Greek city of Citium on the island of Cyprus
Azbaal (ca. 449-425 BC).
Silver Stater (22mm, 3h) Struck circa 449-425 B.C.
Reference: Dewing 2518. cf. SNG Delepierre 2904.
Certification: NGC Ancients F 4680487-057
Hercules in fighting stance right, nude but for lion skin around shoulders and tied before neck, brandishing club in right hand, bow forward in left; ankh to right.
L'Z'B'L (Cypriot), lion attacking stag to right; all in dotted square within incuse square. You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 Kition, also known by its Latin name Citium, was a city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (in present-day Larnaca). It was established in the 13th century BC by the Greek (Achaean) settlers, after the Trojan war. According to the text on the plaque closest to the excavation pit of the Kathari site (as of 2013).
Its most famous, and probably only known, resident was Zeno of Citium, born c. 334 BC in Citium and founder of the Stoic school of philosophy which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Kathian in an Egyptian inscription dating to the period of Pharaoh Ramses III (1198-1116 BC) found in the temple of Medinet Habu among the names of other Cypriot cities is considered to refer to Kition. Josephus identifies the town with the name Kittim, used by the Hebrews to designate all of Cyprus and even lands further west. The city-kingdom was originally established in the 13th century BC. Mycenaeans first settled in the area for the purpose of the exploitation of copper, but the settlement eventually faded two centuries later as a result of constant disarray and anxiety of the time. New cultural elements appearing between 1200 BC and 1000 BC (personal objects, pottery, new architectural forms and ideas) are indications of significant political changes after the arrival of the Achaeans, the first Greek colonists of Kition. Early in the 12th century BC the town was rebuilt on a larger scale; its mudbrick city wall was replaced by a cyclopean wall. Around 1000 BC, the religious part of the city was abandoned, although life seems to have continued in other areas as indicated by finds in tombs. Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence also at Kition which was under Tyrian rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC. Some Phoenician merchants who were believed to come from Tyre colonized the area and expanded the political influence of Kition. After c. 850 BC the sanctuaries [at the Kathari site] were rebuilt and reused by the Phoenicians." The kingdom was under Egyptian domination from 570 to 545 BC. Persia ruled Cyprus from 545 BC. Kings of the city are referred to by name from 500 BC-in Phoenician texts and as inscriptions on coins. Marguerite Yon claims that literary texts and inscriptions suggest that by the Classical period Kition was one of the principal local powers, along with its neighbour Salamis. In 499 BC Cypriot kingdoms (including Kition) joined Ionia's revolt against Persia. Persian rule of Cyprus ended in 332 BC. Ptolemy I conquered Cyprus in 312 BC and killed Poumyathon, the Phoenician king of Kition, and burned the temples. Shortly afterwards the Cypriot city-kingdoms were dissolved and the Phoenician dynasty of Kition was abolished. Following these events the area lost its religious character. However, a trading colony from Kition established at Piraeus had prospered to the point that, in 233 BC they requested and received permission for the construction of a temple dedicated to Astarte". Cyprus was annexed by Rome in 58 BC. Strong earthquakes hit the city in 76 AD and the year after, but the city seems to have been prosperous during Roman times. A curator civitatis, or financial administrator of the city, was sent to Kition from Rome during the rule of Septimius Severus. Earthquakes of 322 and 342 AD "caused the destruction not only of Kition but also of Salamis and Pafos".
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