kingdom · Greece and the Aegean

Kingdom of Soloi

1000 BCE – 312 BCE (approx.) · capital Soloi

Cypriot kingdom on Morphou Bay, said to have taken its name from the Athenian lawgiver Solon, who advised its king.

Origins

Soloi lay on the bay of Morphou in north-western Cyprus, near the copper mines of Skouriotissa. Founded in the early Iron Age, it was a city-kingdom by the 7th century BCE. Plutarch tells that King Philocyprus moved the city to a better site on Solon's advice and named it after him.

Rule and society

Soloi grew rich on copper and farmland. Its king Aristocyprus fell fighting the Persians at Salamis in 497 BCE, after which Soloi endured a five-month siege. The palace of Vouni on a nearby hill, built in the 5th century BCE, may have been used to watch over Soloi. King Pasicrates supported Alexander and staged a dramatic contest for him at Tyre in 331 BCE.

Decline and legacy

Its last king, Eunostos, married Eirene, daughter of Ptolemy I, and the kingdom was absorbed into Ptolemaic Cyprus c. 312 BCE. Soloi remained a city into Roman and early Christian times.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Soloi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-soloi
MLA
“Kingdom of Soloi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-soloi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Soloi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-soloi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Soloi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-soloi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻