Salamis
Salamis is an ancient city mentioned in the New Testament, located in modern-day Cyprus. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Salamis appears in Acts 13:5 as the first stop on Paul and Barnabas's groundbreaking first missionary journey, accompanied by John Mark. Upon arriving on the island of Cyprus, Barnabas's homeland (Acts 4:36), they began at Salamis, the island's largest city and chief port on its eastern coast. There they "proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues," indicating the presence of a substantial Jewish community. The plural "synagogues" suggests Salamis was home to multiple Jewish congregations, reflecting its status as a major commercial hub. This pattern of beginning gospel proclamation in synagogues became Paul's consistent missionary strategy throughout Acts. From Salamis, the missionaries traveled across the entire island to Paphos on the western coast, where they encountered the proconsul Sergius Paulus. Salamis thus holds the distinction of being one of the earliest cities outside the Levant to hear the Christian gospel through organized apostolic mission, marking a crucial step in the faith's expansion from its Jewish roots into the wider Mediterranean world.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Salamis is located on the eastern coast of Cyprus, near the modern city of Famagusta in Northern Cyprus. Extensive archaeological excavations have uncovered a magnificent Greco-Roman city with a large gymnasium, theater seating 15,000, a forum, public baths, and an elaborate aqueduct system. Particularly significant for the biblical narrative is the discovery of remains of a large synagogue, confirming the presence of the Jewish community mentioned in Acts. The city served as Cyprus's principal port and commercial center from the Bronze Age through the Roman period. Salamis was destroyed by earthquakes in the fourth century AD and later rebuilt as Constantia. The extensive ruins are now an open-air archaeological park and UNESCO tentative list site.
Verse Appearances (1)
Acts
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →