Chalcolithic
3900-2600BC
This period
marks the first introduction of copper tools,
which were probably imported from the
Anatolian mainland. Local manufacture is
possible, but no evidence has been found.
Cross shaped
soapstone idols which were placed on graves
or worn around the neck are characteristic of
this era. At this time a cult of the dead
arose, associated with rites centred on a
female fertility symbol.
Early Bronze Age 2300-1850BC
The first
towns and economic centres developed in
Cyprus where copper was worked and exported.
At this time the island developed commercial
and cultural relations with Asia Minor, Egypt
and the Syrian/Palestinian region. This fresh
impulse resulted from an influx of immigrants
from Anatolia who were displaced from their
settlements in Asia Minor by invading tribes.
Judging by the
multitude of articles placed with the dead -
bowls, jugs, food, cimbs, knives, necklaces
etc - the afterlife was evidently an
important cultural feature.
Middle Bronze Age 1900-1600BC
This period is
marked by an upsurge in cultural and trading
contacts with neighboring countries. Copper
was now a major export. The extent of trade
is revealed by tomb finds of Egyptian faience
beads, Asian cylinder seals, and Minoan
vases, whilst Cypriot pottery has turned up
in Cilicia and Palestine, and as far afield
as Crete.
Late Bronze Age 1650-1050BC
The
destruction of the Hykos Kingdom and the
revival of Egypt as the leading power in the
Eastern Mediterrean created for Cyprus at the
beginning of the late bronze age favourable
circumstances for its development into a
flourishing commercial centre.
The period
between 1500 and 1200BC saw the fusion of
design elements from both East and West into
the traditional Cypriot forms. Religious
practices too combine elements from both the
orient and the Aegean.
The prosperity
of the Late Bronze Age was disrupted at the
end of the 13th century BC by the so-called sea
people whose origin is still a matter for
conjecture. Cities were abandoned or
fortified, destroyed and rebuilt. At the same
time, Achaean settlers landed on the coasts
of Cyprus. This Achaean colonisation is the
historical basis connecting the Trojan war
with the foundation of certain Cypriot cities
by Trojan heroes. Lapta, for example, is
belived to have been founded by Praxanor of
Laconia.
Geometric Period 1050-750BC
The transition
to the Iron Age was for Cyprus, as for
Greece, a dark age. Natural catastrophes
destroyed nearly all the Late Bronze Age
settlements and led to a cultural decline,
poverty, and a slump in population.
It was until
the arrival of Phoenician colonisers from
Tyre in the 9th century BC that the island
received a fresh cultural impulse, resulting
in strengthened links with the Orient.
The
Phoenicians brought with them the cult of
Astarte, the goddess of love and fertility.
The Greek cult of Aphrodite incorporates
features of the Astarte cult which suggests
that the transformation of Astarte into
Aphrodite occurred in Cyprus.
Archaic Period 750-475BC
In the 8th
century BC Cyprus was once more drawn into
the realms of the Near-Eastern powers.
Under Sargon
II (721-705BC), Cypriot cities paid tribute
to the Assyrian Kingdom, and after an
Egyptian interlude (560-525BC), were
incorporated into the Persian empire. Their
Persian masters allowed the Cypriot cities
considerable latitude, and created favourable
conditions for an economic and cultural
resurgence. Owing to its geographical
position, and its natural wealth in copper
and wood, the island flourished.
Gods of the
Greeks, the Egyptians and the Phoenicians all
found followers on the island.
Classical Period 475-325BC
The flowering
of the Archaic epoch was interrupted by
external events into which the island was
drawn on account of its geographical
situation. The turbulent events of this
period saw a revolt against the Persians,
which was crushed, the setting up of the
Delian league by the Greeks to regain
territory lost to the Persians and the
subsequent temporary 'liberation' of large
parts of Cyprus. The struggle against the
Persians continued until Alexander the Great
destroyed the Persian Empire.
Helenistic Period 325-58BC
After the
death of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian
general Ptolemy established control over most
of the island. However, in 306BC, Demetrius,
the son of one of the other Macedonian
generals, landed at Carpasia and eventually
mastered the island, holding it until 295BC
when it was retaken by Ptolemy.
The importance
of Cyprus as a shipping and trading centre at
this time is symbolised by the wreck of a
Greek cargo ship, recovered by archeologists
off the North coast, and now preserved with
its contents in Kyrenia castle.
The latter
period of Ptolemaic rule degenerated into a
series of internecine squabbles, and the
insolent behaviour of the last Ptolemy
towards a Roman senator, who was later
elected tribune, gave Rome an excuse to annex
the island. In 58BC Cyprus became a province
of the Roman Empire.
Roman Period 58-330AD
In Cyprus a
large scale building program was expedited.
New harbours were built, roads were laid,
aqueducts were constructed to channel water
to the cities which were equipped with
temples, market places, theatres, and other
public amenities. The massive stone forum at
Salamis is the largest Roman market place
known, and indeed that city became
prodigiously wealthy, exporting oil, wheat
and wine to the markets of Rome.
In AD46 Paul
and Barnabas, a native of Salamis, were
instrumental in converting the Roman
governor, who thus became the world's first
Christian ruler. Barnabas later preached in
Salamis where he was eventually martyred by
the Jews.
After their
revolt was crushed in Jerusalem in AD70 by
the Romans, many Jews settled in Cyprus,
particularly in Salamis. Here, in AD115, they
rebelled again and the resulting carnage over
the next two years prompted the decree from
Rome expelling all Jews from the island.
For the next
50 years Cyprus enjoyed unparalleled
prosperity, but the plague of AD164, and the
later degeneration of the Roman Empire left
the country in a sorry plight. Fortunes
revived under Constantine (AD324-337), but in
AD364 the empire split, the eastern half
being ruled from the new capital city of
Constantinople.
Byzantine Period 330-1191AD
Earthquakes
rocked the island in 332 and 342, tumbling
the towns of Salamis, Kition and Paphos.
Salamis, resuming its role as capital, was
rebuilt by Constantius II (337-361) and
renamed Constantia.
The standing
of Cyprus and its significance to Byzantium
is indicated by the decision of Emperor
Justinian (527-565) to classify the island as
a seperate province. At this time, the
cultivation of silk worms was developed, and
this activity is recalled today by the
widespread presence of mulberry trees.
For the next
hundred years, Cyprus lay quiet and
undisturbed. But out of the wastes of Arabia
a new and potent power was gathering its
forces. Islam spread like a forest fire
throughout Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and
in 647 an Arab fleet of 1700 ships appeared
off Salamis. The city was sacked, and other
towns were plundered amd burned. From the 7th
to the 9th century the island was repeatedly
subject to Arab raids, and, at times, tribute
was paid to the Caliphate as well as taxes to
Constantinople. During this period many towns
were abandoned, and most ancient and early
Christian buildings were destroyed. The
inhabitants of Salamis/Constantia finally
moved out and settled in Arsinoe, which later
became Famagusta.
The
devastation did not end until Emperor
Nicephoros Phocas (963-969) finally drove the
Moslem invaders from Cyprus. To protect the
island the 11th century mountain castles of
St.Hilarion, Buffavento, and Kantara were
built. In addition, new fortifications for
Kyrenia and Nicosia were constructed.
In the 11th
century a new threat arose: Seljuk Turks
swarned in from the east, seizing the
crumbling Caliphate, capturing Jerusalem, and
crushing the Byzanine emperor at the battle
of Manzikert. Taking advantage of the
weakened condition of the empire, a certain
Isaac Comnenos (a newphew of Emperor Manuel
Comnenus) usurped control of Cyprus. In 1184
he crowned himself emperor, renouncing his
allegiance to Constantinople.
The Lusignan Dynasty 1192-1489AD
The Lusignans
came to rule Cyprus as a result of the
Crusades, which the Roman church saw as a
means of extending its power and others saw
as a means to booty.
By the end of
the 10th century, Christian forces occupied
territory stretching from Edessa to Egypt,
and had established the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
By about 1186,
the great Saladin has welded the Moslem
nations together and embarked on a jihad
to recover Jerusalem. In 1187 he destroyed
the Christian armies and then took Jerusalem,
leaving only Tyre, and the principalities of
Tripoli and Antioch in Christian hands.
This led to
the Third Crusade. The Germans went by land
and the English, led by Richard the
Lionheart, and the French, went by sea. On
thway, Richard's fleet was scattered by a
storm: several ships foundered off the coast
of Cyprus, and the one in which Richard's
fiancee was sailing took refuge in the
harbour of Limassol. The year was 1191, and
the self-proclaimed emperor Isaac Comnenos
was ruling Cyprus. He made the fatal mistake
of arresting Richard's shipwrecked sailors,
and abusing his fiancee Berengaria. When
Richard arrived a few days later, he landed
in force, and seized Limassol.
On May 12th
1191, Richard married Berengaria in Limassol,
and she was crowned Queen os England.
In June, with
bulging treasure chests filled with the
wealth Isaac had anassed during his rule,
Richard set sail again, leaving a garrisoned
Cyprus in the charge of Richard of Camville
and Robert of Tornham. These two were soon
occupied in suppressing a revolt of their
unwilling subjects and on hearing the news,
King Richard sold the island to a military
order of knights, the Templars, for 100,000
bezants.
The Templars
soon discovered that the rebellious Cypriots
would not submit to their severe rule, and
after desperately putting down a popular
uprising, they begged Richard to cancel their
purchase.
Richard then
offered the island of Cyprus to Guy de
Lusignan, who had been king of Jerusalem.
Thus began the Lusignan dynasty, which was to
endure for 300 years.
Two years
later, Guy died and he was succeeded by his
brother Amaury. To ratify his right to rule,
Amaury obtained a crown from the Holy Roman
Emperor and in 1197 became the first Lusignan
king of Cyprus. To secure his position from
without and within, Amaury extended the
mountain castles of St.Hilarion, Buffavento,
and Kantara.
The fall of
Jerusalem in 1244 provoked the disastrous 7th
Crusade, led by King Louis of France.
Accompanying his party were a number of
architects, artists and stone masons. Some of
these remained in Cyprus and were
instrumental in the creation of the Gothic
masterworks in this period.
In 1267, a
king of exceptional qualities ascended the
throne: Hugh of Antioch. He took effective
action during the plague and famine of 1267,
and under his rule the country prospered. He
was a generous patron of Bellapais Abbey, but
when he died in 1284, he was buried in St.Sophia
in Nicosia.
In 1291, the
last crusader stronghold in the Levant was
lost, and Cyprus became the Christian outpost
of the East. Genoese, Venetian and other
merchants transferred their establishments to
Famagusta, which rapidly flourished as the
major trading centre linking occident and
orient. In the 14th century Famagusta became
one of the wealthiest and most influential
cities in the Mediterranean.
This
prosperity was disturbed by the havoc wrought
by the bubonic plague or 'Black Death' of
1349. The king sought refuge in St.Hilarion,
trade ground to a halt, and after the
pestilence the population was severly
depleted.
In terms of
art, the era of the lusignans and the
crusaders was one of the most brilliant and
significant epochs in the history of Cyprus.
The Gothic churches, the abbey at Bellapais,
the crusader castles, all constitute the most
impressive memorial to Frankish art of the
middle ages on oriental soil.
Venetian Period 1489-1571AD
The Venetian
desire for Cyprus was inspired purely by
profit. The island was well endowed with
timer essential for shipbuilding, and formed
an ideal base from which the Venetians could
dominate trade with the east. They continued
to pay the tribute enforced upon Cyprus by
the Mamelukes, and when the latter were
conquered by the Ottomans, the tribute was
redirected to Constantinople, the seat of
Ottoman power since 1453.
Anticipating
conflict, the Venetians undertook an ambitous
plan of fortification. Famagusta and Nicosia
were ringed with impressive earthworks cased
with stone. An outer wall was erected around
Kyrenia castle, the gap being filled with
earth to form an artillery rampart. The best
military architects in Europe were brought in
to design and execute these projects.
All was in
vain. A body blow had already been dealt to
Venice by Bartholemew Diaz, who in 1486
discovered a new sea route to India via the
Cape of Good Hope. In 1570, after an
ultimatum from Sultan Selim II has expired,
hordes of Ottoman troops landed at Larnaca.
Nicosia resisted for six weeks, refusing
terms of honourable surrender on rumours of
an approaching Venetian fleet. The city was
eventual taken by storm, and sacked, 20,000
inhabitants being massacred in the process.
Kyrenia capitulated without a struggle.
Famagusta fell in August 1571.
Later that
month Venetian officials handed over the
island together with 300,000 ducats for war
reparation.
October of
1571 saw a European League fleet destroy the
Turkish fleet at Lepanto, but by this time
Cyprus was lost and was to remain a backwater
of the Ottoman Empire for the next 300 years.
Turkish Rule 1571-1878AD
The takeover
by the Ottoman Empire in 1571 was largely
welcomed by the local population who had to
some extent collaborated with the invaders,
and who anticipated changes for the better.
To begin with, their hopes were justified.
The hated Latin church was uprooted, with
many churches being converted into mosques,
and the Orthodox church was restored to
dominance. The feudal system was abolished,
and the former serfs could now own and
inherit land.
The population
at this time, according to an offical census,
was 150,000. In addition there were also some
30,000 Turkish settlers, who were granted
land by the Sultan, and changed the
demographic nature of the island. In 1641,
with plague following close on the heels of
famine, the total population had plummeted to
25,000.
In the
intervening years, the Cypriots had come to
realise that they had exchanged one form of
oppression for another. Namely, the
imposition of extortionate taxation.
Conditions did
not improve when, in 1702, Cyprus became the
fief of the Grand Vizier. The post of
governor was sold on an annual basis, and the
incumbent made it his business to end his
tenure on a wealthy note.
Temporary
relief came in 1746 when Abu Bekr Pasha ruled
the country. This enlightened man undertook
many public works, and, at his own expense,
built the aqueduct which supplied Larnaca
with water for the next 200 years.
In 1754 the
Sultan recognised the Orthodox archbishop as
the leader of the Cypriot community, and
granted himm and his bishops various
privileges, along with the responsibility of
collecting taxes. As the century progressed
the bishop's power and wealth increased as
they cynically worked hand in glove with the
Turkish governors. Both Greek and Turkish
peasants revolted in vain against the
rapacity of their masters.
In 1821 the
archbishop, along with other clergy and
leading Christians, were discovered to have
connections with a Greek nationalist movement
aimed at driving the Turks from Greece. The
response of the Governor was swift and bloody.
The archbishops, the bishops, and many
prominent Christians were massacred, and this
was followed by an islandwide purge of the
Christians.
Meanwhile, the
vast Ottoman Empire was showing signs of
disintegration. After crushing the Greek
revolt, the European powers intervened,
resulting in the creation of an independent
Greek Kingdom in 1832.
In the midst
of these troubles, Sultan Mahmoud II
institued reforms which alleviated the
condition of his subjects, including those in
Cyprus. The farming of taxes was abolished,
but external problems impeded the
implementation of this and other reforms.
War with
Russia, which had continued off and on since
1769, was weakening the Ottoman Empire, and
after further defeats in 1877, chunks of
Anatolia were ceded to the Russians. This
alarmed the English, who saw this as a threat
to the Suez canal. An agreement was
subsequently reached in 1878 whereby England
would occupy Cyprus, using it as a base to
protect her own interests, and to defend
Ottoman territory against further
encroachments by Russia.
British Rule 1878-1960AD
The first High
Commissioner took steps to create a new
constitution. A legislative council was
formed, and a High Court was established in
Nicosia, presided over by two British judges.
The district courts were served by one
Christian and one Moslem judge, under the
supervision of a British official. In 1882
the legislative council, formerly consisting
of four British and three local members, was
modified to comprise six British officials,
and twelve elected local members. The
proportion of the latter, three Turkish and
nine Greek Cypriots, caused an inverse
proportion of outrage. However, in practice,
the Turks generally sided with the British
officials, and in the event of a tie, the
High Commissioner cast the deciding vote. The
tax system was dratically restructured, and
the change of emphasis from direct to
indirect taxes served to increase revenues
whilst leaving more money in the peasant
pocket.
The British
undertook an extensive program of public
works, including the construction of roads
and bridges, drinking and irrigation water
supplies, and even a railway line linking
Nicosia to Famagusta and Guzelyurt. In
addition, port facilities were improved, and
administrative buildings, schools and
hospitals were built.
When Turkey
sided with Germany in World War I, Britain
annexed the island. In 1915, Britain offered
Cyprus to Greece in return for joining the
allied cause, but the suggestion was
rejected, and with it the chance of enosis,
the striving for which would cause so much
strife in the future.
Meanwhile, the
enosis movement, aiming for union with
Greece, was growing within the Greek Cypriot
community, fostered by the powerful Orthodox
church. The movement erupted into islandwide
riots in 1931, during which Government House
was burnt to the ground. The uprising was
crushed, and the legislative coucil abolished
thus eliminating the local voice in
government decisions.
After World
War II, when 30,000 Cypriots fought in the
British army, calls for enosis were
renewed. A plebicite organized in 1950 showed
that 96% of the Greek Cypriots supported
union with Greece. However, it has been
reported that excommunication was a stick
used to encourage the overwhelming vote.
Furthermore, it is doubtful that many
Cypriots understood the fullimplcations of enosis,
quite apart from the fact that it was
anathema to the Turkish Cypriot minority.
Now Colonel
George Grivas launched EOKA: an armed
struggle against British rule beginning in
April 1955, abetted by the churches and the
clergy. The Turkish Cypriots spawned their
own movements: taksim called for the
division of the island; TMT was the Turkish
Cypriot resistance movement.
After a
conference attended by Greece, Turkey and
Britain in June 1955 failed to achieve a
solution, Greece applied to the United
Nations in 1957 and again in 1958 claiming
the right of self determination for Cyprus.
This claim, of course, did not take into
account the position of the Turkish Cypriot
minority, and as a counterthrust, Turkey
suggested a double enosis, or
partition of the island.
Meanwhile,
Grivas and his terrorists were actively
prosecuting their cause, and with the death
toll rising above 500, the British were
anxious to find a suitable formula for
independence. This was eventually hammered
out in the Treaty of Zurich which provided
guarantor powers of military intervention to
Britain, Greece and Turkey.
Thus the
Republic of Cyprus came into being on 19th
August 1960.
Independent Cyprus and the
Turkish Intervention
The
constitution now provided for a bi-communal
society, with safeguards to prevent the
majority Greek Cypriots from dominating the
Turkish Cypriots.
The president
was to be Greek, and the vice-president from
the Turkish community, each with the power of
veto. In the government and civil service,
the communities were represented in the ratio
of 70 per cent to 30 per cent, whilst in the
police and army, the ratio was 60 per cent to
40 per cent. Failure to agree on the
structure of the army resulted in Makarios,
the first president of Cyprus, declaring that
Cyprus would have no armed forces. This led
to the formation of private armies, supplied
clandestinely by Greece and Turkey.
There were
other complications which meant that in
practice the constitution was unworkable due
to inherent suspicions between the two
communities. However a straightforward
'democracy' was not applicable to Cyrpus as
it would have resulted in the Turkish
community having no say in government, would
would have almost certainly have led to enosis
- union with Greece.
In November
1963, Makarios submitted a plan aimed at
simplifying the constitution. The changes
proposed removed most of the checks and
balances which had been built into the
constitution to protect the minority Turkish
community, and were of course unacceptable to
the Turks.
Matters came
to a head on Christmas Eve, when armed Greeks
attacked a suburb in Nicosia, killing or
capturing those Turkish Cypriots who were
unable to escape. Armed conflict spread, with
the Turkish Cypriots withdrawing into
enclaves to defend themselves.
A buffer zone
was set up and manned by British troups in a
largely unsuccessful attempt to stop the
fighting. These were later replaced by United
Nations troops in March 1964.
In March 1964,
well armed Greek forces attempted to crush
the Turks at Erenkoy on the north coast, in
order to interrupt the flow of munitions from
the Turkish mainland: they would undoubtedly
have succeeded had not the Turkish air force
intervened. This act added a new dimension to
the conflict. Fear of Turkish intervention
sobered the Greeks somewhat, and they settled
down to systematic economic blockade of the
Turkish enclaves. This amounted to partition.
Further armed
conflict in 1967 provoked Turkey to threaten
military intervention, but with the takeover
by the colonels in Greece, and the economic
boom in Cyprus, enosis seemed less
attractive.
During the
presidential elections of 1974, Makarios
clearly announced the cause of enosis,
and was re-elected with 95 per cent of the
cast votes. He subsequently ordered the
withdrawal of mainland Greek officers,
whereupon the National Guard, which was under
the command of the Greek officers, stormed
the presidential palace in Nicosia. Makarios
escaped, but this attempted coup, sponsored
by the military junta in Greece, persuaded
Turkey to intervene as a guarantor power.
On 20th July
1974, Turkish forces landed and occupied 40
per cent of the island in the north. 150,000
Greek Cypriots fled to the south, and 50,000
Turkish Cypriots escaped to the north.
Substantial Turkish forces remained in the
north, and the civilian population increased
after considerable migration from the Turkish
mainland.
Intercommunal
negotiations since 1974 have been fruitless,
and in November 1983, Northern Cyprus
declared itself independent as the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus. Recognised only
by Turkey, the TRNC is hampered economically
and has not prospered as much as the south.
(The
remaining paragraphs are not extracted from
the source acknowledged below.)
Under the
auspices of the United Nations, talks -
'proximity talks' - continue to be held, but
to no avail. The south continues to insist
that it is the legimate government of the
whole of Cyprus and that Turkey is an
occupying invader. The north insists that any
solution must recognise the TRNC as a
seperate state or, at the very least, an
autonomous unit of a north-south federation.
But one thing
is indisputable. Since 1974, for one of the
few times in its long and turbulent history,
there has been peace in Cyprus.
