Ledra ( el, Λήδρα), also spelt Ledrae was an ancient
city-kingdom located in the centre of
Cyprus where the capital city of
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
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
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
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.
in Nicosia is named after Ledra.
References
Cities in ancient Cyprus
Former populated places in Cyprus
States and territories established in the 11th century BC
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