Cyprus Chronology

[Ptolemy]

Cyprus Chronology


Neolithic Cyprus
c.8000 BC The first settlements are built in Cyprus.


c.7500 BC The first known domesticated cat in the world is buried at the
Neolithic village of Shillourokambos in Cyprus 4000 years before similar
burials are known in Egypt.


Cypro-Creatan period
c.1700 BC Aphrodite Ourania comes to Cyprus.


c.1675 BC Aphrodite Zeuia Kypris is born to Zeus-Kypros and Dione.


c.1560 BC Kethimus (Kinyras or Kypros) rules over Cyprus according to the
Bible.


c.1500 Pygmalion Belis comes to the city of Athamus in Cyprus, marries
Galatea and begets Paphos.


c.1460 BC Paphos Pygmaliotis is known in Cyprus.


c.1420 BC Adonis Phoenikides is known.


c.1405 BC Kinyras Paphitis founds the city of Paphos but is seduced by his
own daughter Smyrna, and begets a son Adonis.


Arcado-Cypriot period
c.1385 BC Laodice, daughter of Kinyras marries Elatus Arcades of Arcadia and
gives birth to five sons, Aepytus, Pereus, Cyllen, Ischys, and Stymphalus.


c.1355 BC Pygmalion (father unknown) rules at Paphos.


Sandocus Astynoudes, marries Pharnace, daughter of Megassares, king of Hyria
in Celixia and begets Kinyras.


An unnamed Cypriot king writes to the Pharaoh of Egypt who he calls his
brother.


c. 1310 BC Kinyras Sandocou having married Metharme, daughter of Pygmalion,
becomes king of Cyprus and begets Oxyporus and Adonis, and besides them
daughters, Orsedice, Laogore, and Braesia.


c.1220 BC Kinyras (father unknown) rules at Paphos.


1201 BC Kinyras sends Agamemnon Atriades 50 ships, 49 of them made of clay.


1183 BC Agapenor Ancaeou the king of Arcadia rebuilds Paphos and builds a
sanctuary to Aphrodite at Palaepaphos.


c.1180 Teucer Telemonides marries a daughter of Kinyras, begets a daughter
Asteria and founds Salamis.


c.1160-unknown time BC Laodice, a descendant of Agapenor sends a robe as a
gift for Athena Alea in Tegea.


1150 BC Demophon Thesides the king of Athens dies in Cyprus.


Greek Archaic period
c.1000-600 BC Euclus foretells of the birth of Homer to Themisto a native of
Salamis.


724 BC The Tyrian king Eleuleus' attempt to invade Cyprus results in the
Assyrians laying siege to Tyre after being called to assist the Cypriots.


c.680 BC Ten Cypriot kings including Pylagoras king of Chytroi, Eteander
king of Paphos and Damasus king of Kurion assist Esarhaddon the king of
Assyria in his campaign against Egypt.


c.568-522 BC Evelthon is king of Salamis.


c.522-511 BC Siromas rules at Salamis.


c.511-500 BC Chersis Evelthonides rules at Salamis.


c.500-493 BC Gorgus Chersides rules at Salamis.


493-492 BC Onsilus the younger brother of Gorgus rules at Salamis and
together with other Cypriot kingdoms revolts against the Persians.


492 BC Gorgus restored at Salamis.


Greek Classical Period
480-465 BC Philaon rules at Salamis.


465-450 Nicodemus rules at Salamis.


c.450 Lacharidas rules at Salamis.


c.450 Evergetis rules at Salamis.


c.445 A Phoenician tyrant usurps the throne of Salamis.


c.420-411 BC Abdemon the king of Tyre occupies Salamis.


411-374 Evagoras Teukrides takes back Salamis and then conquers Tyre and
other parts of Phoenicia and then all of Cyprus.


374-368 BC Nicocles


368-351 Evagoras II


351-332 Pnythagoras fights at sea as an ally of Alexander in the siege of
Tyre.

[Ptolemy]

Hellenistic Period
331-310 Nicocreon


310-306 Menelaos is made satrap of Cyprus.


306-301 Antigonus


301-30 BC Ptolemaic Lagid Dynasty


116 BC Ptolemy Philometor sent to Cyprus by his mother Cleopatra


109 BC Alexander the brother of Ptolemy sent to Cyprus by his mother
Cleopatra


107 BC Alexander returns from Cyprus and is made king of Egypt. Ptolemy
campaigns in Palestine.


58 BC Cyprus becomes a Roman province.


51 BC Cyprus placed under the rule of Cleopatra by Julius Caesar.


Roman Period
30 BC Cyprus reverts to Roman rule.


45 AD St Paul, St Barnabas and St Mark introduce Christianity to Cyprus and
convert the Roman governor Sergius Paulus


115-116 AD A messianic Jewish revolt results in the massacre of 250,000
Cypriots. Trajan intervenes to restore the peace and expels the Jews from
Cyprus.


c.300 AD St Helen the mother of Constantine arrives in Cyprus with the cross
of Christ which disappears and miraculously re-appears at the top of Mt
Olympus in the Troodos range. Afterwards she brings cats to Cyprus to bring
the snakes under control and Greek settlers from Epirus to boost the
population.


c.350 AD Salamis is rebuilt by Constantius II the son of Constantine after
being destroyed by earthquakes and is renamed Constantia.


Greek Byzantine Empire
395 AD Cyprus becomes part of the Greek dominated Byzantine Empire.


649 The Arabs invade and pillage Cyprus sacking the city of Salamis.


654 The Arabs invade Cyprus again and occupy it with a garrison of 20,000
men.


683 The Arab garrison is withdrawn after the Arabs are defeated by
Constantine IV.


688 Cyprus is declared neutral.


965 Cyprus is restored to Byzantine rule by Nicepheros Phokas.


Franco-Venitian Papacy
1191 Richard the Lionheart sacks Famagousta and sells Cyprus to the Nights
Templar.


1192 The Cypriot people rebel against the Nights Templar who sell Cyprus to
Guy de Lusignan the exiled king of Jerusalem.


1194 Amaury the brother of Guy introduces a feudal system to Cyprus.


c.1300-1489 The Orthodox Greeks of Cyprus are given religious freedom and
rise up the social ladder.


1489 The Vanetians take control of Cyprus and the Greek Orthodox Church is
given full religious freedom.


1470 The Ottomans invade Cyprus and lay siege to Famagousta.


Ottoman oppression
1471 The Ottomans massacre the population of Famagousta and flay the
Venitian captain Marcantonio Bragadin alive after breaking their word of
honour. The Cypriot Christian population is subjected to slavery. Since
Christians are forbidden from even stepping onto the socio-political ladder
Cypriot society becomes a virtual theocracy.


1572-1668 Twenty eight bloody uprisings occur across the island.


1821 The Ottoman governor Kuchuk Mehmed executes 486 Christians who he
accuses of supporting the Greek War of independence. 20,000 Greek Christians
flee the island in order to save their lives.


British colonial rule
1878 The Ottomans sell control and possession of Cyprus to Great Britain in
return for military assistance against Russia.


1914 Cyprus is annexed to the British Empire when the Turks side with
Germany at the start of the Great War.


1915 Britain promises give Cyprus to Greece in return for joining the war
but reneges on its word.


1923 Turkey renounces all claims to Cyprus in the Treaty of Lausanne and the
Turks are advised to leave the island.


1925 Britain declares Cyprus a Crown Colony and imposes an undemocratic
constitution, which treats the majority Greeks as second-class citizens
while favouring the Muslims.


1931-1940 The Greeks rebel and demand union with Greece. British repression
increases in magnitude.


1940 Britain offers Cyprus to Greece in return for joining the Allies in WW2
and once again reneges on its word.


1955 The Cypriot resistance movement EOKA opposes British colonial rule.


The Republic of Cyprus
1960 Cyprus is given its independence under another undemocratic
constitution based on a form of apartheid where the Greek Cypriots are once
again treated as second-class citizens in the country in which they form the
overwhelming majority.


1963-64 Turkish state-sponsored TMT terrorists attack police stations across
Nicosia taking 200 people hostage. Turkey attempts to invade Cyprus bombing
and napalming civilians and the terrorists together with Turkish commandos
seize the Nicosia to Kyrenia main highway. A UN peacekeeping force is set
up.


1967 The Turkish state-sponsored terrorists attack the UN peacekeeping force
and seize the Larnaka to Limasol main highway to prepare for a Turkish
invasion.


1974 Turkey invades and ethnically cleanses the northern third of Cyprus in
the confusion caused by a failed CIA sponsored coup to assassinate the
president of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios.


1975 Turkey declares the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus to be a
Turkish federated state amid universal condemnation.


1976 A report by the European Commission of Human Rights documents the war
crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated by Turkey during and after the
invasion of Cyprus, which were unreciprocated by the other side.


1983 The UN declares the creation of a Turkish Cypriot state in the occupied
areas to be legally invalid.


1996 Two Greek Cypriot refugees are murdered in cold blood in the UN buffer
zone in Cyprus by Turkish state sponsored MHP Grey Wolves terrorists who are
brought into Cyprus by the Turkish foreign Minster Tansu Ciller. Soon after
another refugee is murdered by the occupation regime while collecting
snails.


2004 The Cypriot people resoundingly reject a plan by the fraudulent and
corrupt UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to partition Cyprus and create an
apartheid state as demanded by Turkey.

[Ptolemy]

Cyprus History


The Stone Age
Neolithic Period I (8th millennium - 4500 BC)
Neolithic Period II (4500-3500 BC)
Chalcolithic Period (3500-2500/2300 BC)
The Bronze Age
The Early Bronze Age (2500/2300 - 1900 BC)
The Middle Bronze Age (1900 - 1600 BC)
The Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BC)
The Iron Age
The Early Iron Age (1100 - 750 BC)
The Archaic Period (750-475 BC)
The Classical Period (475-325 BC)
The Hellenistic Period (325-30 BC)
The Roman Period (30 BC - 330 AD)


Cyprus is an island of oceanic origin which has never been connected to the
mainland. In the Pleistocen glacial episodes the minimum distance of Cyprus
to the mainland would have been 30 km.


The Stone Age
Neolithic Period I (8th millennium - 4500 BC)
Cyprus, though a small island, has always played an important role in the
history of the Mediterranean, far exceeding its size. The first signs of
undisputed human activity can be traced back to the 8th millennium BC when
the first settlements are encountered. Vestiges of such early communities
are found all over the island, such as at Khirokitia, Kalavasos-Tenta,
Apostolos Andreas-Kastros, Phrenaros, Petra tou Limniti etc.


Neolithic Cypriots built circular houses with small undressed stones for the
lower structures and sun-dried mudbricks and clay for the middle and
superstructure.


The daily life of the people in those neolithic villages was spent in
farming, hunting, animal husbandry and the lithic industry, while women were
engaged in spindling and weaving cloths, in addition to their probable
participation in other activities. The lithic industry was the most
individual feature of this aceramic culture and innumerable stone vessels
made of grey andesite have been discovered during excavations.


Plant remains indicate the cultivation of cereals, lentils, beans, peas and
a kind of plum called Bullace. Remains of the following animal species were
recovered during excavations: Persian fallow deer, goat, sheep, moufflon and
pig. More remains indicate Red deer, Roe deer, a kind of horse and a kind of
dog but no cattle as yet.


Life expectancy was very short; the average age at death was about 34 years,
and there was a very high infant mortality rate.


Neolithic Period II (4500-3500 BC)
The aceramic civilisation of Cyprus came to an end quite abruptly around
6000 BC. It was probably followed by a vacuum of almost 1.500 years until
around 4500 BC when we have the emergence of Neolithic II.


At this time newcomers arrived in Cyprus introducing a new neolithic era.
The main settlement that embodies most of the characteristics of the period
is Sotira near the south coast of Cyprus. It had nearly fifty houses,
usually having a single room that had its own hearth, benches, platforms and
partitions that provided working places. The houses were on the main
free-standing, with relatively thin walls and tended to be square with
rounded corners.


Chalcolithic Period (3500-2500/2300 BC)
The Neolithic II culture was destroyed by an earthquake c.3800 BC. In the
society that emerged there are no overt signs of newcomers but signs of
continuity, therefore despite the violent natural catastrophe, there is an
internal evolution that isformalised around 3500 BC when we have the
beginning of the so-called Chalcolithic (copper and stone) period that
lasted until about 2500/2300 BC.


Metalwork appears now for the first time and will stamp the future of the
island for centuries to come. We have very few chisels, hooks and jewellery
of pure copper but in one example there is a minimal presence of tin,
something which may support contact with Asia Minor, where copper-working
was established earlier.


During the Chalcolithic period changes of major importance tookplace along
with technological and artistic achievements, especially towards its end.
The presence of a stamp seal and the size of the houses that was not
uniform, both hint at property rights and social hierarchy. The same story
is supported by the burials because some of them were deposited in pits
without grave goods and some in shaft graves with relatively rich furniture,
both being indications of wealth accumulation by certain families and social
differentiation.


The Chalcolithic period did not come to an end at the same time all over
Cyprus. In the Paphos area it lingered on although in northern Cyprus the
Bronze Age came into being.

[Ptolemy]

The Bronze Age
Early Bronze Age (2500/2300 - 1900 BC)
The new era was introduced by people from Anatolia who came to Cyprus
because of disturbances in Asia Minor. It is only natural that we observe
the first vivid vestiges of this civilisation around 2300 BC in the northern
part of the island, from where it spread south and west.


As the newcomers knew how to work with copper they soon moved to the
so-called copperbelt of the island, that is the foothills of the Troodos
mountains. This movement reflects the increased interest in the raw
material that was going to be so closely connected with Cyprus for several
centuries afterwards.


The Middle Bronze Age (1900 - 1600 BC)
The Middle Bronze Age which followed (1900-1600 BC) is a relatively short
period and its earlier part is marked by peaceful development in contrast to
its final years which were marked by wars.


Unlike the early Bronze Age which furnishes no settlements as yet, the
Middle Bronze Age shows several settlements in addition to cemeteries that
give us an idea about the architecture of the period.


From Alambra in central Cyprus we know that the houses were rectangular with
many rooms, while streets were constructed allowing people to move freely in
the community.


During the same period fortresses were built in various places, a clear
indication of unrest, although we are not sure about its cause.


The Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BC)
The beginning of the Late Bronze Age does not differ from the closing years
of the previous period. Unrest, tension and anxiety mark all these years,
probably because of some sort of engagement with the Hyksos who ruled Egypt
at this time but were expelled from there in the mid-16th century. Soon
afterwards peaceful conditions prevailed in the Eastern Mediterranean that
witnessed a flowering of trade relations and the growing of urban centres.
Chief among them was Enkomi the earliest predecessor of modern Famagusta,
though several other harbour towns also sprung up along the southern coast
of Cyprus.


Rich finds from this period testify to a vivid commerce with other
countries. We have jewellery and other precious objects from the Aegean
along with pottery that prove the close connections of the two areas, though
finds coming from Near Eastern countries are also plentiful.


The years of peace that brought about such a flowering of culture and
civilisation did not last. During these years Cyprus reached unprecedented
heights in prosperity and it played a rather neutral role in the differences
of her powerful neighbours.


In the second half of the 13th century Cyprus suffered because of raids that
were intensified and turned into devastating invasions in the last quarter
of the same century.


When those disastrous events came to an end, we observe the massive arrival
of the Mycenaean Greeks as permanent settlers to Cyprus, a process that
started around 1200 BC and lasted for more than a century. This migration
is remembered in many sagas rehearsing how some of the Greek heroes that
participated in the Trojan war came to settle in Cyprus.


The newcomers brought with them their language, their advanced technology
and introduced a new outlook for visual arts.


Thus from c. 1220 BC Cyprus has remained predominantly Greek in culture,
language and population despite various influences resulting from successive
conquests.

[Ptolemy]

The Iron Age
Early Iron Age (1100 - 750 BC)
In the ensuing Early Iron Age (1100-750 BC) Cyprus becomes predominantly
Greek. Pottery shapes and decoration show a marked Aegean inspiration
although Oriental ideas creep in from time to time. New burial customs with
rock-cut chamber tombs having a long "dromos" (a ramp leading gradually
towards the entrance) along with new religious beliefs speak in favour of
the arrival of people from the Aegean. The same view is supported by the
introduction of the safety pin that denotes a new fashion in dressing and
also by a name scratched on a bronze skewer from Paphos and dating between
1050-950 BC. This name (o-pe-le-ta-u) is in the Greek language but it is
written in the Cypriot syllabary that remained in use down to the 3rd
century BC. The alphabetic writing that was adopted from the Phoenicians in
the 8th century BC in Greece proper was introduced to Cyprus as late as the
early 4th century BC.


In the period under discussion, and in particular in the 9th century BC we
witness the arrival of the Phoenicians in Cyprus, who probably came here
from their land (modern Lebanon) because they were harassed by the
Assyrians.


The Phoenicians brought with them their deities and made their presence felt
in minor arts, pottery-shapes and ornamentation.


The Archaic Period (750-475 BC)
The 8th century BC saw a marked increase of wealth in Cyprus. Communications
with East and West were on the ascend and this created a prosperous society.
Testifying to this wealth are the so-called royal tombs of Salamis, which,
although plundered, produced a truly royal abundance of wealth. Sacrifices
of horses, bronze tripods and huge cauldrons decorated with sirens, griffins
etc., chariots with all their ornamentation and the horses' gear, ivory beds
and thrones exquisitely decorated were all deposited into the tombs'
"dromoi" for the sake of their masters.


The late 8th century is the time of the spreading of the Homeric poems, the
"Iliad" and the "Odyssey". IN fact the spread of the Greek civilization had
a great effect on Cyprus.very much. Funerary customs at Salamis and
elsewhere were greatly influenced by these poems. The deceased were given
skewers and firelogs in order to roast their meat, a practice found in
contemporary Argos and Crete, recalling the similar gear of Achilles when he
entertained other Greek heroes in his tent. Honey and oil, described by
Homer as offerings to the dead are also found at Salamis, and the flames of
fire that consumed the deceased were quenched with wine as it happened to
Patroclus' body after it was given to the flames. The hero's ashes were
gathered carefully wrapped into a linen cloth and put into a golden urn.


At Salamis the ashes of the deceased are also wrapped into a cloth and
deposited into a bronze cauldron. Therefore, the Cypriots along with their
extravagant display of wealth that bears many oriental features, do not
forget their roots for which they must have been very proud. The
circulation of the Homeric poems must have revived the interest in their
ancestors whose system of government they never lost sight of.


As Mycenaean Greece was divided in small independent kingdoms, so Cyprus
kept the tradition alive down to historical times being divided into ten
petty kingdoms that were ruled by a king. Kinship was preserved even under
foreign occupations, when the cities of Cyprus remained independent even
after their submission to the Assyrians in 709, the Egyptians in 569 and the
Persians in 545 BC.


The period of Egyptian domination, though brief, left its mark mainly in
arts especially in sculpture, where we observe the rigidity and the dress of
Egyptians. Soon, however, the Cypriots discarded both for the sake of Greek
prototypes.


Under the Persians, the kings of Cyprus retained their independence,
although paying tribute to their overlord. They could mint their own coins
without even his portrait on it. Thus King Evelthon of Salamis (560-525
BC), probably the first one to cast silver or bronze coins in Cyprus, shows
a ram on the obverse and an "ankh" (Egyptian symbol of good luck) on the
reverse.


In the Persian empire, Cyprus formed part of the fifth satrapy and in
addition to tribute it had to supply the Persians with ships and crews . In
their new fate the Greeks of Cyprus had as companions the Greeks of Ionia
(west coast of Asia Minor - now Turkey) with whom they forged closer ties.
When the Ionian Greeks revolted against Persia (499 BC) the Cypriots except
for Amathus, joined in at the instigation of Onesilos, brother of the king
of Salamis, whom he dethroned for not wanting to fight for independence.


The Persians reacted quickly sending a considerable force against Onesilos.
They won despite Ionian help.

[Ptolemy]

The Classical Period (475-325 BC)
After the Persian defeat, the Greeks mounted various expeditions against
Cyprus in order to liberate it from the Persian yoke, but all their efforts
bore only temporary results.


Following these events Persian rule became more oppressive and it favoured
the Phoenician element at the expense of the Greek. A Phoenician "usurper"
ascended the throne of Salamis and it took several decades before Evagoras,
a true scion of the Teucrid family, succeeded in seizing the throne in 411
BC.


Evagoras dominated Cypriot politics for almost forty years until he died in
374/3 BC. He favoured everything Greek and he urged Greeks from the Aegean
to come and settle in Cyprus. He assisted the Athenians in many ways and
they honoured him by erecting his statue in the Stoa (portico) Basileios in
Athens.


His successors continued his struggle against the Persians but to no avail
until Alexander the Great defeated the Persians at the battle of Issos near
modern Alexandretta (Iskenderun) in 333 BC. From then on the Cypriot kings
were only too happy to transfer their allegiance to him.


In the sphere of arts we have a definite influence from Greece that was
responsible for the production of some very important sculptures. The
archaic Greek art with its attractive smile on the face of the statue is
found on many Cypriot pieces dating between 525-475 BC, that is the closing
stage of the Archaic period. According to Greek tradition men (Kouroi) are
mostly presented naked, while women (Korai) are always presented dressed
with rich foldings of their himations.


The Classical period coincides with the oppression of the Cypriot cities by
the Persians because of the revolt they staged a little earlier in 499 BC.
Because of this, few works of Greek workmanship have reached Cyprus but
their influence was extensively felt.


The Hellenistic Period (325-30 BC)
When Alexander the Great was marching southwards and then towards the heart
of the Persian empire and finally India, the Cypriot Kings assisted him in
many ways especially with their ships in the siege of Tyre. In
appreciation, Alexander set them free. This period, however was very brief
since the Macedonian King died soon afterwards and Cyprus became a bone of
contention among his successors. Finally Cyprus was won over in 294 BC by
Ptolemy who ruled Egypt where he established a dynasty that lasted for three
centuries.


Ptolemaic rule was rigid and exploited the island's resources to the utmost,
particularly timber and copper. A great contemporary figure of Cypriot
letters was the philosopher Zeno who was born at Kition about 336 and
founded the famous Stoic School of Philosophy at Athens where he died about
263 BC.


The ancient ship of Kerynia.


The Roman Period (30 BC - 330 AD)
In 58 BC the tribune Claudius Pulcher carried a law implemented by Cato,
which turned Cyprus into a Roman province attached to that of Cilicia.


During the civil wars, Cyprus was briefly given to Cleopatra of Egypt by
Julius Caesar and later by Mark Anthony. It was reverted to Roman rule in
30 BC and in 22 BC became a Senatorial Province.


Pax Romana (Roman peace) was only once disturbed in Cyprus in three
centuries of Roman occupation. This serious interruption occurred in 115/6
AD when a revolt by the Jews inspired by Messianic hopes broke out. Their
leader was Artemion, a Jew with a hellenised name as was the practice of the
time. Historians put the number of those massacred to 240,000. No doubt the
number is exaggerated but one must not forget that in Cyprus practically no
Roman troops were stationed and this facilitated the Jewish revolt. Soon,
however, the then Roman Emperor Trajan, dispatched to Cyprus one of his
generals who suppressed the insurrection and expelled all Jews from the
island, not allowing them to tread her soil even when shipwrecked.


No doubt the most important event that occurred in Roman Cyprus is the visit
by Apostles Paul and Barnabas having with them St Mark who came to the
island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 AD. After
their arrival at Salamis they proceeded to Paphos where they converted the
Roman Governor Sergius Paulus to Christianity. In the Acts of the Apostles,
St Luke describes vividly how a magician named Bar-Jesus (Elymas) was
obstructing the two Apostles in their preaching of the Gospel, so Paul by
his word only set him blind for some time. As a result of this, Sergius
Paulus believed, being astonished atthe doctrine of the Lord. In this way
Cyprus became the firstcountry in the world to be governed by a Christian
ruler.

[Ptolemy]

Middle Ages


The Byzantine Period (330-1191 AD)
Arab raids (649-965 AD)
Richard the Lionheart (1191 AD)
The Frankish Period (1191-1571)


The Byzantine Period (330-1191 AD)
The cities of Cyprus were destroyed by two successive earthquakes in 332 and
342 AD and this marked the end of an era and at the same time the beginning
of a new one, very much connected with modern life in Cyprus. Most of the
cities were not rebuilt, save Salamis which was rebuilt on a smaller scale
and renamed Constantia after the Roman Emperor Constantius II, son of
Constantine the Great, residing in Constantinople.


The new city was now the capital of the island. It was mainlyChristian and
due to this some alterations were made during the rebuilding. The palaestra
was turned into a meeting place and many architectural elements were used to
erect spacious churches decorated with murals, mosaics and coloured marbles.


In 395 AD the Roman Empire was divided in two, eastern and western.
Naturally Cyprus became part of the eastern part of the Empire called
Byzantium and it remained so for almost nine centuries.


The main event in Cyprus in comparison to older times was the spreading of
the Christian faith that created a new attitude towards life since its
morality was different to that of paganism.


The political history of the island is one of tranquillity until 649 AD when
we have the first Arab invasion. Until then people were engaged very much
in matters of faith, especially fighting the effort of the Patriarch of
Antioch to put the Church of Cyprus under his control. They were finally
successful in 488 AD when Archbishop Anthemius guided by a dream discovered
the tomb of St Barnabas with the Saint's body lying in a coffin and on his
chest a copy of the Gospel by St Matthew in Barnabas' own writing. Having
the relics with him, Anthemius dashed to Constantinople and presented them
to Emperor Zeno. The latter was very much impressed and he not only
confirmed the independence of the Church of Cyprus but he also gave to the
Archbishop in perpetuity three privileges that are as much alive today as
they were then, namely to carry a sceptre instead of a pastoral staff, to
sign with red ink and to wear a purple cloak during services.


The Byzantine Art of Cyprus.


Arab Raids (649-965 AD)
In 649 AD Arabs sailed with a big armada under the leadership of Muawiya
against Cyprus. They conquered and sacked the capital Salamis - Constantia
after a brief siege and pillaged the rest of the island. In the course of
this expedition a relative of the Prophet, Umm-Haram fell from her mule near
the Salt Lake at Larnaca and was killed. She was buried in that spot and
much later in 1816 the Hala Sultan Tekke was built there by the Turks.


In 654 AD the second Arab invasion took place that devastated the island
again. This time, however, a garrison of 12,000 men was left in Cyprus, an
indication of their intentions to incorporate it into the Moslem world.


In 677 AD the Arabs aimed straight at the heart of the Byzantine empire,
Constantinople itself. They attacked with a huge fleet but they suffered
such a defeat that they had to sign a treaty and pay an indemnity to the
Emperor. In 683 AD the Moslem garrison was withdrawn and in 688 AD the
island of Cyprus was declared neutral, with no garrisons stationed in it,
the collected taxes being divided among the Arabs and the Emperor.


The island was finally liberated by Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Phokas in
965 AD.


Richard the Lionheart (1191 AD)
In 1191 AD King Richard of England was on his way to the Holy Land
participating in the Third Crusade. Some of his ships were wrecked off the
coast of Cyprus and the ship carrying his sister Joanna, Queen of Sicily,
and his betrothed Berengaria of Navarre, anchored off Limassol. When King
Richard arrived, he regarded the Cypriots' behaviour as insulting towards
the women and captured the island, starting a new phase, and not a happy one
in Cyprus' history.

[Ptolemy]

The Frankish Period (1191-1571)
King Richard of England was reluctant to keep Cyprus under his control as
his main aim was Palestine. For this reason he sold it to the Knights
Templar. The Templars ruthlessly exploited Cyprus so the inhabitants rose
against them in the Easter of 1192 AD. Realising that it was difficult to
keep it under their control they sold it in turn to the King of Jerusalem
(Jerusalem was now in the hands of the Arabs), Guy de Lusignan, who took
possession of the island in May 1192 AD.


From the very beginning Guy saw the Cypriots as serfs so he invited the
French nobility to come from Syria and Palestine and settle in Cyprus
awarding them estates and ranks in his newly founded Kingdom. He reigned
for almost two years. His brother Amaury who succeeded him reigned for
eleven years (1194-1205 AD) and he is the real founder of the Lusignan
Kingdom of Cyprus. He established the offices of the State which was
organised on pure feudal principles.


The indigenous population consisting of Greek Cypriots was divided mainly in
three classes: The "Paroikoi" were the most numerous. They were bound to
the land of their masters and they were almost slaves. Even marriage among
"'Paroikoi" from different estates was prohibited. The second group was
called "Perperiarii" (hyperperon was a Byzantine coin). All of them
belonged to the previous group but they bought off (redeemed) their freedom
by paying 15 "hyperpera" to their masters. They continued, however, to pay
taxes for their land and produce as the "Paroikoi". The "Lefteroi" were
free citizens who either purchased their freedom or were set free by some
kind of favour. The entire Greek population was reduced to a subject race by
the French rulers. The hostility between the two was exacerbated bythe
introduction of Catholicism which people reacted to.


This climate changed only after mid 14th century and the Greek population
was allowed relative freedom in religious matters. This allowed the Greeks
to ascend the social ladder and even become officers in the army. The
French dynasty co-operated with the Orthodox Church and mixed marriages were
on the increase despite the obstacles put forth by the Catholic Church.


The last Frankish King James reigned from 1464-1473 AD and he chose as his
consort a young Venetian girl of the noblest families, Caterina Cornaro, a
marriage that was destined to seal the chapter of the Frankish Kingdom of
Cyprus. Before her departure from Venice, Caterina was adopted by the
Venetian State so, when James II died unexpectedly a few months after his
wedding, as did his offspring James III a few weeks after it was born,
Caterina was persuaded in February 1489 AD to abdicate voluntarily. Venice
offered her an estate at Asolo where she spent her days until her death in
1510 AD.


The noble local Frankish families resented the way they were treated by the
Venetians and the Greeks gained nothing from this change, in fact they were
squeezed by heavy taxes. The Orthodox Church, however, gained full freedom
for political purposes. Rebellions did occur but were easily crushed.


Meanwhile, as all the countries around Cyprus fell to the Ottomans, Cyprus
could have been their prey at any moment. The Turks sent an ultimatum with
insulting terms in March 1570 AD to the Council of Ten in Venice, demanding
the immediate cession of the island. Venice tried in vain to send
reinforcements so any resistance was doomed to failure.

[Ptolemy]

*Note: Ottoman period can be found in the topic "Ottoman rule in Cyprus

The British Period (1878-1959)

During the Congress of Berlin, which took place on 4 June 1878, Britain and
Turkey signed the Cyprus Convention whereby Cyprus was handed over to the
British in exchange for the latter's aid to Turkey in defending the Ottoman
Empire against any Russian attack.


While the Greek Cypriots had at first welcomed British rule hoping that they
would gradually achieve prosperity, democracy and national liberation, they
were soon disillusioned. The British imposed heavy taxes to cover the
compensation which they were paying to the Sultan for having conceded Cyprus
to them. Moreover,the people were not given the right to participate in the
administration of the island since all powers were reserved to the High
Commissioner and to London.


A few years later the system was reformed and some members of the
legislative Council were elected by the Cypriots, but in reality their
participation was very marginal.


With the beginning of the First World War the Ottoman Empire sided with
Germany and Great Britain annexed Cyprus on 5 November 1914.


After the war a number of modernising trends prevailed in Cyprus such as
economic development and increased educational facilities.


The British annexation of Cyprus became more concrete with the Treaty of
Lausanne (24 July 1923) whereby Turkey formally accepted the 1914 annexation
and advised the Turkish Cypriots to leave the island. As a result of this
treaty, Britain proclaimed Cyprus a Crown Colony in 1925 under an
undemocratic constitution.


In the years that followed Greek Cypriots mainly tried to increase their
constitutional liberties. Their main objective was to achieve ENOSIS, union
with Greece, despite the fact that both the British and the Turkish Cypriot
leaders were against it.


In 1929 the 'National Radical Union of Cyprus' was established. It aimed at
the liberation of Cyprus from the British and ENOSIS with Greece. In 1931
this extremist group issued a proclamation of protest against the British
which was followed by an uprising of the Greek community.


The uprising, which was suppressed with the help of Egyptian troops,
exasperated the British and they were no longer willing to negotiate for the
independence and self-determination of Cyprus.


The period between October 1931 and October 1940 proved to be a very
difficult one for the Greek Cypriots.


The Governor of the time Sir Richmond Palmer took a number of suppressive
measures including limitations in the administration and functioning of
Greek schools and prohibition of trade unions and associations of any kind
and form. This illegal regime became known as Palmerokratia named after of
the Governor. Its aim was to prevent all Enosis movements as well as local
public interest in politics.


There were strong protests against the regime but the suppressive measures
were not lifted until the beginning of the Second World War, during which
more than thirty thousand Cypriots joined the British armed forces.


After the war, a delegation from Cyprus submitted a demand for ENOSIS to
London. The demand was rejected but the British proposed a more liberal
constitution and a 10-year programme of social and economic development.


On 1 April 1955 EOKA (the Organization of Cypriot Fighters) began an armed
struggle and when its activity was intensified the British Governor took
severe repressive measures.


From mid-1956 onwards there were constant discussions in NATO but all
efforts to create an independent Cyprus which would be a member of the
British Commonwealth proved to be futile.


In 1958 the British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan prepared new proposals
for Cyprus but his plan, which was a form of partition, was rejected by
Archbishop Makarios. The Archbishop declared that he would only accept a
proposal which guaranteed independence excluding both Enosis and partition.


This sort of proposal was then discussed in NATO. A final agreement was
reached in Zurich on 11 February 1959, and ratified during the London
Conference the same month. Although the agreements were not very positive
for Cyprus, Makarios had to accept them for fear that, if the British
withdrew from Cyprus and abandoned the Greek population, Turkish troops
might have invaded the island.


Among other things the London-Zurich agreements provided for the
independence, territorial integrity, security and constitutional structure
of the Republic of Cyprus.