Salamis – Travel back in time to the Romans with your private guide

Salamis was an Iron Age city-kingdom and ancient city at the mouth of the Pediaios River in Cyprus. It lies on the long bay of Famagusta, only 6 km north of Famagusta.

According to legend, the founder of Salamis was Teukros, son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis of the same name. He is said to have landed in Cyprus after the destruction of Troy, built a temple to Zeus and married Eune, the daughter of Kinyras. His father-in-law, Kinyras, was the father of Adonis.

Discover this place or combine it with Famagusta or Varosha Ghosttown

 

Salamis – A short view to history

From the 11th century BC Salamis took the leading role among the Cypriot city-kingdoms and the relatively small city expanded in the 8th century BC. The old necropolis was built over and a new one was constructed to the south, extending as far as the monastery of St Barnabas.

In the 8th century BC, Phoenician influence increased, indicating intensive trade relations with the Levant and leading to the establishment of the kingdom of Salamis on the Near Eastern model.

The rule of the Assyrians at the end of the 8th century BC is reflected in the increased presence of Middle Eastern elements. The leading role of Salamis during the period of Egyptian suzerainty is attested by the coins of King Euelthon (560-525 BC), on which he refers to himself as the ruler of the island. The history of Salamis was now more closely linked to that of the island as a whole. It played a role in the conflicts with the Persian Empire, in the Ionian revolt and in the disputes over the succession to Alexander the Great.

King Euagoras I was allied with Athens and the Pharaoh Hakor (393-380 BC) and was briefly able to bring Tyros, Sidon and perhaps Dor under his control. Inscriptions in Cypriot archaic script from Dor may date from this period. The last king of Salamis, Nicocreon, committed suicide with his family in 311/310. In 306 BC, Salamis was the site of a decisive naval battle in the Diadochal Wars, in which Antigonus I and his son Demetrios I Poliorketes defeated the Egyptian general Ptolemy I, who had ruled Cyprus until then.

Salamis was the first city in Cyprus to mint coins from around 515 BC. Under the Ptolemies, Paphos replaced Salamis as the most important city on the island.

Cyprus became a Roman colony provisionally from 54 BC and permanently from 31 BC. Around 45-47 AD, Christianity reached Salamis through the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas (the missionaries preached to the Jewish community).

The city’s water supply was provided by an aqueduct from Chrytoi. In 332 and 342 A.D. Salamis was struck by earthquakes, and the earthquake of 432 was accompanied by a tsunami. In 115, according to Cassius Dio, Salamis was destroyed during the Jewish revolt against Emperor Trajan, killing 240,000 inhabitants. Under Constantius II, the city was partially rebuilt and given the name Constantia. In the time of Bishop Epiphanios (368-403 AD) it even replaced Paphos as the island’s metropolis.

An inscription in the Baths of Salamis praises Justinian and Theodora as the renewers of the city. In their time, the baths and the Basilica of Epiphanius were probably renovated and embellished. Marble columns were erected in the Baths, and a column in the centre of the Palaestra probably supported a statue of the imperial couple. In the basilica, the semicircular synthron was erected and the floor was covered with white marble slabs. The Hagia of Nicodemus in Constantia (Holy Fountain) contains inscriptions and murals from the 6th century, including a head of Christ.

Constantia only lasted 300 years. Arab attacks and natural disasters put an end to the city in the mid-7th century and led to the rise of neighbouring Ammochostos, later Famagusta.

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