History of Cyprus

History of Cyprus.

See also the history of Europe, History of the Middle East, history of present-day nations and states.

The name

The metal copper is named after Cyprus. Romans used copper extensively and they received their copper from Cyprus and was known as the metal of Cyprus. In Latin it was aes Cyprium- the 'metal of Cyprus', it was shortened to cyprium and then corrupted to cuprum. The ancient Greek word for copper is chalkos.

Mythical origins

Cyprus is mentioned by biblical historian Flavius Josephus as being settled by Kittim , son of Javan , grandson of Japheth. "Cethimus possessed the island Cethima: it is now called Cyprus; and from that it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coasts, are named Cethim by the Hebrews: and one city there is in Cyprus that has been able to preserve its denomination; it has been called Citius by those who use the language of the Greeks, and has not, by the use of that dialect, escaped the name of Cethim." AotJ I:6.

Prehistory

See separate article on Cypriote Prehistory

Ancient history

See separate article on Cypriote Ancient History

Byzantine period, Arab Condominium, Crusades, Lusignan Dynasty and Venice

See separate article on Cyprus in the Middle Ages

Ottoman Empire

See separate article on Cyprus under Ottoman Rule

Modern History

See separate article on the modern History of Cyprus

Chronology

• 1571-1878 Three centuries of Turkish rule under the Ottomans. Only the Venetian strongholds of Nicosia and Famagusta offer resistance. The Islanders themselves are glad to see the end of the oppressive Venetian rule. The Orthodox church is recognised again and the Archbishopric restored. The feudal system is abolished, but heavy taxes are imposed, using the church as tax collectors.
• 1625-1700 Great depopulation of Cyprus. The plague wipes out over half of the population
• 1821 Greek Cypriots side with Greece in a revolt against Turkish rule. The island's leading churchmen are executed as punishment.
• 1869 The Suez Canal opens.
• 1878-1960 British occupation. The British take over the administration of the island, ceded by the Ottomans, for its strategic value, to protect their sea route to India via the Suez Canal. In exchange, Britain agrees to help Turkey against future Russian attacks.

Crown commissioners: Sir Robert Biddulph (1880-?) Sir Walter Sendall (1892-1898) Sir Charles King-Harman (1904-1910)

• 1914 Cyprus is annexed by Britain when Turkey joins with Germany and Austro-Hungary in World War I.
• 1925 Cyprus becomes a British Crown Colony.

Governors: Sir Richmond Palmer

• 1931 First serious riots of Greek Cypriots demanding Enosis, the union with Greece. The government-house in Nikosia is burned down and martial law is declared afterwards and the legislative council is abolished. The display of the Greek flag and the Greek National anthem were banned.
• 1939 Greek Cypriots fight with the British in World War II, but remain set on Enosis after the war is over. The Turkish Cypriots, however want the British rule to continue.
• 1950 Archbishop Makarios III is elected as political and spiritual leader. Makarios becomes the head of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church and heads the campaign for Enosis with the support of Greece.
• 1955 A series of bomb attacks starts a violent campaign for Enosis by EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) led by George Grivas, an ex-colonel in Greek army, born in Cyprus. Grivas takes name of Dighenis, legendary Cypriot hero and conducts guerrilla warfare from a secret hideout in the Troodos Mountains. He is estimated to have 300 men at maximum, yet successfully plagues 20,000 British troops and 4,500 police.
• 1956 Britain deports Makarios to the Seychelles in attempt to quell the revolt. Turkish Cypriots are used as auxiliaries of British Security Forces, and become one of the major targets of the EOKA.
• 1957 Field Marshal Sir John Harding is replaced by the civilian governor Sir Hugh Foot in a conciliatory move.
• 1958 Turkish Cypriots are alarmed by British conciliation and begin demands for partition. There are inter-communal clashes and attacks on British.
• 1960 British, Greek and Turkish governments sign a Treaty of Guarantee to provide for an independent Cypriot state within the Commonwealth and allowing for the retention of two Sovereign Base Areas of Dhekelia and Akrotiri. Under the treaty, each power has the right to take military action in the face of any threat to the constitution. Cyprus becomes truly independent for the first time. Archbishop Makarios, (Greek Cypriot) becomes the first President, Dr Kutchuk (Turkish Cypriot) Vice-President. Both have the right of veto. Turkish Cypriots, who form 18% of the population, are guaranteed vice-presidency, three out of ten ministerial posts and 30% of jobs in the public service, 40% in the army and separate municipal services in the five major towns. Overall, a very complex constitution is drafted, including a lot of decisions to be taken by majority of votes overall as well as within each community.
• 1963-1973 Greek Cypriots view the constitution as unworkable and propose changes abolishing all veto rights and many ethnic clauses; these proposals are rejected by Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish government. Inter-communal fighting escalates. An UN Peace Keeping Force is sent in, but is powerless to prevent incidents. Thousands of Turkish Cypriots are 'ethnically cleansed' by the Greeks; Turkish villages are blocked, sometimes staying isolated for months.
• 1974 - 1976 The military government (junta) in Greece supports a coup by the Greek National guard to overthrow Makarios. Makarios is forced to flee to the British base. A puppet regime is imposed under Nicos Sampson, a former EOKA fighter. Rauf Denktaş, the Turkish Cypriot leader, calls for joint military action by the UK and Turkey, as guarantors of Cypriot independence, to prevent Greece from imposing Enosis. The Turkish prime minister travels to London to persuade the UK to intervene jointly with Turkey, but fails, so Turkey lands 40,000 troops on the north coast of Cyprus. Turkey describes this as 'a peace operation to restore constitutional order and protect the Turkish Cypriot community'. UN talks break down and Turkish forces are left in control of 37% of the island. Refugees from both communities cross to respective sides of the de facto border. Turks announce a Federate State in the north, with Denktaş as leader. UN Forces stay as buffer between the two zones. Some 20,000 mainland Turks and Kurds, mainly subsistence farmers, often from the areas inundated by the Euphrates-dam, are brought in to settle and work the under-populated land. Those that stay more than five years are given citizenship of North Cyprus. On the Karpaz, a Greek-speaking minority stayed behind and is still under UN-supervision.
• 1977 Makarios dies, having been restored as President of Greek Cyprus after 1974. He is succeeded by Spyros Kyprianou.
• 1983 The Turkish Federated State declares itself independent as the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), still with Denktaş as President. The new state is not recognised by any country except Turkey and boycotted.
• 1992-1995 UN sponsored talks between the two sides run into the sand, but with a commitment to resume.
• 2003 Cyprus wants to join the European Community in May 2004, renewed negotiations about the status of the Islands. In December 2003, the borders between the two parts of Cyprus were partly opened.
• 2004 The Annan Plan for reunification is rejected in a bipartisan referendum in the South. Cyprus joins the EU as a divided island on 1 May.

See also

• Cyprus, Enosis, Greco-Turkish relations, List of cities in Cyprus, Kingdom of Cyprus

Further reading

1. Prehistory
   • Vassos Karageorghis, Cyprus (1969). Includes bibliography.
   • Veronica Tatton-Brown, Cyprus BC: 7000 years of history (London, British Museum 1979).
   • Stuart Swiny, Earliest Prehistory of Cyprus (American School of Oriental Research 2001) ISBN 0-89757-051-0
   • J. M. Webb/D. Frankel, "Characterising the Philia facies. Material culture, chronology and the origins of the Bronze age in Cyprus" in American Journal of archaeology 103, 1999, 3-43.
   • S. Gitin/A. Mazar/E. Stern (eds.), Mediterranean peoples in transition, thirteenth to early 10th century BC (Jerusalem, Israel exploration Society 1998). Late Bronze Age and transition to the Iron Age.
   • J. D. Muhly, "The role of the Sea People in Cyprus during the LCIII period. In: Vassos Karageorghis and J. D. Muhly (eds), Cyprus at the close of the Bronze Age (Nicosia 1984), 39-55. End of Bronze Age
2. History, general
   • C. D. Cobham, Excerpta Cypria: materials for a history of Cyprus (Cambridge 1908). Nice Collection of written sources.
   • D. Hunt, Footprints in Cyprus (London, Trigraph 1990).
3. History, 20th century
   • C. Spyridiakis, The education policy of the English government in Cyprus (1878-1954).
   • C. Spyridiakis, A brief history of Cyprus.

External links

• "Cyprus, as I Saw it in 1879" by Samuel W. Baker.
• http://archaeology.stanford.edu/journal/newdraft/leriou/paper.pdf on the problem of the Mycenean colonisation.
• http://www.ancientcyprus.ac.uk/Bibliographies/Nestor98.asp new literature and discussion group
• Cyprus - an island divided - Interactive guide from The Guardian beginning with the Turkish invasion of 1974.
• http://www.copper.org/education/60centuries/raw_material/thename.html Cyprus/copper
• http://www.nepomak.org/HOCFrameset.html History of Cyprus Encyclopaedia online CD from Nepomak (World Organisation of Young Overseas Cypriots.)

http://www.lobbyforcyprus.org/ http://www.cyprus.com.cy/ http://www.kypros.org/Chypre/ http://www.hri.org/Cyprus/Zypern/ http://imia.cc.duth.gr/turkey/index.e.html