinction of the {{Convert|75|cm|ft|abbr=on}} high [[Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus]] and {{Convert|1|m}} tall [[Cyprus Dwarf Elephant|Cyprus dwarf elephant]], the only large mammals native to the island.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.asor.org/pubs/books-monographs/swiny.pdf |title=The Earliest Prehistory of Cyprus: From Colonization to Exploitation |publisher=[[American Schools of Oriental Research]] |year=2001 |editor=Stuart Swiny |location=Boston, MA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606210529/http://www.asor.org/pubs/books-monographs/swiny.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Neolithic]] farming communities emerged on the island by around 10,500 years ago (8500 BC).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bar-Yosef Mayer |first1=Daniella E. |last2=Kahanov |first2=Yaacov |last3=Roskin |first3=Joel |last4=Gildor |first4=Hezi |date=2015-09-02 |title=Neolithic Voyages to Cyprus: Wind Patterns, Routes, and Mechanisms |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=412–435 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |issn=1556-4894 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528133150/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Remains of an eight-month-old cat were discovered buried with a human body at a separate [[Neolithic]] site in Cyprus.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |title=Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/health/29iht-29cat.6404420.html |access-date=4 October 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509004708/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/health/29iht-29cat.6404420.html |archive-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old (7500&nbsp;BC), predating [[ancient Egypt]]ian civilisation and pushing back the [[Domestication of the cat|earliest known feline-human association]] significantly.<ref>{{cite news |first=Marsha |last=Walton |title=Ancient burial looks like human and pet cat |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=9 April 2004 |access-date=23 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222092756/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |archive-date=22 December 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of [[Khirokitia]] is a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], dating to approximately 6800&nbsp;BC.<ref>Simmons, A.&nbsp;H. ''Faunal extinction in an island society: pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus''. New York: Springer 1999, p.&nbsp;15. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hCwYwyEBXEAC&pg=PA15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412181518/https://books.google.com/books?id=hCwYwyEBXEAC&pg=PA15|date=12 April 2016}}</ref>

During the Late [[Bronze Age]], from around 1650 BC Cyprus (identified in whole or part as [[Alashiya]] in contemporary texts) became more connected to the wider Mediterranean world driven by the trade in [[copper]] extracted from the Troodos Mountains, which stimulated the development of urbanised settlements across the island, with records suggesting that Cyprus at this time was ruled by "kings" who corresponded with the leaders of other Mediterranean states (like the [[pharaoh]]s of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]], as documented in the [[Amarna letters]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Knapp |first1=A. Bernard |last2=Meyer |first2=Nathan |date=2023-07-01 |title=Merchants and Mercantile Society on Late Bronze Age Cyprus |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724597 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |language=en |volume=127 |issue=3 |pages=309–338 |doi=10.1086/724597 |issn=0002-9114 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118180509/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724597 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first recorded name of a Cypriot king is ''Kushmeshusha'', as appears on letters sent to [[Ugarit]] in the 13th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book |author=Eric H. Cline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_M1bCgAAQBAJ |title=1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed |date=22 September 2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7449-1 |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517121631/https://books.google.com/books?id=_M1bCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the end of the Bronze Age, the island experienced two waves of Greek settlement.<ref>Thomas, Carol G. and Conant, Craig: ''The Trojan War'', pp.&nbsp;121–122. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. {{ISBN|0-313-32526-X}}, 9780313325267.</ref> The first wave consisted of [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean Greek]] traders, who started visiting Cyprus around 1400&nbsp;BC.<ref>[[Andreas G. Orphanides]], "Late Bronze Age Socio-Economic and Political Organization, and the Hellenization of Cyprus", Athens Journal of History, volume&nbsp;3, number&nbsp;1, 2017, pp.&nbsp;7–20</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOwOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Greek Pottery in the Bronze Age |author=A.D. Lacy |page=168 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915234014/https://books.google.com/books?id=YOwOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+cy0013%29 |title=Library of Congress Country Studies. ''Cyprus'' |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |access-date=1 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110091429/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+cy0013%29 |archive-date=10 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> A major wave of Greek settlement is believed to have taken place following the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] of Mycenaean Greece from 1100 to 1050&nbsp;BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from this period.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" /><ref>Thomas, Carol G. ''The Trojan War''. Santa Barbara, CA, US: Greenwood Publishing Group 2005. p.&nbsp;64. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UzASgBf2W10C&pg=PA98] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203171026/https://books.google.com/books?id=UzASgBf2W10C&pg=PA98|date=3 December 2015}}</ref>  Cyprus occupies an important role in [[Greek mythology]], being the birthplace of [[Aphrodite]] and [[Adonis]], and home to [[Cinyras|King Cinyras]], [[Teucer]] and [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]].<ref>Stass Paraskos, The Mythology of Cyprus (London: Orage Press, 2016) p.1f</ref> Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence at [[Kition]], which was under [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyrian]] rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hadjisavvas |first=Sophocles |title=The Phoenician Period Necropolis of Kition, Volume&nbsp;I |year=2013 |publisher=Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/wl/publications/2012/hadjisavvas.html |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111945/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/wl/publications/2012/hadjisavvas.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=9 September 2019 }}</ref> Some [[Phoenicia]]n merchants who were believed to come from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] [[colony|colonised]] the area and expanded the political influence of Kition. After c.&nbsp;850&nbsp;BC, the Phoenicians rebuilt and reused the sanctuaries [at the Kathari site].[[File:Kition, Zeus Keraunios.jpg|thumb|upright|Zeus Keraunios, 500–480 BC, Nicosia museum]]

Cyprus is at a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite book |author=Getzel M Cohen |title=The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands and Asia Minor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnsPcZW4G7YC&pg=PA35 |year=1995 |publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-91408-7 |page=35 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911021830/https://books.google.com/books?id=BnsPcZW4G7YC&pg=PA35 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Anthony Stewart |title=Domes of Heaven: The Domed Basilicas of Cyprus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6ux8tRBHq4C&pg=PA69 |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-549-75556-2 |page=69 |publisher=ProQuest LLC |access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915232126/https://books.google.com/books?id=R6ux8tRBHq4C&pg=PA69 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Michael Spilling |author2=Jo-ann Spilling |title=Cyprus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSQLD985i4C&pg=PA23 |year=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-4855-6 |page=23 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412132426/https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSQLD985i4C&pg=PA23 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was ruled by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] for a century starting in 708&nbsp;BC, before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] rule in 545&nbsp;BC.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" /> The Cypriots, led by [[Onesilus]], king of Salamis, joined their fellow Greeks in the [[Ionia]]n cities during the unsuccessful [[Ionian Revolt]] in 499&nbsp;BC against the Achaemenids. The revolt was suppressed, but Cyprus managed to maintain a high degree of autonomy and remained inclined towards the Greek world.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" /> 
During the whole period of the Persian rule, there is a continuity in the reign of the Cypriot kings and during their rebellions they were crushed by Persian rulers from Asia Minor, which is an indication that the Cypriots were ruling the island with directly regulated relations with the Great King and there was not a Persian [[satrap]].<ref name="Parpas">{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/8861166 |title=Alexander the Great and the Kingdoms of Cyprus – a Reconsideration |access-date=7 August 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807195911/https://www.academia.edu/8861166 |url-status=live |last1=Parpas |first1=Andreas P. }}</ref> The Kingdoms of Cyprus enjoyed special privileges and a semi-autonomous status, but they were still considered vassal subjects of the Great King.<ref name="Parpas"/>

The island was conquered by [[Alexander the Great]] in 333&nbsp;BC and Cypriot navy helped Alexander during the [[siege of Tyre (332 BC)]]. The Cypriot fleet was also sent to help [[Amphoterus (admiral)|Amphoterus]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0530%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D3 |title=Arrian, Anabasis, 3.6.3 |access-date=7 August 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807201301/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0530:book%3D3:chapter%3D6:section%3D3 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, Alexander had two Cypriot generals [[Stasander]] and [[Stasanor]] both from the [[Soli, Cyprus|Soli]] and later both became satraps in Alexander's empire.
Following Alexander's death, the [[Partition of Babylon|division of his empire]], and the subsequent [[Wars of the Diadochi]], Cyprus became part of the [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic empire]] of [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]]. It was during this period that the island was fully [[Hellenization|Hellenised]]. In 58&nbsp;BC Cyprus was acquired by the [[Roman Republic]] and became [[Roman Cyprus]] in 22 BC.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov"/>