Evagoras I - Wikipedia Evagoras I From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Phoenician king of ancient Salamis on Cyprus Evagoras or Euagoras (Ancient/Modern Greek: Εὐαγόρας) was the king of Salamis (411–374 BC) in Cyprus, known especially from the work of Isocrates, who presents him as a model ruler. The spelling "Evagoras" reflects the Latin transliteration of the name, and it comprises one of the rather rare cases that the Greek prefix εὐ- was rendered as ev- (instead of eu-) in Latin, and also happens to more closely reflect modern Greek pronunciation. History[edit] He claimed descent from Teucer, the son of Telamon and half-brother of Ajax, and his family had long been rulers of Salamis, although during his childhood Salamis came under Phoenician control, which resulted in his exile. While in Cilicia, Evagoras gathered the support of 50 followers and returned secretly in 410, to gain possession of the throne. Expecting an eventual Persian response to recapture Cyprus, he cultivated the friendship of the Athenians, and after Conon's defeat at the Battle of Aegospotami he provided him with a refuge. For a time he also maintained friendly relations with Persia, and secured the aid of Artaxerxes II for Athens against Sparta. He took part in the battle of Cnidus of 394 BC which he provided most of the resources for and in which the Spartan fleet was defeated thanks to his efforts, and for this service his statue was placed by the Athenians side by side with that of Conon in the Ceramicus. But relations between Evagoras and the Persians became strained. From 391 they were virtually at war. Aided by the Athenians and the Egyptian king Hakor (Achoris), Evagoras extended his rule over the greater part of Cyprus, crossed over to Asia Minor, took several cities in Phoenicia (including Tyre), and persuaded the Cilicians to revolt.[1] 1/10th stater, (411 – 374 BC), 0.71 g, SNG Copenhagen 733597 One result of the peace of Antalcidas (387), to which Evagoras refused to agree, was that the Athenians withdrew their support, since by its terms they recognized the lordship of Persia over Cyprus. The following years Evagoras carried on hostilities single-handed, except for occasional aid from Egypt, which was likewise threatened by the Persians.[1] While Evagoras was in Egypt asking for help, his younger son Pnytagoras was in charge of Salamis.[2] The Persian generals Tiribazus and Orontes at last invaded Cyprus in 385 BC, with an army far larger than what Evagoras could command.[citation needed] However, Evagoras managed to cut off this force from being resupplied, and the starving troops rebelled. The war then turned in the Persian favor when Evagoras' fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Citium, and he was compelled to flee to Salamis. Here, although closely blockaded, Evagoras managed to hold his ground, and took advantage of a quarrel between the two Persian generals to conclude peace (376). Evagoras was allowed to remain nominally king of Salamis, but in reality a vassal of Persia, to which he was to pay a yearly tribute. The chronology of the last part of his reign is uncertain. In 374 he was assassinated by a eunuch from motives of private revenge. He was succeeded by his son, Nicocles.[1] According to Isocrates's Panegyric, Evagoras was a model ruler, whose aim was to promote the welfare of his state and of his subjects by the cultivation of Greek refinement and civilization.[1] Isocrates also states that many people migrated from Greece to Cyprus because of the noble rule of Evagoras. Other sources of this period—Diodorus Siculus 14.115, 15.2-9; Xenophon, Hellenica 4.8—are not as unrestrainedly complimentary. Lysias in his Against Andocides 6.28 addresses him as the king of Cyprus. Although Cypriots were Greeks and their language a dialect of Greek, the Arcadocypriot, they used to write in an older and more difficult system, called the Cypriot syllabary. Evagoras has been called a pioneer of the adoption of the Greek alphabet in Cyprus in place of the older Cypriot syllabary. References[edit] ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Evagoras". Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 959. ^ "Edward S. Forster, Isocrates Cyprian Orations, section 62". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-02. External links[edit] An Evagoras' coin on a stamp of Republic of Cyprus Preceded by Abdemon King of Salamis 411–374 BC Succeeded by Nicocles Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evagoras_I&oldid=988704560" Categories: 5th-century BC births 374 BC deaths 4th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek rulers Assassinated Cypriot people 4th-century BC murdered monarchs Kings of Salamis, Cyprus Arcadocypriot Greek Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2008 Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Български Català Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Français Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本語 Polski Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 14 November 2020, at 19:46 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement