history of Cyprus
Quick Summary
Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean, has a history spanning over 10,000 years. Evidence of early settlements, like Khirokitia, dates back to 9,000 years ago. Around 1200 BCE, Greek immigration began, leading to the establishment of Greek kingdoms and making the Greek language predominant. A Phoenician colony was founded at Citium around 800 BCE.1
The island later came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, followed by periods of Ottoman and British administration. In 1960, Cyprus gained independence as the Republic of Cyprus. However, conflicts between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority led to a de facto partition of the island in 1974, with a Turkish Cypriot state established in the north. The official flag of the Republic of Cyprus features a yellow silhouette of the island with a green olive wreath, symbolizing peace.234567
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- Antiochus IV EpiphanesEarly career
…Antiochus won a victory at Cyprus, whose governor surrendered the island to him. Antiochus invaded Egypt again in 168, demanded that Cyprus and Pelusium be ceded to him, occupied Lower Egypt, and camped outside Alexandria. The cause of the Ptolemaeans seemed lost. But on June 22, 168, the Romans defeated…
Read More…Antiochus won a victory at Cyprus, whose governor surrendered the island to him. Antiochus invaded Egypt again in 168, demanded that Cyprus and Pelusium be ceded to him, occupied Lower Egypt, and camped outside Alexandria. The cause of the Ptolemaeans seemed lost. But on June 22, 168, the Romans defeated…
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ancient RomePompey and Crassus…70); the demagogue Clodius annexed Cyprus—driving its king to suicide—to pay for his massive grain distributions in Rome; Caesar, finally, conquered Gaul by open aggression and genocide and bled it white for the benefit of his friends and his ambitions. Crassus would have done the same with Parthia, had he…
Read More…70); the demagogue Clodius annexed Cyprus—driving its king to suicide—to pay for his massive grain distributions in Rome; Caesar, finally, conquered Gaul by open aggression and genocide and bled it white for the benefit of his friends and his ambitions. Crassus would have done the same with Parthia, had he…
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Ptolemy I SoterSatrap of Egypt…315–311, Ptolemy obtained possession of Cyprus. In this war he scored his most important victory in the battle near Gaza in 312, in which the Egyptian contingents were decisive. But war broke out anew in 310, and he lost Cyprus again in 306. He temporarily lost Cyrene as well and…
Read More…315–311, Ptolemy obtained possession of Cyprus. In this war he scored his most important victory in the battle near Gaza in 312, in which the Egyptian contingents were decisive. But war broke out anew in 310, and he lost Cyprus again in 306. He temporarily lost Cyrene as well and…
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CrusadesThe Third Crusade…passage, Richard put in at Cyprus, where his sister Joan and his fiancée, Berengaria of Navarra, had been shipwrecked and held by the island’s Byzantine ruler, a rebel prince, Isaac Comnenus. Isaac underestimated Richard’s strength and attacked. Not only did Richard defeat and capture him, but he proceeded to conquer…
Read More…passage, Richard put in at Cyprus, where his sister Joan and his fiancée, Berengaria of Navarra, had been shipwrecked and held by the island’s Byzantine ruler, a rebel prince, Isaac Comnenus. Isaac underestimated Richard’s strength and attacked. Not only did Richard defeat and capture him, but he proceeded to conquer…
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British EmpireDominance and dominionsCyprus, which was, like Gibraltar and Malta, a link in the chain of communication with India through the Mediterranean, was occupied in 1878. Elsewhere, British influence in the Far East expanded with the development of the Straits Settlements and the federated Malay states, and in…
Read MoreCyprus, which was, like Gibraltar and Malta, a link in the chain of communication with India through the Mediterranean, was occupied in 1878. Elsewhere, British influence in the Far East expanded with the development of the Straits Settlements and the federated Malay states, and in…
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GreeceExtension of Greek borders…Berlin settlement, the island of Cyprus, with its largely Greek population, came under British administration but remained formally under Ottoman sovereignty. The island was annexed by Britain in 1914, after the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and became a crown colony in…
Read More…Berlin settlement, the island of Cyprus, with its largely Greek population, came under British administration but remained formally under Ottoman sovereignty. The island was annexed by Britain in 1914, after the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and became a crown colony in…
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GreeceCivil war and its legacy…aside with renewed crisis in Cyprus, and groups within the army conspired to subvert the country’s democratic institutions. A guerrilla campaign in Cyprus—fought from the mid-1950s onward with tenacity and ruthlessness by the Greek-Cypriot general Georgios Grivas—had resulted in 1960 in the British conceding not the union with the Greek…
Read More…aside with renewed crisis in Cyprus, and groups within the army conspired to subvert the country’s democratic institutions. A guerrilla campaign in Cyprus—fought from the mid-1950s onward with tenacity and ruthlessness by the Greek-Cypriot general Georgios Grivas—had resulted in 1960 in the British conceding not the union with the Greek…
Read More- Sokollu Mehmed Paşa
…its war aim—the acquisition of Cyprus from the Venetians.
Read More…its war aim—the acquisition of Cyprus from the Venetians.
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Ottoman EmpireBayezid IIIt also gained control of Cyprus (1489) and built there a major naval base, which it refused to allow Bayezid to use against the Mamluks. Instead, the Venetians used Cyprus as a base for pirate raids against Ottoman shipping and shores, thus pointing up the island’s strategic importance to the…
Read MoreIt also gained control of Cyprus (1489) and built there a major naval base, which it refused to allow Bayezid to use against the Mamluks. Instead, the Venetians used Cyprus as a base for pirate raids against Ottoman shipping and shores, thus pointing up the island’s strategic importance to the…
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Ottoman EmpireThe 1875–78 crisisBy a separate convention Cyprus was put under British rule.
Read MoreBy a separate convention Cyprus was put under British rule.
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LebanonColoniesCyprus had Phoenician settlements by the 9th century bce. Citium (biblical Kittim), known to the Greeks as Kition, in the southeast corner of the island, became the principal colony of the Phoenicians in Cyprus. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, several smaller settlements were planted as stepping-stones…
Read MoreCyprus had Phoenician settlements by the 9th century bce. Citium (biblical Kittim), known to the Greeks as Kition, in the southeast corner of the island, became the principal colony of the Phoenicians in Cyprus. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, several smaller settlements were planted as stepping-stones…
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TurkeyPost-Cold War: Neoliberalism, attempt to join the European Union, and the zero problems doctrine…intervene in the ongoing Turkish-Greek Cyprus standoff by encouraging the Turkish north to support a UN-sponsored unification plan that was to precede Cyprus’s admittance to the EU. Although Turkey was successful in its efforts and the Turkish north voted strongly in favor of the plan, the Greek south overwhelmingly rejected…
Read More…intervene in the ongoing Turkish-Greek Cyprus standoff by encouraging the Turkish north to support a UN-sponsored unification plan that was to precede Cyprus’s admittance to the EU. Although Turkey was successful in its efforts and the Turkish north voted strongly in favor of the plan, the Greek south overwhelmingly rejected…
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TurkeyLate Cold War: 1974 Cyprus crisis and balancing relations with the West and the Soviet Union…in consequence of events in Cyprus. The independence of Cyprus had been arranged through the Zürich and London agreements of 1959. Turkey sought to protect the interests of the Turkish community on Cyprus, and, when these were threatened by disputes between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in 1963 and again in…
Read More…in consequence of events in Cyprus. The independence of Cyprus had been arranged through the Zürich and London agreements of 1959. Turkey sought to protect the interests of the Turkish community on Cyprus, and, when these were threatened by disputes between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in 1963 and again in…
Read More- Treaty of Lausanne
…and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence in Turkey, and imposed no controls over Turkey’s finances or armed forces. The straits between…
Read More…and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence in Turkey, and imposed no controls over Turkey’s finances or armed forces. The straits between…
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