Tamassos
Coordinates: 35 ° 1 ′ 30 ″ N , 33 ° 14 ′ 30 ″ E
Tamassos , Assyrian Ta-me-si / su, ancient Greek Ταμασσός , is a city and an Iron Age kingdom mentioned since the Iron Age in the center of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on the eastern edge of the Troodos Mountains . Ruins can be found near the village of Politiko in southwest Nicosia . In ancient times, the city was known for its rich copper deposits .
Traces of settlement can be traced back to the Bronze Age . The city is recorded on the Kition stele as "Ta-me-si / su". 673/72 BC The city was mentioned as an independent city kingship "Tamesu / i" on the prism of Asarhaddon . Its king was Admesu / Gimesu. Pasykypros , the last king of the city, sold it to King Pumiaton of Kition for 50 talents . Alexander the great subordinated the city to his ally, the king of the Cypriot city-state Salamis , Pnytagoras . Later the city, like all of Cyprus, came to the Ptolemies . In Christian times Tamassos became the bishopric , to which today's titular bishopric Tamasus goes back.
During excavations, a high fortification wall, houses from several eras and shrines of the gods Cybele and Aphrodite were uncovered. For the necropolis of the city include chamber tombs from the Archaic period. Two sanctuaries of Apollo were found near the city at Pera and at Frangissa on the banks of the Pediaios . Various statues were found in the second temple, including a bronze statue from the 5th century BC. BC , whose head is now in the British Museum in London .
Herakleidios was the first bishop of Tamassos. The monastery of Agios Herakleidios, dedicated to Saint Herakleidios, was founded around 400.
literature
- Hans-Günter Buchholz and Klaus Untiedt: Tamassos. An ancient kingdom in Cyprus , Jonsered, Aström 1996 (Studies in Mediterranean archeology and literature, Pocket-book 136) ISBN 91-7081-099-0
credentials
- ↑ Homer Odyssey 1,184; Strabo 14,6,5
- ↑ H. Donner / W. Röllig, Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions 2 (Berlin, 1966–1999) No. 32
- ↑ Finds from Tamassos ( Memento of the original of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the British Museum
Web links
- "Rare Cypriot Sculptures" , Tamassos - archaeology.org , Archaeological Institute of America .
- Tamassos - Department of Antiquities, Republic of Cyprus .
- Cesnola Collection - Harvard Semitic Museum , Harvard University .
- "Weapons, Tools and Ritual Remains" - Ashmolean Museum , Oxford .
- Photographs
