The development of cities in Cyprus from the Archaic to the Roman period

This dissertation draws upon both written records and archaeological data to trace the political, administrative, and physical development of the Iron Age cities of Cyprus, from their earliest attestation in the 8th c. BCE to late Roman times.; Part One treats Archaic and Classical times. Subdivision (i) examines the evidence for the identity of the Cypriote poleis from ca. 700 to 300 BCE. (ii) describes their form of government. Though under the rule of eastern empires, the cities maintained much internal autonomy through their civic monarchies. Although three very different ethnic groups coexisted in Cyprus, and were dominant in different cities, the form of monarchy was essentially the same in all poleis. The kings ruled absolutely, managing all aspects of government themselves, assisted only by a narrow circle of relatives. (iii) follows the process whereby Ptolemy Soter gained control of Cyprus and suppressed the traditional city monarchies.; Part Two concerns the establishment, under the Ptolemies, of normal Greek political forms in the Cypriote cities, and the continuance of these forms under Roman rule. (i) discusses two inscriptions which illuminate Cyprus' political geography in the Hellenistic period: the early Ptolemies increased the number of cities. (ii) collects the evidence for the physical aspect and governmental institutions of each polis which existed in Hellenistic and Roman times. Attention is paid to such issues as Hellenization of non-Greek cities, and elevation of dependent settlements to full civic status.; Part Three assesses the effectiveness of the city governments in the periods covered. (i) concludes that the Archaic and Classical kings ably maintained their own power and the cities' prosperity. The monarchies had serious weaknesses, however. (ii) argues that though the evidence might suggest that the Hellenistic poleis did little more than erect honorific statues, this impression is no doubt false, and results from the strongly oligarchical nature of the city governments. (iii) maintains that in Roman times the character of city administration was unchanged: civic institutions were not Romanized; prosperity continued. The cities' decline was due to constant warfare over Cyprus in the 7th to 10 c. CE.