Kition-Idalion-Tamassos: cities and territories within Cypriot kingdoms during the first millennium BC

• Applicants: Dr. Matthias Recke; Professor Dr. Stephan G. Schmid
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 469387432

During the first half of the first millennium BC, Cyprus was divided in about ten autonomous polities, attested by primary sources (inscriptions and coins) as well as by secondary sources (Greek and Near Eastern texts). While the time of their emergence remains disputed, their disappearance can be dated towards the end of the 4th c. BC when the unified island became a province of Ptolemaic Egypt. Paradoxically, the political fragmentation of the island, which has characterized its long history, has hardly been analysed in its concrete aspects: the territories of the various kingdoms, their limits, their mode of organization (most notably their relationship with the capital-cities) and their diachronic evolution. Researching a regional case study through a multidisciplinary approach, our project aims to go beyond theoretical models. It brings together historians and archaeologists (specialists of material culture and of spatial analysis) for an entirely unique project based on ongoing, interconnected studies of three different kingdoms and tackles the complex issue of cultural and political territories on a new, regional scale.The polities of Kition, Idalion and Tamassos constitute a particularly relevant case study for several reasons. First, the three kingdoms are well documented by historical sources (literary texts and inscriptions): we know that during the Classical period (5th-4th c. BC) the kings of Kition, gained control over Idalion and Tamassos. They are also three singular kingdoms: according to traditional historiography, Kition is the model of the "Phoenician" kingdom; Idalion and Tamassos are "Greek" inland kingdoms without direct access to maritime trade. Furthermore, the three cities and their immediate surroundings are well explored by archaeology, with varied contexts (necropoleis, sanctuaries, domestic areas, palaces, secondary settlements) and abundant material evidence. Finally, they are sites where French and German teams lead field projects.In order to comprehend the history of the three kingdoms, their interrelations as well as the organization of their territorial space in the longue durée, we will mobilize all archaeological and historical sources, by crossing them and by resorting to various disciplinary approaches. The aim is to establish a first milestone for a renewed history of Cyprus in the Iron Age that is attentive to the complexity of regional developments. This first, thorough and comparative study of three neighbouring polities will pave the way for future research on Cypriot kingdoms.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Partner Organisation: Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Anna Cannavò; Privatdozentin Dr. Sabine Fourrier