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Last Updated on 27 Feb 2017

Author: Mario C.D. Paganini

CAPInv. 1982: to koinon ton en tei nesoi tassomenon Ionon kai ton synpoliteuomenon (l. sympoliteuomenon)

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Cyprus
ii. Region Cyprus
iii. Site Paphos

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἐν τῆι νήσωι τασσομένων Ἰώνων καὶ τῶν συνπολιτευομένων (l. συμπολιτευομένων) (ABSA 56 (1961) 31,84, ll. 3-5)
ii. Full name (transliterated) to koinon ton en tei nesoi tassomenon Ionon kai ton synpoliteuomenon (l. sympoliteuomenon)

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 123 - 118 BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Ethnic:Iones: mercenaries from Ionia
Geographical:en tei nesoi
Professional:tassomenoi: soldiers stationed on the island
Status-related:tassomenoi: soldiers stationed on the island
sympoliteuomenoi: fellow-members of the group
iii. Descriptive terms κοινόν, koinon
Note koinon: ABSA 56 (1961) 31,84, l. 3

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) ABSA 56 (1961) 31,84 (123-118 BC)
Note Other publication: = SEG 13: 579
Online Resources ABSA 56 (1961) 31,84 and AGRW ID 20571
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Greek dedication of a statue to the governor of Cyprus.
i.c. Physical format(s) Statue base, marble.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in the sanctuary of Aphrodite.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii. Members As one can clearly surmise from the nomenclature of the group, membership of the koinon was formed by two units: 1) the hoi en tei nesoi tassomenon Iones (military members from Ionia stationed on Cyprus) and 2) the sympoliteuomenoi (the fellow members attached to the Ionian mercenaries: the non-military members, ie. Ionian civilians, presumably).

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Men
Note Given the main military character of the group, one may suppose that the members were men.
iv. Status The koinon grouped together military men from Ionia, as well as potentially their Ionian fellow civilians, both settled on the island.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The koinon honours the governor of the island.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments On koina and sympoliteuomenoi of Cyprus see: Thompson Crawford 1984: 1073-4 and Kruse 2015: 292-6.
iii. Bibliography Kruse, T. (2015), 'Ethnic koina and politeumata in Ptolemaic Egypt'. in V. Gabrielsen and C. A. Thomsen (eds.), Private Associations and the Public Sphere: Proceedings of a Symposium held at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 9-11 September 2010. Copenhagen: 270-300.

Thompson Crawford, D. J. (1984), 'The Idumaeans of Memphis and the Ptolemaic Politeumata', in Atti del XVII Congresso Internazionale di Papirologia. vol. 3. Napoli: 1069-75.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note The terminology employed (koinon) and the character of the group, together with parallels of other military koina on the island, point to a private association. It is less likely that the koinon was the loose community of mercenaries without a more structured and durable associational organisation.