Alexander The Great & Cyprus

[KingMario85]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly let me say Alexander The Great is my hero & a great source of inspiration for me in my life.

I am a proud Greek Cypriot & I would love to know what Alexander's relationship with Cyprus was in his empire?

The majority of information I can find is related to "the construction of warships for the campaign against the Carthaginians & the others who live along the coast of Libya & Iberia & the adjoining coastal regions as far as Sicily" (SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great)

"To reach the Tyrian walls, the Macedonians built a mole. But the Tyrians still commanded the sea and made the construction extremely difficult. Alexander needed ships to protect the construction, and he was lucky, because Aradus, Tripolis, Byblus, Beirut and Sidon had just recalled their navies. In July, the town was attacked from three sides: the Phoenician fleet destroyed the Tyrian fleet in the "Egyptian port"; Macedonian ships attacked the walls with siege engines; and marines from Cyprus landed in the 'Sidonian port' and forced their way into the city. The siege mole had, after all, been useless" (SOURCE: http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander07.html)

Also, Cyprus was caught in the middle between wars between Persia on the one hand, and Athens and Sparta on the other.

"Apart from its importance as a source of wood for shipbuilding, Cyprus was an important naval base. The Persian Mediterranean naval fleet was based at Cyprus. The Persian fleet that destroyed Sparta's fleet at Knidos in 394 BC set sail from Cyprus. Persian domination ended following the intervention of Alexander the Great and his victory at Tyre."

"The intervention of Alexander the Great ushered in the Hellenistic period. On his death the empire was fought over by Ptolemy and Antigonos. Eventually Ptolemy prevailed. Cyprus was annexed by Egypt with Alexandria as its capital. A governor-general was appointed to run Cyprus. The Cypriot kingdoms were abolished in 312 BC" (SOURCE: http://home.clara.net/heureka/cyprus/history.htm)

So judging from this information my country played a huge role in Alexander's army which fills me with great pride. It seems we were especially handy with regards to naval warfare & the construction of ships.

What really would top it off for me is if Alexander actually ever visited Cyprus? I can't seem to find anywhere yet which says this happened but what do you guys think?

[agesilaos]

No, Alexander never did visit Cyprus, after reducing Tyre he proceeded to Egypt via Gaza and from there left on the Gaugamela campaign. Cyprus was never properly incorporated into the Empire until the Ptolemaic annexation and subsequent Antigonid take over after the battle of Salamis 306BC.

Amyntas and his fugitives from Issos are said by Arrian to have put in there on their way to Egypt, and that may be so, only the late season and the reported bad weather gives me pause; but it may be that they wintered there and awaited the sailing season before moving on to Egypt.However, it is likely that the Cypriot Kings had entered into alliance with Alexander which would make harbouring his enemies dangerous to say the least! One can hypothesise local rivalry leading to their protection or, perhaps, more likely Amyntas pretending to be from Alexander and riding his luck till the sailing season began.

[amyntoros]

....However, it is likely that the Cypriot Kings had entered into alliance with Alexander which would make harbouring his enemies dangerous to say the least! One can hypothesise local rivalry leading to their protection or, perhaps, more likely Amyntas pretending to be from Alexander and riding his luck till the sailing season began.

Am in agreement about the probability of an alliance, although I'm not sure when exactly it might have occurred. According to Strabo XVI.1.11, Alexander had ships built at Cyprus in preparation for invading Arabia, so at the very least there must have been some kind of alliance formed by the time he returned to the west, if not earlier.

Aristobulus relates that Alexander himself, when he was sailing up the river, and directing the course of the boat, inspected the canals, and ordered them to be cleared by his multitude of followers; he likewise stopped up some of the mouths, and opened others. He observed that one of these canals, which took a direction more immediately to the marshes, and to the lakes in front of Arabia, had a mouth very difficult to be dealt with, and which could not be easily closed on account of the soft and yielding nature of the soil; he (therefore) opened a new mouth at the distance of 30 stadia, selecting a place with a rocky bottom, and to this the current was diverted. But in doing this he was taking precautions that Arabia should not become entirely inaccessible in consequence of the lakes and marshes, as it was already almost an island from the quantity of water (which surrounded it). For he contemplated making himself master of this country; and he had already provided a fleet and places of rendezvous; and had built vessels in Phoenicia and at Cyprus, some of which were in separate pieces, others were in parts, fastened together by bolts. These, after being conveyed to Thapsacus in seven distances of a day’s march, were then to be transported down the river to Babylon. He constructed other boats in Babylonia, from cypress trees in the groves and parks, for there is a scarcity of timber in Babylonia. Among the Cossaei and some other tribes, the supply of timber is not great.

Best regards,

[Dr Pat]

People tended not to get into 'Alliances' with Alexander. You either submitted unconditionally and he treated you as his whims dictated, or you resisted and were destroyed (though Porus seems to have come out of it more-or-less OK).
Gotta stay realistic about the guy...he wasn't nice!

[agesilaos]

'Alliance' can have many tones, and one would have to imagine Alexander's with the individual kings of Cyprus as very much along the lines of the Peloponessians with Sparta; pretty one-sided.

However, at the this period he had no time to waste in an amphibious campaign essentially behind his lines, yet would have wanted security against any Persian resurgence; it is also probable that the city states of Asia Minor were placed in the position of allies probably directly of Alexander and not as members of the league of Korinth. Yes, he was brutal but that did not prevent him using the most economical method of control, even if we should see these agreements as fictions the participants were probably grateful for the spin.

[Paralus]

'it is also probable that the city states of Asia Minor were placed in the position of allies probably directly of Alexander and not as members of the league of Korinth.

Mmmm... I'm almost likely to agree with you. Almost. The evidence is the thing...

As for the "League of Corinth", they were bound to ("Allies" of) the Macedonian king.