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History of Cyprus

This is the history of Cyprus. See also the history of Europe, history of present-day nations and states.

Contents

Narrative

the name

The metal copper is named after Cyprus. Romans used copper extensively and they recieved 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

Neolithic

Cyprus was not settled in the old stone age, which led to the survival of numerous dwarf forms, such as dwarf elephants (Elephas cypriotes) and pygmy hippos (Phanourios minutis) well into the Holocene. There are claims of an association of this fauna with artefacts of Epipalaeolithic foragers at Aetokremnos near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. The first undisputed settlement occurred in the 9th (or perhaps 10th) millennium BC from the Levant (PPNB ). The first settlers were already agriculturalists, but did not yet produce pottery (aceramic Neolithic). They introduced the dog, sheep, goats and maybe cattle and pigs as well as numerous wild animals like foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) that were previously unknown on the island. The PPNB settlers built round houses with floors made of terrazzo of burned lime (e.g. Kastros, Shillourokambos, Tenta) and cultivated einkorn and emmer. Pig, sheep, goat and cattle were kept, but remained morphologically wild. Evidence for cattle (attested at Shillourokambos) is rare and when they apparently died out in the course of the 8th millennium they were not reintroduced until the early Bronze Age.

In the 6th millennium BC, the aceramic Khirokitia culture (Neolithic I) was characterised by round houses (tholoi), stone vessels and an economy based on sheep, goats and pigs. Cattle were unknown, and Persian fallow deer were hunted. The houses had a foundation of river pebbles, the remainder of the building was constructed in mudbrick. Sometimes several round houses were joined together to form a kind of compound. Some of these houses reach a diameter of up to 10 m. Inhumation burials are located inside the houses. The following ceramic Sotira phase (Neolithic II) has monochrome vessels with combed decoration. The sub-rectangular houses had two or three rooms. In Khirokitia, the remains of the Sotira phase overlay the aceramic remains. There are Sotira-ceramics in the earliest levels of Erimi as well. In the North of the island, the ceramic levels of Troulli maybe synchronous with Sotira in the South.

The Late Neolithic is characterised by a red-on white ware. The late neolithic settlement of Kalavassos -Pamboules has sunken houses.

The Eneolithic or Chalcolithic period is divided into the Erimi (Chalcolithic I) and Ambelikou/Ayios Georghios (Chalcolithic II) phases. The type-site of the Eneolithic I period is Erimi on the South coast of the island. The ceramic is characterised by red-on white pottery with linear and floral designs. Stone (steatite) and clay figurines with spread arms are common. In Erimi, a copper chisel has been found, this is the oldest copper find in Cyprus so far. Otherwise, copper is still rare.

Bronze Age

The earliest phase of the Bronze age (Philia-facies) saw a rapid transformation of technology and economy. Urn-burials of children were used for the first time, as well as rectangular buildings, the plough, the warp-weighted loom and clay pot stands. Cattle was reintroduced, together with the donkey. Marki Alonia is the best excavated settlement of this period.

In the Bronze Age the first cities, like Enkomi , were built. Systematic copper mining began, and this resource was widely traded. The early Cypriot period is synchronous with the end of the EBA in Tarsus (Cilicia) ca. 2.600 BC cal.

The early Bronze Age (Early Cypriote) was a period of Anatolian influence. The most important site is the necropolis of Vounos on the North coast.

The Cypriot syllabic script was first used in early phases of the late Bronze age (LCIB) and continued in use for ca. 500 years into the LC IIIB, maybe up to the second half of the eleventh century BC. Most scholars believe it was used for a native, non-Greek Cypriot language (Eteocypriot ) that survived until the 4th century BC, but the actual proofs for this are scant, as the tablets still have not been completely deciphered.

Late Bronze Age horned altar at Pigadhes
Late Bronze Age horned altar at Pigadhes

The Late Cypriot (LC) IIC (1300-1200 BC) was a time of local prosperity. Cities were rebuilt on a rectangular grid plan, like Enkomi, where the town gates now correspond to the grid axes and numerous grand buildings front the street system or newly founded. Great official buildings constructed from ashlar-masonry point to increased social hierarchisation and control. Some of these buildings contain facilities for processing and storing olive oil, like at Maroni -Vournes and building X at Kalavassos -Ayios Dhimitrios. Other ashlar-buildings are known from Palaeokastro. A Sanctuary with a horned altar constructed from ashlar-masonry has been found at Myrtou-Pigadhes, other temples have been located at Enkomi, Kition and Kouklia (Palaepaphos). Both the regular layout of the cities and the new masonry techniques find their closest parallels in Syria, especially in Ras-Shamra (Ugarit). Rectangular corbelled tombs point to close contacts with Syria and Palestine as well. The practice of writing spread, and tablets in the Cypriote syllabic script have been found on the mainland as well (Ras Shamra). Ugaritic texts from Ras Shamra and Enkomi mention Ya, the Assyrian name of Cyprus, that thus seems to have been in use already in the late Bronze Age.

Oxhide-shaped copper ingots from shipwrecks like Ulu Burun, Iria and Cape Gelidonya attest to the widespread metal trade. Weights in the shape of animals found in Enkomi and Kalavasos follow the Syro-Palestinian, Mesopotamian, Hittite and Aegean standarts and thus attest to the wide ranging trade as well.

Some authors believe that late Bronze age Cyprus was a part of the Hittite Empire under the name of Alasiya, but up to now, no written confirmation of this has been found, and Anatolian and Hittite finds are extremely rare at this period. Some towns (Enkomi, Kition, Palaeokastro and Sinda) show traces of destruction at the end of LC IIC. If this is really an indication of a Mycenean invasion has recently come under considerable doubt. Originally, two waves of destruction, ca. 1230 BC by the Sea-People and 1190 BC by Aegean refugees, or 1190 and 1179 according to Paul Aström had been proposed. Some smaller settlements (Ayios Dhimitrios and Kokkinokremnos) were abandoned but do not show traces of destruction.

In the later phase of the late Bronze Age (LCIIIA, 1200-1100 BC) great amounts of "Mycenaean" IIIC:1b pottery were produced locally. New architectural features include Cyclopean walls, found on the Greek mainland as well and a certain type of rectangular stepped capitals, endemic on Cyprus. Chamber tombs are given up in favour of shaft graves. Many scholars therefore believed that Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks by the end of the Bronze Age. But this view has increasingly been criticised in recent years, as there is no distinct break in most areas of material culture between the LCIIC (1400-1200 BC) and LCIII. Large amounts of IIIC:1b pottery are found in Palestine during this period as well. While this was formerly interpreted as evidence of an invasion ("Sea Peoples"), this is seen more and more as an indigenous development, triggered by increasing trade relations with Cyprus and Crete. There are finds that show close connections to Egypt as well. In Hala Sultan Tekke Egyptian pottery has been found, among them wine jugs bearing the cartouche of Seti I and fish bones of the Nile perch.

Another Greek invasion was believed to have taken place in the following century (LCIIIB, 1100-1050), indicated, among other things, by a new type of graves (long dromoi) and Mycenean influences in pottery decoration.

Most authors claim that the Cypriot city kingdoms, first described in written sources in the 8th century BC were already founded in the 11th century BC. Other scholars see a slow process of increasing social complexity between the 12th and the 8th centuries, based on a network of chiefdoms. In the 8th century (geometric period) the number of settlements increases sharply and monumental tombs, like the 'Royal' tombs of Salamis appear for the first time. This could be a better indication for the appearance of the Cypriot kingdoms.

Iron Age

The Iron Age follows the Submycenean period (1125-1050 BC) or Late Bronze age and is divided into the:

  • Geometric 1050-700
  • Archaic 700-525

Foundations myths documented by classical authors connect the foundation of numerous Cypriot towns with immigrant Greek heroes in the wake of the Trojan war. For example, Teucer, brother of Aias was supposed to have founded Salamis, and the Arcadian Agapenor of Tegea to have replaced the native ruler Kinyras and to have founded Paphos. Some scholars see this a memory of a Greek colonisation already in the 11th century. In the 11th century tomb 49 from Palaepaphos-Skales three bronze obeloi with inscriptions in Cypriot syllabic script have been found, one of which bears the name of Opheltas. This is first indication of the use of Greek language on the island.

Cremation as a burial rite is seen as a Greek introduction as well. The first cremation burial in Bronze vessels has been found at Kourion-Kaloriziki, tomb 40, dated to the first half of the 11th century (LCIIIB). The shaft grave contained two bronze rod tripod stands, the remains of a shield and a golden sceptre as well. Formerly seen as the Royal grave of first Argive founders of Kourion, it is now interpreted as the tomb of a native Cypriote or a Phoenician prince. The cloisonné enamelling of the sceptre head with the two falcons surmounting it has no parallels in the Aegean, but shows a strong Egyptian influence. The evidence for Greek settlement is thus not very strong, but many Greek Cypriot archaeologists have consistently downplayed the "oriental" influence.

In the 8th century, numerous Phoenician colonies were founded, like Kart-Hadasht ('New Town'), present day Larnaca and Salamis. The oldest cemetery of Salamis has indeed produced children's burials in Canaanite jars, clear indication of Phoenician presence already in the LCIIIB (11th century). Similar jar burials have been found in cemeteries in Kourion-Kaloriziki and Palaepaphos -Skales near Kouklia. In Skales, many Levantine imports and Cypriote imitations of Levantine forms have been found and point to a Phoenician expansion even before the end of the 11th century.

Ancient history

The first written source shows Cyprus under Assyrian rule. A stela found 1845 in Kition commemorates the victory of king Sargon II (721-705 BC) in 709 over the seven kings in the land of Ia', in the district of Iadnana or Atnana. The former is supposedly the Assyrian name of the island, while some authors take the latter to mean Greece (the Islands of the Danaoi). There are other inscriptions referring to Ia' in Sargon's palace at Khorsabad . The ten kingdoms listed by an inscription of Esarhaddon in 673/2 BC have been identified as Soli, Salamis, Kition, Amathus, Kourion , Paphos and on the coast and Tamassos , Ledrai , Idalion and Chytroi in the interiour. Later inscriptions add Marion, Lapithos and Kerynia (Kyrenia). The city-kingdoms began to strike their own coins around 500 BC, using the Persian weight system.

The Greek alphabet was introduced by Evagoras I. of Salamis, in other parts of the island, the Phoenician script (Kition) or the Cypriot syllabic alphabet was still used, either for inscriptions in Greek (Arcadic ) or in the so called Eteo-Cypriot language (Amathus).

Cyprus gained independence around 669/663. Cemeteries of this period are mainly rock-cut tombs. They have been found, among others, at Tamassos, Soloi, Patriki and Trachonas. The rock-cut 'Royal' tombs at Tamassos , built ca. 600 BC imitate wooden houses. The pillars show Phoenician influence. Some graves contain remains of horses and chariots. In 570, the Island was conquered by Egypt under Amasis.

In 526 BC, the Persians conquered the island. Some years later, the island was incorporated into the 5th Satrapy (Ionia), and East Greek influence can be seen in the Cypriot material culture. The Persians did not interfere in internal affais, the city-kingdoms continued to strike their own coins and to wage war among each other. Royal palaces have excavated in Palaepaphos and in Vouni in the territory of Marion on the North coast. They closely follow Persian examples like Persepolis. Vouni, on a hill overlooking the bay of Güzelyurt was built around 520 BC and destroyed in 380. It contained Royal audience chambers (liwan ), open courtyards, bathhouses and stores. The towns were fortified with mudbrick walls on stone foundations and rectangular bastions. The houses were constructed of mud-bricks as well, public buildings were faced with ashlar . The Phoenician town of Carpasia near Dipkarpaz had houses built of rubble masonry with square stone blocks forming the corners. Temples and sanctuaries were mainly built according to Phoenician templates. Soloi had a small temple with a Greek plan.

The main deity on the Island was the Great Goddess, Phoenician Astarte, later known under the Greek name of Aphrodite, who was called 'the Cypriote' by Homer. Paphian inscriptions call her the Queen. Pictures of Aphrodite appear on coins of Salamis as well, demonstrating that her cult was of more than local importance. The king of Paphos was high Priest of Aphrodite as well. Other Gods venerated were the Phoenician Anat, Baal, Eshmun, Reshef, Mikal and Melkart and the Egyptian Hathor, Thoeris , Bes and Ptah, as attested by amulets. Animal sacrifices are attested by terracotta-votives. The Sanctuary of Aya Irini contained over 2000 figurines.

Statues in stone show a mixture of Egyptian and Greek influence. Men often wear Egyptian whigs and Assyrian-style beards. Armour and dress show western Asiatic elements as well. During the Persian rule, Ionian influence on the scultures intensified, copies of Greek korai appear, as well as statues of men in Greek dress. Naked kouroi, common in Greece, are extremely rare. In the pottery, definite local styles develop, some Greek pottery was imported as well.

Except for Amathus, the Kingdoms of Cyprus, took part in the Ionian rising in 499 BC, following the lead of Onesilos of Salamis. The Persians crushed the Cypriote armies and laid siege to the fortified towns in 498 BC. In Paphos, remains of a Persian siege-ramp and counter-tunnels have been excavated at the North-gate. Soloi surrendered after a five-month siege. Around 450, Kition annexed Idalion with Persian help. The importance of Kition increased again when it acquired the Tamassos copper-mines.

The Teucrid dynasty of Salamis had been displaced by an Phoenician exile around 450 BC. Only in 411 did Evagoras I regain the throne of Salamis. At the beginning of the 4th century BC, he took control of the whole island and tried to gain independence from Persia with Athenian help. Ca. 380 a Persian force besieged Salamis . Evagoras was forced to surrender, but stayed king of Salamis until he was murdered in 374. Together with Egypt and Phoenicia, Cyprus rebelled again in 350 BC, but the upraising was crushed by Artaxerxes in 344.

Only during the 4th century, the Cypriot gods became known under Greek names. Anat, who had a temple at Vouni was called Athena, Astarte Aphrodite, the main male God as Zeus. Reshef and Hylates were equated with Apollo, Eshmun with Asklepios.

During the siege of Tyre, the Cypriot Kings went over to Alexander the Great and supported him with ships. In 321 four Cypriot kings sided with Ptolemy I Soter and defended the island against Antigonos. Ptolemy lost Cyprus to Demetrios Poliorketes in 306 and 294 BC, but after that it remained under Ptolemaic rule till 58 BC. It was ruled by a governor from Egypt and sometimes formed a minor Ptolemaic kingdom during the power-struggles of the 2nd and 1st centuries. Strong commercial relationships with Athens and Alexandria, two of the most important commercial centres of antiquity, developed.

Full Hellenisation only took place under Ptolemaic rule. Phoenician and native Cypriot traits disappeared, together with the old Cypriot syllabic script . A number of cities were founded during this time, e.g. Arsinoe that was founded between old and new Paphos by Ptolemy II.

Image:pillars_of_paul.JPG

Roman occupation

Cyprus became a Roman province in 58 BC, according to Strabo because Publius Claudius Pulcher held a grudge against Ptolemy and sent Marcus Cato to conquer the island after he had become tribune. Marc Anthony gave the island to Cleopatra VII of Egypt and her sister Arsinoe, but it became a Roman province again after his defeat at the Battle of Actium (31 BC) in 30 BC. Since 22 BC it was a senatorial province, after the reforms of Diocletian it was placed under the Consularis Oriens. The island suffered great losses in the Jewish rising of AD 115/116. Several earthquakes led to the destruction of Salamis at the beginning of the 4th century, at the same time drought and famine hit the island.

Christianization: The apostle Paul is reported to have converted the people of Cyprus to Christianity. St. Barnabas was supposed to have founded the Cypriote church, underpinning claims for ecclesiastical independece from Antioch. According to the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas , Barnabas carried a copy of the Gospel with him, which he had written and that was buried with him, and later unearthed after a dream by Archbishop Anthemius of Salamis. At least three Cypriote bishops (sees of Salamis, Tremithus and Paphos) took part at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, twelve at the council of Sardica in 344. In 400, the Metrolitan see was located at Salamis (Constantia).

Early Cypriote Saints include St. Heracleidius , St. Spiridon, St. Hilarion and St. Epiphanius. A fragment of the true cross was deposited by St. Helena at Tokhni , the cross of the penitent thief at Stavrovouni , which helped to relieve a terrible drought. During the 5th century AD, the church of Cyprus achieved its independence from the Patriarch of Antioch at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Emperor Zeno granted the archbishop of Cyprus the right to carry a sceptre instead of a pastoral staff.

Byzantine period and Arab Condominium

After the division of the Roman Empire into an eastern half and a western half, Cyprus came under the rule of Byzantium. At that time, its bishop, while still subject to the Church, was made autocephalous by the Council of Ephesus.

When the Arabs invaded Cyprus in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik reached an unprecedented agreement. For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines as a condominium, despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland.

This period lasted until the year 965, when a resurgent Byzantium conquered the island. In 1185, the last Byzantine governor of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus from a minor line of the Imperial house, rose in rebellion and attempted to seize the throne. His attempted coup was unsuccessful, but Comnenos was able to retain control of the island.

Byzantine actions against Comnenos failed because he enjoyed the support of William II of Sicily. The Emperor had agreed with the sultan of Egypt to close Cypriot harbours to the Crusaders. Isaac Comnenos was displaced by Richard I Plantagenet in 1192 and kept prisoner till his death in 1194 or 1195.

Crusades

In the 12th century A.D. the island became a target of the crusaders. Richard the Lionheart landed in Limassol on the 1st of June 1191 in search of his sister and his bride Berengaria, whose ship had become separated from the fleet in a storm. Richard married Berengaria in Limassol on the 12th of May 1192. She was crowned as Queen of England by John Fitzluke , Bishop of Evreux. The crusader fleet continued to St. Jean d'Acre (Syria) on the 5th of June. The army of Richard the Lionheart continued to occupy Cyprus and raised taxes. After local revolts he decided to sell the island to the Knights Templar, who were unable to hold the island because of further hostility among the local population due to tax raising. A rebellion which took place on April 6 1192 made the Templars sell the island to Guy de Lusignan who established himself in May 1192. This was the beginning of the Frankish (Lusignian) occupation of the island, establishing the Kingdom of Cyprus. The relationship between the Cypriots and the Franks was never harmonious. They declared Latin the official language, later replacing it with French; much later, Greek was recognised as a second official language. In 1196, the Latin Church was established, and the Orthodox Cypriot Church experienced a series of religious persecutions. Maronites settled on Cyprus during the crusades and still maintain some villages in the North.

Venice

Around 1470, Venice began to attack the island, forcing the Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, to will the Island to Venice, which occupied it on March 14, 1489.

Ottoman Empire

In 1570, the Turks first occupied the island, and Lala Mustafa Pasha became the first Turkish Governor of Cyprus, challenging the claims of Venice. Simultaneously, the Pope formed a coalition between the Papal States, Malta, Spain, Venice and several other Italian states, with no real result. In 1573 the Venetians left, removing the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Ottoman Empire gave timars--land grants--to soldiers under the condition that they and their families would stay there permanently. The Ottomans also applied the millet system to Cyprus, which allowed religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church and the cohesion of the ethnic Greek population.

During the 17th century the Turkish population grew rapidly, partly by conversion. Most of the Turks who had settled on the island during the three centuries of Ottoman rule remained when control of Cyprus--although not sovereignty--was ceded to Britain in 1878. Many, however, left for Turkey during the 1920s. By 1970, ethnic Turks represented about 20% of the total population of the island, with ethnic Greeks representing the remainder. The distinction between the two groups was by religion, not necessarily by language or descent.

Many Cypriots supported the Greek independence effort that began in 1821, leading to severe reprisals by the Ottoman Empire. When Greece became independent in 1829 many Cypriots sought the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece, but it remained part of the Ottoman Empire.

British rule and annexation

In 1869 the Suez Canal opened, and the United Kingdom showed increasing interest in the island, which is situated in what had suddenly become a very convenient location. In private negotiations between the UK and the Porte in 1878, the UK agreed to support Turkey in the Russian-Turkish war, in exchange for control of Cyprus; this agreement was formalised as the Cyprus Convention. Lieutenant-General Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley (1833-1913) became the First High Commissioner in 1878.

In 1880, the new Liberal government instituted separate education systems for Greek and Turkish speakers (Laws of Education of 1895, 1897 and 1905). Elementary teachers were appointed by village committees. The Greek government sponsored private schools, for example in Limassol (opened in 1899). In Nicosia, the Cypriot Brotherhood in Egypt sponsored a Greek Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nikosia. It was reconstructed in 1922. Greek schools taught Greek history and geography in preference to Cypriot subjects. Greek national holidays (Flag Day, the Greek national independence day) were celebrated by teachers and schoolchildren. Starting in 1923, the education system was increasingly centralised, elementary teachers were appointed by the (Greek and Turkish) Boards of education, since 1929 directly by the government. The education law of 1933 established governmental control over the curriculum of elementary schools as well. Administrative details were centrally supervised as well. Secondary education was to follow suit two years later.

In 1914 the Ottoman Empire declared war against Britain and France (as part of the complex series of alliances that led to World War I). The British cancelled their agreement with the Turks and annexed Cyprus on November 2, as part of the British Empire, making the Cypriots British subjects. On November 5 the British and the French declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

In 1915, the UK offered Cyprus to Greece if the latter chose to enter the war on the side of the Allies. However, Greece hesitated and the offer was withdrawn. Since then two prevailing plans appeared for Cyprus: in general, the Greek Cypriots supported the union of the island with Greece (enosis) and the Turkish Cypriots supported its division into two parts (taksim ).

After the World War I, Greek Nationalist propaganda increased. In 1931 the government-house in Nikosia was burned down during riots for enosis. The British declared martial law and abolished the legislative. The display of the Greek flag and the Greek National anthem were banned and, in 1932, Flag Day was forbidden. The UK then started to promote a more Cyprus-centred education and tried to promote a Cypriot identity in favour of Greek and Turkish ones.


In 1946, the British set up detention camps in Cyprus to house Jewish refugees from Europe caught trying to flee to Palestine. At their height in 1948 the camps held more than 40,000 refugees, nearly all of whom left for Israel after 1949, when the new state was firmly established.

British military bases on the island have played an important role in all recent armed conflicts on the island and the UK continues to hold 256 km² of land in two bases on the southern coast.

Proposed union with Greece

In 1948, King Paul of Greece declared that Cyprus desired union with Greece. In 1951 the Orthodox Church of Cyprus presented a referendum according to which around 97% of the Greek Cypriot population wanted the union. The United Nations accepted the Greek petition and enosis became an international issue. In 1952 both Greece and Turkey became members of NATO.

In 1955 EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), a guerrilla group, was formed under the leadership of George Grivas , a Greek Cypriot army officer with right-wing extremist beliefs. For the next four years EOKA attacked primarily British or British-connected targets. The UK reacted, often with equal brutality and threats of satisfying the Turkish interests. Britain tried and to some degree succeeded in reproducing what it had done in India and other colonies, viz. to divide people by their religious beliefs in order to make the colonies easier to rule. Some writers have asserted that this commonly practiced British colonial policy resulted in the exaggeration of ethnic differences while reducing the sense of national identity. Archbishop Makarios and other Cypriot clergy and political leaders were forced into exile in Seychelles. In 1957 the UN decided that the issue should be resolved according to its Statutory Map . The exiles returned, and both sides began a series of violent acts against each other.

On February 19, 1959 the Zürich agreement attempted to end the conflict. Without the presence of either the Greek or the Turkish sides, the UK outlined a Cypriot constitution, which was eventually accepted by both sides. Both Greece and Turkey along with Britain were appointed as guarantors of the island's integrity. Some of the major points of the Zurich agreement are:

  • Cyprus is to become an independent state.
  • Both taksim and enosis are to be prohibited.
  • Greek and Turkish military forces, at a ratio of approximately 3:2, are to be present at all time in Cyprus. Both forces are to answer to all three Foreign Ministers: of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.
  • The President is to be a Greek Cypriot, elected by the Greek Cypriot population, and the Vice President a Turkish Cypriot, elected by the Turkish Cypriot population.
  • The Cabinet is to include seven Greek Cypriots, chosen by the President, and three Turkish Cypriots, chosen by the Vice President.
  • Decisions will need an absolute majority but both the President and the Vice President have the right of veto.
  • Britain is to remain a guarantor and keep both of its military bases.

Independence

On August 16, 1960 Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom, after an anti-British campaign by the Greek Cypriot EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), a guerrilla group which desired political union with Greece, or enosis. Archbishop Makarios, a charismatic religious and political leader, was elected the first president of independent Cyprus. In 1961 it became the 99th member of the UN.

The Zurich agreement, however, did not succeed in establishing cooperation between the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot populations. The Greek Cypriots argued that the complex mechanisms introduced to protect Turkish Cypriot interests were obstacles to efficient government. Both sides continued the violence. Turkey threatened to invade the island.

In November 1963, President Makarios advanced a series of constitutional amendments designed to eliminate some of these special provisions. The Turkish Cypriots opposed such changes. The confrontation prompted widespread intercommunal fighting in December 1963, after which Turkish Cypriot participation in the central government ceased. Makarios ordered a cease-fire and again addressed the issue to the United Nations. UN peacekeepers were deployed on the island in 1964. In 1964 the Turkish parliament voted in favour of the invasion of Cyprus but the lack of support that Turkey faced from both the UN and NATO prevented it. In answer Grivas was recalled to Athens and the Greek military force left the island.

Following another outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1967-68, a Turkish Cypriot provisional administration was formed.

Greek coup and Turkish invasion

In July 1974, an attempt by agents of the dictatorship then ruling Greece to seize power and unite the island with Greece was met by military intervention from Turkey, which exercised its powers under the treaty of guarantee it held. Turkey then invaded Cyprus on July 20. The military junta in Athens was sponsoring a coup led by extremist Greek Cypriots hostile to Makarios for his alleged pro-communist leanings and for his perceived abandonment of enosis.

In a two-stage offensive, Turkish troops took control of 38% of the island. Many Greek Cypriots fled south while many Turkish Cypriots fled north. Since then, the southern part of the country has been under the control of the Government of Cyprus and the northern part under an autonomous Turkish-Cypriot administration supported by the presence of Turkish troops.

In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but that entity is recognised only by Turkey. It faces an international embargo.

UN peacekeeping forces maintain a buffer zone between the two sides. Except for occasional demonstrations or infrequent incidents between soldiers in the buffer zone, there had been no violent conflict since 1974 until August 1996, when violent clashes led to the death of two demonstrators and escalated tension. There is little movement of people and essentially no movement of goods or services between the two parts of the island.

UN-led talks on the status of Cyprus resumed in December 1999 to prepare the ground for meaningful negotiations leading to a comprehensive settlement. Efforts to reunite the island under a federal structure continue, however, under the auspices of the United Nations. As Cyprus planned to join the European Community in May 2004, there were renewed negotiations about the status of the Island. In December 2003, the borders between the two parts of Cyprus were partly opened, numerous Greek Cypriots visited the North, and labour migration of Turkish-speaking Cypriots to the south (especially in Levkosa/Nikosia) began.

A UN-sponsored referendum was put to the Cypriots in April 2004. If approved, it would have unified the island under a weak federal government as proposed by the UN in its Annan Plan. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of unification, Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly voted against it, so that only the southern part of the island joined the EU on May 1, 2004.

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, allegedly torturing EOKA captives during British cross-examinations.

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 given 30% of jobs in government and administration, 40% in the army and separate municipal services in the five major towns.

1963-1973 Greek Cypriots view the constitution as unworkable and propose changes which 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 stay 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

Literature

  1. Prehistory
    • 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. American Journal of archaeology 103, 1999, 3-43.
    • S. Gitin/A. Mazar/E. Stern (eds.), Mediterranean peoples in transition, thirteenth to early 10th century BCE (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: V. Karageorghis/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).

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.)


Last updated: 10-24-2004 05:10:45