Roman Cyprus

Roman Cyprus was a minor senatorial province within the Roman Empire. While it was a small province, it possessed several well known religious sanctuaries and figured prominently in Eastern Mediterranean trade, particularly the production and trade of Cypriot copper. As it was situated at a strategically important position along Eastern Mediterranean trade routes, Cyprus was controlled by imperial powers throughout the first millennium B.C. including: the Assyrians, Egyptians, Macedonians, and in particular the Romans. Cyprus was annexed by the Romans in 58 B.C., but until 22 B.C. when Cyprus became an official senatorial province, control over the island fluctuated between the Romans and the Ptolemaic Empire. From the Battle of Actium in 31 BC until the 7th century Cyprus was controlled by the Romans. Cyprus officially became part of the Eastern Roman Empire in 293 AD.