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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Ledra

Ledra (Greek: Λήδρα), also spelt Ledrae, was an ancient city-kingdom located in the centre of Cyprus where the capital city of Nicosia is today.

Ledra was established in 1050 BC. It became a city-kingdom by the seventh century BC. At times, it had been subject to Assyrian rule. Ledra was one of ten Cypriot kingdoms listed on the prism (many-sided tablet) of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680–669 BC). The only known king of Ledra is Onasagoras, mentioned in this tablet for paying tribute to Esarhaddon.

By Hellenistic times (330 BC) it had dwindled to a small village. An account suggested that it lost its city-kingdom status because it consolidated with other such kingdoms to form stronger territorial units. In 280 BC, Ledra became Leukotheon while the Byzantines started referring to it as Lefkon or "poplar grove". During the fourth century AD, it became a bishopric and was renamed Lefkosia. It eventually became the capital of Nicosia under this name during the 10th century.

Ledra Street in Nicosia is named after Ledra.

References

  1. ^ Brown, Truesdell (June 1974). "Reviews of Books (Alexander the Great)". The American Historical Review. 79 (3): 762–763. doi:10.2307/1867909. JSTOR 1867909.
  2. ^ Mirbagheri, Farid (2010). Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 119. ISBN 9780810855267.
  3. ^ World and its Peoples: Greece and the Eastern Balkans. Marshall Cavendish, 2010.
  4. ^ Michaelides, Demetrios; Pilides, Despina (2012). "Nicosia from the Beginnings to the Roman Ledroi". In Michaelides, D. (ed.). Historic Nicosia. Nicosia: Rimal Publications. pp. 4–8.
  5. ^ Papantoniou, Giorgos (2012). Religion and Social Transformations in Cyprus: From the Cypriot Basileis to the Hellenistic Strategos. Leiden: BRILL. p. 111. ISBN 9789004224353.
  6. ^ Sternberg, C. (2006). North Cyprus Pocket Guide. Rüstem Bookshop. p. 29. ISBN 9789944968034.
  7. ^ "FACTBOX - Five facts on Cyprus's Ledra Street crossing". Reuters. 2008-04-03. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved 2019-03-19.