Egypt Strikes Back: The Cypriot War and the Struggle for the Eastern Mediterranean, 386–379

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of Persian withdrawal from Egypt, the Egyptian king Acoris supported Evagoras as proxy commander in the eastern Mediterranean and mounted a wide-ranging, mainly diplomatic offensive which succeeded in detaching the entire Levant and southern Anatolia up to Caria from Persian control. Out of necessity, the Persian response involved deploying a largely Greek force (ships from Asian Greek cities and mercenaries from the Greek mainland). The ensuing “Cypriot War” waged by the Persians was really a war to recover the eastern Mediterranean. This involved successful operations throughout Cilicia, Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia, but little fighting on Cyprus. Evagoras sought to destroy the effective Persian fleet, but lost the naval battle off Salamis and with this lost Egyptian support. But a breakdown of the Persian command crippled Persian efforts and led to defection and revolt by Glos, who established a base at Leucae and solicited Spartan and Egyptian aid, threatening now to undo Persian recovery achievement. Assassination finally removed him.