Chronology of ancient Cyprus

Transcription

1 Chronology of ancient Cyprus PROTO-NEOLITHIC First hunter-gatherers NEOLITHIC Arrival of first settlers from the Near East CHALCOLITHIC Earliest metal objects in Cyprus TRANSITIONAL (Philia Culture) Arrival of settlers from Anatolia c BCE c. 7000/ /5500 BCE c. 4000/ BCE c. 2600/ BCE BRONZE AGE Early Bronze Age (Early Cypriot) I c BCE II c BCE III c BCE Middle Bronze Age (Middle Cypriot) I c BCE II c BCE III c BCE Late Bronze Age (Late Cypriot) IA c BCE IB c BCE IIA c BCE IIB c BCE IIC c BCE IIIA c BCE IIIB c BCE IIIC c BCE IRON AGE Geometric (Cypro-Geometric) I c BCE II c BCE III c BCE Archaic (Cypro-Archaic) I c BCE II c BCE Classical (Cypro-Classical) I c BCE II c BCE Hellenistic I c BCE II c BCE Roman I c. 50 BCE 150 CE II c CE

2 The University of Melbourne Cypriot Collection The University of Melbourne has one of the most significant collections of Cypriot antiquities in Australia. It comprises an impressive range of Cypriot Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic and Roman period artefacts dating from the late third millennium BCE to the fourth century CE. The Cypriot Collection is largely the legacy of the late Professor James Stewart, at one time Edwin Cuthbert Hall Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney, and also director of the (University of) Melbourne Cyprus Expedition. Between the late 1930s and his untimely death in 1962, Professor Stewart conducted three lengthy and very productive excavation seasons in Cyprus, as well as purchasing, while visiting the island, many vessels from Cypriot antiquities dealers and from the reserves of the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia. During Professor Stewart s lifetime it was still legally possible for excavators and collectors to bring their finds and acquisitions back to their homelands. Sponsors such as the eminent Melbourne businessman, Walter Beasley, who founded the Australian Institute of Archaeology in 1946, financed the removal of these significant artefact assemblages from Cyprus to Australian universities, museums and other institutions. Pottery is the dominant medium represented in the University of Melbourne s Cypriot Collection, though stone, bronze and copper artefacts are also featured. In 1987 the university purchased from the Australian Institute of Archaeology over 200 objects excavated by Stewart to supplement its already important collection, thus forming an almost complete sequence of ceramic development from the island of Cyprus spanning some two and a half millennia.

3 Ancient Cyprus From the beginnings of civilisation, Cyprus played an important regional role and developed a unique and distinctive culture. Situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the island was a meeting place for the major civilisations of the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Assyria and Persia to the east, Anatolia to the north, Egypt to the south, and Greece and Rome to the west. The island of Cyprus encompasses an area of 9251 square kilometres, and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. Two features dominate the island: the Kyrenia mountain range in the north and the imposing Troodos massif in the south. In antiquity, dense forests of pine, cedar and cypress covered the countryside. The tall timber provided fuel for smelting metals, especially copper, as well as wood for ship-building. Orchards of pomegranates, figs, almonds and pistachios flourished throughout the hillsides. Classical sources, such as the work of Strabo, record that Cyprus produced abundant wine, oil and grain, and possessed extensive copper mines. Autumn rainfall, melting winter snow and precipitation prompted by the ancient wooded landscape provided abundant water for the island s various river systems. During the warmer months, prevailing winds and currents together with the island s numerous natural harbours encouraged contact with the mainland. Cyprus is visible on clear days from the coast of Turkey, only 64 kilometres to the north, and Syria, 96 kilometres due east. With the first settlers came domesticated animals, including pigs, goats, sheep, dogs and cats. Oxen appear to have been used as draught animals in prehistoric times; however, cattle were not introduced until about 1900 BCE. From about 1600 BCE there is evidence of horses, although donkeys and asses appear earlier in the archaeological record. Unlike the neighbouring countries of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wild animals such as tigers and lions are not native to Cyprus, but the horned ovine mouflon is attested from very early times, and is still the national animal of the country. Bird life, made up mostly of migratory species, was abundant. Some indication of the different seasonal birds, like the aquatic winter varieties, may be gained from their depiction on ancient Cypriot ceramics.

4 Cyprus in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age The earliest human occupation on Cyprus dates to around c BCE. Simple hearths and stone tools are included among other evidence of small communities of hunter-gatherers found on the south coast of the island. About two thousand years later, the first settlers from the Syro-Palestinian coast arrived. They established simple settlements along the coastline and in river valleys close to arable land and water supplies. These groups practised agriculture, supplemented by hunting and fishing, and they mostly buried their deceased within their villages. Gaps in the archaeological record suggest that settlement at this time was sparse and sporadic. In the Chalcolithic period (c. 4000/ BCE) the island became more densely populated. Associated with this period was the increasing use of metal, and also innovations in industries, such as worked stone for miniature figurines. Changes in burial practices may also be discerned at this time, with the introduction of cemeteries remote from the settlements. A major change may be detected in metalwork and pottery around 2500 BCE, marking the beginning of the Bronze Age. The material culture from this period reflects some external influences that can be traced to southern Anatolia. Known to archaeologists as the Philia Culture, this development in Cyprus has been linked with the arrival of displaced people forced to flee the mainland several centuries earlier. Around this time native Cypriot communities adopted the pottery producing methods of the newcomers but used different shapes and decorative techniques. This Early Bronze Age culture, typified by the Red Polished wares found at the cemetery of Vounous, quickly spread to other parts of the island. It was not until the Late Bronze Age (c BCE) that significant changes occurred as a consequence of exchange and trade contacts with other Mediterranean regions. Locally made Cypriot goods were exported, often contained in the pottery vessels for which the island was becoming noted. From around 1500 BCE Cyprus enjoyed a period of great prosperity and close relations were maintained with the Near East, Egypt and the Greek and Aegean world, whose influence on Cypriot ceramics became apparent. Foremost among the Cypriot exports was copper, in demand throughout the eastern Mediterranean region, largely as a component of bronze.

5 Cyprus in the Iron Age A dark age descended over the entire Mediterranean in the late thirteenth and early twelfth centuries BCE, caused by the mass movement of people generally known as the Sea Peoples. This triggered a period of economic recession and decline as a result of the disruption to trade causing a shortage in the supply of copper and tin. People in some parts of the Near East were forced to abandon a settled urban way of life and take up a nomadic existence. While the Sea Peoples are often blamed for causing these severe disruptions, it has been suggested that environmental factors, such as drought and famine, may have contributed to the social upheaval. One thing is certain, namely that literacy was one of the casualties of this period. The term dark age refers in part to this, but also to the discontinuity in material culture between c and 900 BCE, which is a feature of this complicated period. A revival of Cypriot culture in the mid-ninth century BCE may be linked to the arrival of merchants from Phoenicia. This was followed by a period of strong interaction between Cyprus and north Syria. A succession of foreign overlords, from Assyria ( BCE), Egypt ( /5 BCE) and Persia (from 526/5 BCE) marks the Archaic period ( BCE). At this time the island comprised a series of autonomous city-kingdoms ruled by Cypriot kings, some of whom had Greek names. The Phoenicians, who had always ruled at Kition, increased their political influence in the fifth century BCE and briefly seized the throne of the most powerful (Greek) kingdom of Salamis. The different city-kingdoms, whether ruled by Greeks, Phoenicians or native Cypriots, increased in prosperity based on intensifying and wide-ranging commercial connections. An indication of this economic success is provided by the coinage these centres started to mint by the end of the sixth century BCE. Several Cypriot attempts at liberation from Persian rule, beginning in 498/7 BCE, were unsuccessful, despite military support from Phoenicia and Egypt. The result was a period of almost complete Persian domination of all Cypriot city-kingdoms by 344/3 BCE. It was not until the campaigns of Alexander the Great, following the Greek victory at the Battle of Issos in 333 BCE, that Persian control of Cyprus finally ended.

6 Cypriot pottery Pottery vessels were produced in Cyprus from as early as 4500 BCE, and the small island sustained a lively and distinctive culture in ceramic production right down to Hellenistic and Roman times. In the Early and Middle Bronze Age, Red Polished ware vessels dominated the ceramic repertoire. The pots were hand-made and often decorated with incised patterns. By controlling the firing conditions it was possible to produce vessels with red and black surfaces. The Middle Bronze Age was marked by the appearance of a new tradition of painted wares, the most common of which was known as White Painted ware, characterised by vessels with white surfaces that were decorated with painted linear patterns in red or brown. In the Late Bronze Age hand-made pottery continued and Base Ring and White Slip became the dominant wares. Base Ring, named after the ring-shaped bases applied to nearly every vessel, had thin walls that were often covered by a highly polished brownish slip. The White Slip wares were often decorated with linear patterns in orange, brown or black, or combinations of two colours. During the Late Bronze Age, presumably as a result of contact with neighbouring lands, wheel-made pottery was introduced. Over the two following periods, the Geometric and Archaic periods, two of the most distinctive wheel-made products were Bichrome ware, on which geometric and floral patterns and figured scenes were painted in red and black, and Red Lustrous ware. The arrival of Phoenician settlers in the mid-ninth century BCE was probably the reason for changes in the ceramic repertoire. Red Slip and Black on Red ware imitated shapes and patterns of Phoenician origin. During this period the quality of Cypriot pottery improved significantly and pictorial styles of decoration were attempted. The practice of elaborately painting vases lost favour to less time-consuming methods during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. New shapes and styles were introduced such as terra sigillata, a fine red slip ware, which was often decorated with mould-pressed motifs.

7 Cyprus in the Hellenistic and Roman periods In 333 BCE the Cypriot city-kingdoms submitted to Alexander the Great, bringing to an end more than two hundred years of Persian control. Following Alexander s death in 323 BCE, his generals struggled for control of Cyprus, and a number of cities on the island were destroyed. Eventually, in 294 BCE, Ptolemy, one of Alexander s generals, annexed Cyprus and the island became part of the Hellenistic monarchy of Egypt. Successive Ptolemaic rulers maintained control of Cyprus and the separate Cypriot states unified. For the first time the whole island became one nation, with Paphos as the most important city. During this period the island was exposed to Hellenistic ideas and cultural influences from the Greek world. Throughout the third century BCE there was intense rivalry between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings, particularly over Syria. Dynastic schisms became a recurrent feature of the Ptolemaic period. With this lack of stability in the region, Rome intervened in the affairs of the eastern Mediterranean and by 58 BCE Cyprus was absorbed into the Roman Empire. During Roman rule Paphos retained its position as the island s principal city. Amathus and Salamis were the two other major Roman centres. Numerous large-scale public buildings, such as temples, gymnasia, theatres, baths and aqueducts, were erected, especially in the Antonine and Severan periods (midsecond to early third century CE). In sculpture, ceramics and glassmaking, local Cypriot producers followed styles common to the whole of the Roman world. Under Roman rule the island s natural resources were actively exploited. When Byzantium, renamed Constantinople, replaced Rome as the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 CE, Cyprus was allocated to the new capital in the east. Coinciding with these events was the establishment of Christianity as the official Roman religion, marking the beginning of a new era in the island s history. Cyprus retained its position as an important link in the main maritime routes across the eastern Mediterranean, and its prosperity declined only when the Arabs disrupted these routes in the seventh century CE.

8 Religion and burial customs in ancient Cyprus Little is known about the religious beliefs of prehistoric Cyprus. The earliest idols found at Neolithic sites were human or animal heads chiselled out of stone. Evidence of the strong religious importance of fertility, common to many Bronze Age Mediterranean civilisations, may be inferred from the charms and figurines of fertility goddesses and phallic symbols that appear frequently in the archaeological record. Ancient Cyprus was also influenced by the religious ideas from neighbouring lands. Sanctuaries, many with Near Eastern references, started to appear on the island with a major period of construction around 1200 BCE. Most were close to settlements and some located near industrial sites associated with copper production. Installations and objects associated with these sanctuaries, such as altars and figurines, provide some indication of the religious customs of ancient Cyprus. Among the dedications were small copper ingots and bronze statuettes. The figures include males wearing horned helmets and females with hands clutching their breasts, both standing on ox-hide shaped ingots. These figures are thought to represent divine protectors, possibly of the important copper industry. In the later periods local cults were assimilated with foreign gods and goddesses. The earliest Cypriot settlers buried their dead under the floors of their houses or in simple pits; cremation was an extremely rare practice. Pit burials remained common until about 2500 BCE when rock-cut tombs first appeared in clearly designated cemeteries. Grave goods, most frequently in the form of pottery vessels, were placed inside the tomb chambers. Rock-cut tombs with minor variations remained the normal grave type for the ordinary citizens of Cyprus until the end of the Roman era. During the latter periods burial customs changed little, although the use of stone sarcophagi and grave markers, such as tomb stones and statues, became more common. Towards the end of the fourth century BCE, tomb chambers tended to become more rectangular, with niches in the sides and masonry-lined entrances. Under the Romans, small pillars or cippi, with inscriptions on their shafts, marked the graves of the social elite. Commonly, a tomb was used for more than one generation, and this accounts for the conservatism of burial customs on ancient Cyprus.

9 Cypriot trade Cyprus s status as a major trading post in antiquity was in effect predetermined by its geographical location, although the island was a largely isolated culture until the Early and Middle Bronze Age. At this time, contacts began to be established initially with Crete, and subsequently Greece, Syria and Palestine in the Near East, Egypt, and eventually southern Anatolia. By the Late Bronze Age, these regions were the recipients of various Cypriot exports, including both unworked materials and finished products. During the fourteenth century BCE copper was exported to the Aegean and beyond, possibly along with grain, textiles and timber. Cyprus, in turn, imported raw materials and finished articles in gold, ivory and faience from the Near East and Egypt, along with quantities of pottery from Mycenaean Greece. It is likely that the trade routes were controlled by independent entrepreneurs at this time. In the Iron Age, international contact was mainly seen in artistic influences rather than direct trade in objects. By 950 BCE pottery from Athens and Euboea had begun appearing in Cyprus, and soon after Cypriot exports and bronze-working expertise became evident in Euboea. Crete received foreign wares via Cyprus, and also Cypriot goods during this time. The island played an increasingly important role in international trade during the Archaic period, especially between the Near East and the western Mediterranean. Cyprus imported eastern Greek pottery and exported goods to the Aegean, Phoenicia and Egypt, and from 526/5 BCE the inclusion of the island in the Persian Empire encouraged close contacts with the east Greek cities of Asia Minor (Turkey). With the triumph of Alexander the Great in 333 BCE, came imports of fine glass and pottery from Syria and Asia Minor. Under Roman rule in the second century CE local Red Slip pottery was exported to the east and west. The mid-first century saw the technology of glass-blowing reach Cyprus and exports were sent to the Black Sea, the Greek world and northern Italy. In Roman times Cyprus maintained its position as a pivotal link in the seaborne trade systems of the Mediterranean.

10 Map of Cyprus Mediterranean Sea Stephania Palealona Lapatsa Vounous Kyrenia Range Ayios Iakovos Dhenia Nicosia Troodos Mountains Khirokitia Mediterranean Sea