Cyprus and Sicily. The Provincialization

Already in Roman times, the shared insular condition of Sicily and Cyprus led several authors to address them together, to a greater or lesser extent, alongside other Mediterranean islands or even those located beyond. This is not surprising in geographical and chorographical works such as that of Pomponius Mela. Florus likewise treated the conquest of Cyprus within an excursus devoted to the incorporation of several Mediterranean islands into the Roman state, concluding that these possessions had been acquired through unjust and overbearing actions. A similar perspective emerges in historiographical texts, such as those of Appian, whose fifth book of the external wars of Rome deals with the fate of the islands. The fragmentary state of this work does not allow for a precise understanding of all the topics that it originally covered, but its few available fragments indicate that it covered both the First and the Second Punic Wars in Sicily. The inclusion of episodes concerning Cyprus, albeit less evident, seems probable in view of a reference to Clodius in the final fragment of the book, which could correspond to his role in promoting Cato’s mission to confiscate the Cypriot kingdom for Rome.