The History of Cyprus: The Island Every Empire Wanted — Fexingo History

Epizode

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  The Cypriot Archbishops Who Outlasted Empires 20.08.2026 8min

  For centuries, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus was the one institution that never collapsed, no matter who ruled the island. This episode follows the archbishops who navigated Byzantine tax collectors, Lusignan feudal lords, Venetian merchants, and Ottoman janissaries — from the autocephalous church's founding in the fifth century to the archbishops who became leaders of the Greek Cypriot nationalist movement. We look at how the church kept its independence, the role of the stavropegion monasteries, the infamous execution of Archbishop Kyprianos in 1821, and the surprising ways the church preserved Greek identity through Ottoman millet rule. Lucas and Luna also dig into the legend of Saint Barnabas, the discovery of his tomb with the Gospel of Matthew on his chest, and how that relic cemented the church's claim to autocephaly. It's a story about survival, faith, and the quiet power of an institution that outlasted every empire that tried to control it. #Cyprus #OrthodoxChurch #ArchbishopKyprianos #SaintBarnabas #Autocephaly #OttomanEmpire #Lusignan #VenetianRule #Byzantine #GreekOrthodox #MilletSystem #Stavropegion #KykkosMonastery #ChurchHistory #MediterraneanHistory #History #Podcast #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Silkworm That Saved a Kingdom: Cyprus's Byzantine Silk 19.08.2026 10min

  In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace a single thread from the court of Justinian to the mountain villages of Cyprus, exploring how the island became a quiet but vital node in the medieval silk trade. They begin with the legend of two monks smuggling silkworm eggs out of China in hollow bamboo canes — a story that may be more myth than history — and follow the silk road west to the Byzantine workshops of Constantinople. But the focus is on Cyprus itself, where mulberry trees still shade the Troodos foothills, and where a unique breed of silkworm, adapted to the island's dry climate, produced a distinctive 'Cypriot silk' prized in royal courts from Baghdad to Paris. Through the Arab raids, the Lusignan era, and into the Ottoman period, the hosts show how silk weaving shaped villages like Kophinou and how the industry survived against all odds. They also examine the darker side: the labor of women and children, and the ecological cost of mulberry monoculture. A visit to the 20th-century revival of sericulture in the 1930s under British rule, and a final reflection on a lost craft, make this a rich, specific story of an underappreciated aspect of Cypriot history. #Cyprus #SilkRoad #ByzantineEmpire #Justinian #Constantinople #Troodos #Mulberry #Sericulture #Medieval #Lusignan #Ottoman #Kophinou #Silkworm #TextileHistory #EconomicHistory #Mediterranean #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Maronite Monastery of Karm al-Muhr and Cyprus's Mountain Refuge 18.08.2026 6min

  In the 16th century, as the Ottoman Empire tightened its grip on Cyprus, a community of Maronite Christians found refuge in the island's rugged Troodos mountains. This episode explores the monastery of Karm al-Muhr, a hidden sanctuary that became a center of faith and resilience. We uncover how the Maronites, who had arrived centuries earlier, maintained their language and liturgy in the face of upheaval. Through the story of this monastery, we see a microcosm of Cyprus's layered history—a place where Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman influences collided. We also meet Patriarch Yusuf al-Muhr, a pivotal figure who navigated the delicate politics of the era. Join Lucas and Luna as they trace the threads of survival, identity, and the quiet endurance of a community that carved its place in the island's story. #Maronites #KarmalMuhr #TroodosMountains #OttomanCyprus #Byzantine #LatinChurch #PatriarchYusuf #MaroniteLiturgy #Syriac #Aramaic #CyprusHistory #Mediterranean #EasternChristianity #OttomanHistory #Monastery #Refuge #CyprusReligion #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Knights Hospitaller on Cyprus: From Rhodes to Malta's Shadow 17.08.2026 6min

  Before the Knights Hospitaller became the legendary defenders of Malta, they spent nearly a century on Cyprus. This episode follows their turbulent years on the island from 1291 to 1310, when they arrived after the fall of Acre, established a base at Limassol and Kolossi, clashed with the Lusignan kings, and ultimately seized Rhodes in a bold campaign funded by Cypriot resources. We trace the political intrigue that saw Grand Master Foulques de Villaret plot against King Henry II, leading to the brief imprisonment of the king by the knights, and the eventual exile of the Order from Cyprus. Along the way, we explore the daily life of the Hospitallers on the island, their relations with the local Greek population, and the legacy they left behind in castles, commanderies, and the famous Commandaria wine. If you think the Knights Templar were the only military order with drama, think again. #KnightsHospitaller #Cyprus #Lusignan #Kolossi #Limassol #Rhodes #FoulquesDeVillaret #KingHenryII #Acre1291 #MilitaryOrders #MedievalCyprus #CrusaderHistory #Commandaria #MedievalHistory #HistoryOfCyprus #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Cypriot Wine Revival: From Ancient Vines to Modern Bottles 16.08.2026 8min

  In this episode of The History of Cyprus, Lucas and Luna explore the island's deep-rooted wine culture, from the legendary Commandaria, said to be the world's oldest named wine, to the recent revival of indigenous grape varieties like Xynisteri and Maratheftiko. They trace how the ancient Cypriot wine trade flourished under the Phoenicians at Kition, how the Crusaders encountered 'vinum commendae' and how the Ottomans maintained production, and how the British occupation shaped the modern industry. The conversation reveals how today's winemakers are resurrecting ancient traditions in the Troodos Mountains, creating a bridge between past and present. Along the way, the hosts reflect on the meaning of preservation and heritage, and share a light call to support the ad-free show with a coffee. #Cyprus #WineHistory #Commandaria #TroodosMountains #Xynisteri #Maratheftiko #Phoenicians #Crusades #OttomanCyprus #BritishCyprus #AncientWine #WineTrade #MediterraneanHistory #Viticulture #Legacy #Heritage #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Lusignan Fall of Famagusta 1374 15.08.2026 8min

  In 1374, the Genoese seized Famagusta, the richest port in the eastern Mediterranean, and held it for nearly a century. This episode follows the crisis from the murder of King Peter I through the disastrous war of Peter II, the Peace of 1374, and the brutal occupation that turned the city into a Genoese colony. We look at the ambitions of the Genoese merchant-bankers, the role of the Ibelin lords, the failure of the Cypriot barons to unite, and the long economic decline that followed. Lucas and Luna also examine how the loss of Famagusta reshaped the island's trade, its relations with the Mamluks, and its place in the wider Levantine world. The episode draws on the chronicles of Leontios Makhairas and contemporary Genoese documents, and considers what the disaster meant for ordinary Cypriots as well as for the Lusignan dynasty. #Famagusta #Genoa #Lusignan #CyprusHistory #MedievalHistory #PeterI #PeterII #PeaceOf1374 #Ibelin #LeontiosMakhairas #MamlukSultanate #EasternMediterranean #TradeHistory #Siege #14thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Treaty of Larnaca: When Cyprus Became a Demilitarized Kingdom 14.08.2026 4min

  In 1125, the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem signed a treaty that turned Cyprus into a demilitarized zone. This episode explores the unlikely alliance between Emperor John II Komnenos and King Baldwin II, the challenges of policing a border without soldiers, and the island's brief golden age of trade and diplomacy. Lucas and Luna discuss the treaty's origins, the role of the church, the smuggling economy, and the eventual collapse of the arrangement as the Crusader states fractured. Discover how a medieval peace deal shaped Cyprus's identity for decades. #ByzantineEmpire #CrusaderStates #TreatyOfLarnaca #JohnIIKomnenos #BaldwinII #MedievalCyprus #DemilitarizedZone #1125 #CyprusHistory #Larnaca #KingdomOfJerusalem #Diplomacy #TradeHistory #Byzantine #Crusades #History #MediterraneanHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Hidden Roman Aqueduct of Cyprus 13.08.2026 9min

  In 199, we follow a fresh water thread through Cyprus's ancient history: the Roman aqueduct that supplied Salamis. Lucas and Luna trace how the island's wealthiest city solved its chronic water shortage in the 1st century AD, building a 40-kilometer channel from the Kyrenia mountains to the coast. Along the way, they meet the city's benefactor, the orator and consul who paid for it, and uncover what the aqueduct's engineering tells us about Roman rule, civic pride, and daily life on the island. They dip into the Greek historian's account, the stones that still stand near the village of Kythrea, and the curious fact that the water source was named after a nymph. The conversation also touches on how the aqueduct mirrors earlier Cypriot ingenuity with qanats and rain cisterns, and why the Roman approach was different. No battles, no sieges — just a quiet piece of infrastructure that kept a city alive for centuries, and a reminder that the most enduring monuments are often the ones you can't see. #Cyprus #RomanAqueduct #Salamis #KyreniaMountains #Kythrea #AncientEngineering #RomanCyprus #Hydrology #WaterHistory #AntoninusPius #Hadrian #Pausanias #AncientGreek #RomanEmpire #Infrastructure #FexingoHistory #History #Mediterranean Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  Saint Hilarion Castle: A King's Escape in the Kyrenia Hills 12.08.2026 7min

  Perched high above the north coast of Cyprus, the Castle of Saint Hilarion is more than a Crusader fortification. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the castle's unlikely origins as a Byzantine monastery, its transformation under the Lusignan kings into a mountain refuge and royal retreat, and the many legends that cling to its stones. From the hermit saint who gave the castle its name to the dozen rebel knights who once sought shelter there, from the kitchens and royal apartments to the baileys that still echo with medieval life, Saint Hilarion offers a window into the island's layered history. We also consider the castle's role in the Venetian and Ottoman periods, its romantic ruin in the nineteenth century, and the modern preservation efforts that keep its walls standing. With the Kyrenia range as a backdrop and the Mediterranean glittering below, this episode reveals how a castle can hold centuries of secrets — and why it still captures the imagination. #SaintHilarion #Cyprus #Kyrenia #Lusignan #Byzantine #Crusader #Castle #Medieval #Monastery #Hermit #History #CyprusHistory #FexingoHistory #Mediterranean #Pilgrimage #Travel #Archaeology #Venetian Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  Cyprus's Royal Tombs of Salamis: A City of the Dead 11.08.2026 6min

  Long before the Romans, before the Ptolemies, even before the classical Greeks planted their colonies, the city-kingdom of Salamis on Cyprus's east coast built tombs that would astonish the Mediterranean. In this episode, Lucas and Luna descend into the Royal Tombs of Salamis — a necropolis of underground chambers where kings and queens were buried with their horses, their chariots, and the echoes of Homeric rites. We trace the tomb architecture from the early Iron Age through the Cypro-Archaic period, uncovering how these burials mirrored the Homeric epics, how the Phoenician and Greek influences blended, and how the tombs were later plundered and repurposed. Along the way, we meet the archaeologists who uncovered them — from the accidental discovery in the 1960s to the ongoing digs — and we confront the difficult question of reburial versus preservation. This is a story not just of death, but of how the living shaped memory, status, and identity in a world where the dead never quite left the city. #Cyprus #Salamis #RoyalTombs #Archaeology #IronAge #CyproArchaic #HomericRituals #Necropolis #Phoenician #Greek #MediterraneanHistory #AncientEconomy #BurialPractices #ChariotBurials #HorseSacrifice #Larnaca #Famagusta #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Venetian Walls of Nicosia: A City Fortified 10.08.2026 8min

  Episode 196 of The History of Cyprus turns to the massive star-shaped fortifications that still ring Nicosia's old town. Built in the 1560s by the Venetian Republic, these walls were a response to the Ottoman threat that would soon engulf the island. Lucas and Luna walk through the design, the engineers, the labor, and the strategic thinking behind the project, and they consider what the walls meant for the city's people, its future, and its surrender in 1570. Along the way, they touch on the earlier Lusignan walls, the role of the architect Giulio Savorgnan, the fate of the city's churches and palaces, and the long afterlife of the walls as a symbol of Cypriot identity. The episode also reflects on how a military project can shape a place for centuries, long after the guns fall silent. #Nicosia #VenetianWalls #Cyprus #VenetianCyprus #Fortifications #GiulioSavorgnan #OttomanSiege #1570 #MilitaryArchitecture #StarFort #Lusignan #Famagusta #Kyrenia #MediterraneanHistory #RenaissanceEngineering #SiegeWarfare #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Lusignan Queens Who Ruled Cyprus 09.08.2026 6min

  In 195th episode, Lucas and Luna look at the Lusignan queens of medieval Cyprus, from Alix of Champagne and Isabella of Ibelin to Eleanor of Aragon and Charlotte de Lusignan. They explore how these women shaped the island's politics in the shadow of the Crusades, the Genoese, and the Mamluks. From regencies and kidnappings to exile and defiance, the conversation reveals the surprising power and peril of being a queen in a kingdom that was always up for grabs. #LusignanQueens #CyprusHistory #MedievalQueens #AlixOfChampagne #IsabellaOfIbelin #EleanorOfAragon #CharlotteDeLusignan #Famagusta #Nicosia #Genoese #Mamluks #Crusades #KingsOfCyprus #KingdomOfCyprus #MedievalWomen #LusignanDynasty #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Copper Flows: Cyprus in the Bronze Age Trade Web 08.08.2026 7min

  Long before the empires of Rome or Byzantium fought over Cyprus, the island was already at the center of a vast Bronze Age trade network. This episode traces the journey of Cypriot copper from the Troodos mines to the palaces of Egypt, the Hittite heartland, and the port cities of the Levant. We follow the oxhide ingots that sailed on ships like the Uluburun wreck, and we meet the merchants and rulers of Enkomi, Kition, and Salamis who grew rich on the red metal. We also explore the dark side of this prosperity — the island's vulnerability to raiders, the rise of piracy, and the mysterious Sea Peoples who brought the era to a violent close. Drawing on archaeology, clay tablets from Ugarit, and the latest scholarship, Lucas and Luna uncover how copper made Cyprus a prize worth taking — and how that pattern repeated for thousands of years. A story of resource, trade, and hubris that echoes down to the present. #Cyprus #BronzeAge #CopperTrade #OxhideIngots #Uluburun #Enkomi #Kition #Salamis #Troodos #Ugarit #Hittites #Egypt #SeaPeoples #AncientMediterranean #History #FexingoHistory #TradeNetworks #Archaeology Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Sea People and the Collapse of Bronze Age Cyprus 07.08.2026 10min

  In 1177 BCE, the world of the eastern Mediterranean changed forever. The Hittite Empire fell, Mycenaean palaces burned, and the great city of Ugarit was destroyed. Cyprus — the copper-rich island at the center of it all — did not escape. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the mysterious Sea Peoples, identified in Egyptian records as the 'Peoples of the Sea,' swept through the region and left Cyprus transformed. We look at the archaeological evidence from Enkomi, Kition, and Palaepaphos, the destruction layers that mark the end of the Late Bronze Age, the collapse of the international trade networks that had made Cyprus rich, and the emergence of the Cypriot city-kingdoms in the Iron Age. We also consider the theories — from drought to systemic collapse to invasion — that historians and archaeologists have proposed to explain one of history's great turning points. And we reflect on what it means for a civilization to fall, and what rises from the ashes. This is the story of Cyprus at the end of the Bronze Age, and how the island survived the storm. #SeaPeoples #BronzeAge #Cyprus #Enkomi #Kition #Palaepaphos #Ugarit #Hittites #Mycenaean #LateBronzeAge #AncientHistory #Archaeology #Mediterranean #History #FexingoHistory #Collapse #CyproMinoan #IronAge Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  Queen Alenka's Siege of Famagusta 1425 06.08.2026 7min

  In 1425, a woman named Alenka lost her husband to the Mamluks in Egypt. Instead of mourning quietly, she turned his absence into a private war. This episode follows Queen Charlotte of Lusignan's forgotten predecessor — Helen of Byzantium, the regent of Cyprus — through her desperate defense of Famagusta against the Mamluk fleet. We trace her negotiations with the Republic of Venice, her alliance with the Hospitallers of Rhodes, and her ultimate defeat at the hands of the Mamluk admiral Barsbay. Along the way we touch on the fate of King Janus, the plunder of Khirokitia, and the sharp lesson Cyprus learned that year: that no empire's protection comes without a price. This is the story of a queen who fought when every man around her had surrendered. #Cyprus #MedievalCyprus #MamlukSultanate #Famagusta #QueenHelen #Barsbay #LusignanDynasty #Khirokitia #VenetianRepublic #Hospitallers #MediterraneanHistory #15thCentury #WomenInHistory #SiegeWarfare #ByzantineLegacy #CyprusHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Unknown Cypriot Woman Who Stopped an Ottoman Fleet 05.08.2026 8min

  In 1570, as the Ottoman siege of Nicosia tightened, a Cypriot woman named Maria Synglitiki performed an act of defiance that would be remembered for centuries. When the Ottoman admiral demanded the surrender of her village, she offered him a cup of poisoned wine. The story, recorded by the Cypriot chronicler Florio Bustron, has echoes of Judith and Holofernes, but it also opens a window onto the everyday resistance of ordinary Cypriots during the brutal conquest. In this episode, we trace Maria's story, the siege's broader context, and the legends that grew around it. We also ask what these tales tell us about how communities remember trauma — and how a single, defiant act can become a symbol for an entire nation. #MariaSynglitiki #OttomanCyprus #SiegeOfNicosia #FlorioBustron #CypriotResistance #VenetianCyprus #CyprusHistory #MediterraneanHistory #WomenInHistory #1570 #Nicosia #Cyprus #OttomanEmpire #Venice #JudithAndHolofernes #OralTradition #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Cypriot Peasant Who Became Emperor 04.08.2026 8min

  In 1185, a minor Byzantine official named Isaac Komnenos seized the island of Cyprus and declared himself emperor. For seven years he ruled with a cruelty that shocked even the hardened chroniclers of the age, mocking the Byzantine court with forged letters and torturing a visiting princess. But his reign unraveled when Richard the Lionheart, on his way to the Third Crusade, was driven to the island by a storm. What began as a rescue mission for Richard's shipwrecked sister turned into a full-scale invasion that ended with Isaac in silver chains. This episode follows the rise and fall of the man who crowned himself 'Basileus of Cyprus' and the unlikely chain of events that led to the island's fall into Western hands. We dig into the Byzantine sources, the crusader chronicles, and the folk memory that still paints Isaac as a tyrant. We also meet the Cypriot archbishop who defied him and paid with his life. It's a story of ambition, violence, and the strange fate of an island caught between empires. #History #FexingoHistory #Cyprus #IsaacKomnenos #ByzantineEmpire #RichardTheLionheart #ThirdCrusade #Basileus #MedievalCyprus #SiegeOfKyrenia #1185 #1191 #CrusaderInvasion #ByzantineHistory #CypriotHistory #Tyranny #Empire #Mediterranean Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Genoese Takeover of Cyprus: 1373-1464 03.08.2026 8min

  In 1373, Genoa seized Famagusta, the island's richest port, from the Lusignan kings. This episode traces how a commercial dispute over sugar and alum escalated into a full-scale invasion, how the Genoese held the city for ninety-one years, and how the Lusignans—and later the Venetians—tried to get it back. We follow King Peter I's assassination, his son Peter II's disastrous war, the brutal siege of Famagusta, and the bitter treaty that made Cyprus a tributary of Genoa. We also meet the last Lusignan king, James II, who recaptured the city in 1464, only to have Venice take the whole island a generation later. Along the way, we touch on the Cypriot sugar industry, the role of the Mamluk sultanate, and how the Genoese presence shaped the island's economy and politics for decades. It's a story of commercial greed, royal ambition, and the long shadow of Mediterranean rivalry. #Genoa #Famagusta #Lusignan #Cyprus #MedievalHistory #PeterI #PeterII #JamesII #SiegeOfFamagusta #TreatyOf1374 #SugarTrade #AlumTrade #MamlukSultanate #ByzantineHistory #VenetianCyprus #History #FexingoHistory #MediterraneanHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Cypriot Copper That Powered the Bronze Age 02.08.2026 9min

  Before the island was known for wines, saints, or sieges, Cyprus was the Mediterranean's copper giant. The very name of the metal traces back to the island — aes Cyprium, 'Cyprian bronze.' In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the geological accident that made Cyprus the world's first industrial superpower. We follow the ore from the Troodos mountains to the smelting furnaces of Enkomi, where Bronze Age workers produced copper on an almost factory scale. We hear how Cypriot copper reached the palaces of Mycenae and the workshops of Egypt, and how the island's strategic position turned it into the prize every empire wanted — long before the Greeks, Romans, or Ottomans arrived. But the island's rise had a cost. By 1200 BC, the palaces of Enkomi were burned, the trade routes collapsed, and the island entered a dark age. The episode asks a timeless question: what happens when a resource boom goes bust? Join us for a story of geology, trade, and hubris that set the stage for everything that followed. This is the history of the island every empire wanted, from the very beginning. #Cyprus #CopperAge #BronzeAge #Enkomi #TroodosMountains #AegeanTrade #Mycenaean #EgyptianTrade #MediterraneanHistory #OxhideIngots #Uluburun #LateBronzeAge #ResourceBoom #AncientEconomy #History #FexingoHistory #IslandEveryEmpireWanted #AncientWorld Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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  The Cypriot Mint: Coinage and the Island's Ancient Economy 01.08.2026 7min

  In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the ancient Cypriot economy through the lens of coinage. From the earliest silver staters issued by the city-kingdoms of Salamis and Paphos to the gold issues of the Ptolemaic era, they trace how Cyprus became a crucial hub in Mediterranean trade. They discuss the significance of the island's copper mines, the transition from ingot to coin, the images of deities and kings that adorned the coins, and what hoards like the one at Larnaca reveal about circulation and exchange. Along the way, they touch on the Cypriot syllabary, the Phoenician and Greek influences, and the Roman takeover. The conversation also underscores how studying coins illuminates the daily economy of an island that every empire wanted to control. #Cyprus #AncientNumismatics #Coinage #Salamis #Paphos #CopperTrade #MediterraneanEconomy #Ptolemaic #RomanCyprus #CypriotHistory #SilverStaters #CypriotSyllabary #BronzeAge #IronAge #TradeRoutes #Archaeology #FexingoHistory #AncientMint Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo