The former city-kingdom of
Kition was originally established in the 13th century BC. New cultural elements appearing between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, including pottery, new architectural forms. These archaeological findings are interpreted as indications of significant political changes and the arrival of the
Achaeans, the first Greek colonists of Kition. Around the same time,
Phoenicians settled the area. At the
archaeological sites of Kiteon, remains that date from the 13th century BC have been found. Around 1000 BC, Kition was rebuilt by
Phoenicians and it subsequently became a center of Phoenician culture. The remains of the sites include
cyclopean walls and a complex of five temples and a
naval port. It was conquered in the first millennium BC by a series of great powers of the region. First by the
Assyrian Empire, then by
Egypt. Like most Cypriot cities, Kition belonged to the Persian
Achaemenid Empire. In 450 BC, the
Athenian general
Cimon died at sea, while militarily supporting the revolt against Persia's rule over Cyprus. On his deathbed, he urged his officers to conceal his death from both their allies and the Persians. Strong earthquakes hit the city in 76 AD and the year after. Earthquakes of 322 AD and 342 "caused the destruction not only of Kition but also of Salamis and Pafos". and
its neighborhood. ==Geography==