Cyprus through the Ages

Merja sent these lovely Miniature sheets. The Department of Postal Services issued a series of four commemorative stamp issues, one every year, entitled "Cyprus through the Ages" from 2007 to 2010, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus. The stamps of this series, as well as the Definitive stamps of 2007 are the first to be denominated in dual currency, i.e. in Cyprus pounds and euro. The fourth and final issue in the series commemorating Cyprus' 50th Anniversary of Independence. Miniature sheets depict: -

The Treaty of Sevres (1920) and Lausanne (1923), The Government House, The Imprisoned Graves, Gregoris Afxentiou (1928-1957), The Presidential Palace, The Turkish Invasion (1974), Cyprus' accession to the European Union (2004), Fifty Years of the Republic of Cyprus (1960-2010).

The Archaic period (750-480 B.C.): During the Archaic Period, Cyprus was divided into cities-kingdoms, which minted their own coins, on which the symbols of the kingdom and the king were represented. The island knew a period of prosperity because of the commercial contacts with Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

Classical period (480-310 B.C.): The Classical Period was marked by the struggles between the Greeks and the Persians for the conquest of Cyprus. Despite the superiority of the Persians, leading figures, such as the Athenian General Kimonas and the Phil Hellenic king of Salamis, Evagorasj succeeded in keeping alive the Hellenic orientation of the island, both in the political and cultural life of Cyprus.

The Hellenistic period (310-30 B.C.): The Persian rule on the island was definitely terminated in 332 B.C., with the conquest at Cyprus by Alexander the Great who replaced the local coinage with his own. Alter his death, Cyprus fell into the hands of Ptolemy I, Macedonian king of Egypt and was integrated into the Hellenistic Kingdom of Egypt (310-30 B.C.), resulting in the suppression of the kingdoms of Cyprus and the predominance of Alexandrian patterns in the architecture and art of that period.

The Roman Period (30 B.C.-324 A.D.): Cyprus enjoyed great prosperity during the Roman Period. The bronze statue at the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, the biggest ancient statue found in Cyprus until now, is a sample of this prosperity. In 45 A.D., Christianity started being spread in Cyprus by Apostle Paul, who included the island in his missionary journeys.

The Early Byzantine period (324-481 A.D.): In 324 A.D., Cyprus became part of the Byzantine world. The most noteworthy event of the beginning of the Byzantine period (324-481 A.D.) was the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Cyprus in 448 A.D. and the attribution of imperial privileges to the Archbishop of the Island by the Byzantine Emperor on the occasion of the discovery of the holy relics of Apostle Barnabas and Saint Mark's Gospel on top of them.