What I Saw

03 Mar 2023

The famous geographer Strabo, writes about Cyprus in about 23 AD. Now the Cypriots were first ruled in their "several cities by kings, but since the Ptolemaic kings became lords over Egypt, Cyprus too passed to them, the Romans also contributing often the

The famous geographer Strabo, writes about Cyprus in about 23 AD.

Now the Cypriots were first ruled in their "several cities by kings, but since the Ptolemaic kings became lords over Egypt, Cyprus too passed to them, the Romans also contributing often their help. But when the last Ptolemy who reigned, a brother of the father of Cleopatra, the queen of our time, seemed both unsatisfactory and unthankful to his benefactors, he was deposed therefore, and the Romans occupied the island, and it became a separate imperial province.

The king's ruin was chiefly due to Publius Claudius Pulcher. He fell into the hands of pirates, the Cilicians being then very active, and requiring a ransom he applied to the king begging him to send and ransom him. He sent a very small sum so that the very pirates were ashamed to take it. They sent it back and released Publius without a ransom. When he was safe, he bore in mind against both their favours, and becoming tribune grew so powerful that Marcus Cato was sent to take Cyrprus from its ruler. Ptolemy indeed succeeded in killing himself, but Cato swooped down and seized Cyprus, disposed of the royal property and carried off the money to the common treasury of the Romans.

From that date the island became an imperial province, as it is to-day. For a short interval Antony gave it to Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoe, but when he fell all his arrangements fell with him.

The 'What I saw...' series is made possible with the support of OPAP Cyprus and Active Citizens Fund.

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