The Roman Period (30BC - 330AD)

Periods of History : Neolithic Period II / Chalcolithic Period / Aphrodite / Early Bronze Age / Middle Bronze Age / Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age / Archaic Period / Classical Period / Hellenistic Period / Roman Period / Byzantine Period / Frankish Period / Turkish Occupation / British Period / Ethnic Consciousness of the Cypriots

The Roman Period (30BC - 330AD)

In 58 BC the tribune Clodius Pulcher carried a law implemented by Cato, which turned Cyprus into a Roman province attached to that of Cilicia.

During the civil wars, Cyprus was briefly given to Cleopatra of Egypt by Julius Caesar and later by Mark Anthony. It was reverted to Roman rule in 30 BC and in 22 BC became a Senatorial Province.

Pax Romana (Roman peace) was only once disturbed in Cyprus in three centuries of Roman occupation. This serious interruption occurred in 115/6 AD when a revolt by the Jews inspired by Messianic hopes broke out. Their leader was Artemion, a Jew with a hellenised name as was the practice of the time. Historians put the number of those massacred to 240,000. No doubt the number is exaggerated but one must not forget that in Cyprus practically no Roman troops were stationed and this facilitated the Jewish revolt. Soon, however, the then Roman Emperor Trajan, dispatched to Cyprus one of his generals who suppressed the insurrection and expelled all Jews from the island, not allowing them to tread her soil even when ship-wrecked.

No doubt the most important event that occurred in Roman Cyprus is the visit by Apostles Paul and Bar- nabas having with them St Mark who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 AD. After their arrival at Salamis they proceeded to Paphos where they converted to Christianity the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus. In the Acts of the Apostles, St Luke describes vividly how a magician named Bar-Jesus (Elymas) was obstructing the two Apostles in their preaching of the Gospel, so Paul by his word only set him blind for some time. As a result of this, Sergius Paulus believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. In this way Cyprus became the first country in the world to be governed by a Christian ruler.