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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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CYRENE, CYRENIANS*

City and its people on the coast of North Africa that was the capital of Cyrenaica. It was founded in the seventh century BC by Greeks who engaged primarily in agricultural pursuits. Herodotus comments in his fifth-century BC Histories that “the land of Cyrene, the highest of that part of Libya which is inhabited by Nomads, has the remarkable peculiarity of three separate harvest-seasons . . . making for the fortunate people of Cyrene, a continuous autumn of eight months on end” (4.199). It was conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and later became a part of the Roman Empire. During the period of the NT, the city contained a large Jewish population that had come from Alexandria. One such person, named Simon, was visiting Jerusalem during the Passover feast the year Jesus Christ was crucified and was forced to carry his cross (Mt 27:32). Fifty days later Peter preached to Jews from Cyrene on Pentecost day in Jerusalem (Acts 2:10). Stephen was attacked by Jews associated with a synagogue that included people of Cyrene (6:9), some of whom were later converted and became preachers (11:20). They appear to have traveled as far north as Antioch, where a prominent Christian teacher was Lucius of Cyrene (13:1).