Cyprus History

Cyprus

Cyprus has been inhabited since very ancient times. The Cyprus' Greek cultural heritage, which became the dominant influence on the island, can be traced to the first Greek colonization in the thirteenth century B.C. The Phoenicians began to colonize the island about 800 B.C. Control of the island passed from empire to empire. Assyrian occupation (about 700 B.C.) was followed by Egyptian (550 B.C.), then Persian (525 B.C.). Alexander the Great, took Cyprus from Persia in 323 B.C., placing Cyprus in the Greek Alexandrine world. After the death of Alexander the island passed to Egypt under the Hellenic Ptolemy dynasty. Rome gained control in 58 B.C. Nevertheless, the island maintained a Hellenic Greek ethnic identity. The apostles Paul and Barnabas introduced Christianity. After the division of the Roman Empire into two parts, Cyprus came under the Greek dominated Eastern Roman Empire, known as Byzantium.

In 1191 A.D. the island was seized by Richard I, King of England, who gave it to Guy Lusignan, crusader and titular king of Jerusalem. The Frankish Lusignan dynasty lasted from 1191 to 1498. In 1498, Venice took control of Cyprus and fortified the island as a last bastion against the Ottomans in the east Mediterranean. Under the rule of these crusaders Roman Catholic clergy controlled the church. The Ottoman Turks, finally captured the island in 1571 and held control until the 1800s. During this time the island gained a substantial minority of Turks, mostly in northern Cyprus. The Turks expelled the Catholic hierarchy and the Greek Orthodox faith was restored; in time, the Archbishop of Nikosia as leader of the Greek Orthodox, became the island’s representative to the Ottoman government.

Despite a history of repeated occupations by different conquering powers, the people of Cyprus retained Greek cultural identity and language. The Greek population of Cyprus yearned to be part of Greece. Although Greek Cypriots assisted in the War of Greek Independence in 1821 to 1827, the island did not become part of the independent Greek kingdom in 1832. The Ottoman Empire held Cyprus until 1878 when they were defeated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Fearing greater expansion by Russia, Turkey induced the British to administer Cyprus. Under the enabling convention, the British received complete control of Cyprus for a rental of about $500,000 yearly, and Turkey retained nominal title. When the British administrators assumed office in 1879 they were presented with a petition from the Archbishop and the Greek community calling for union with the Kingdom of Greece which greatly dismayed the Turkish inhabitants of the island. The petition was denied.

When Turkey joined the Central Powers in World War I, Great Britain abrogated the 1878 treaty in November 1914 and annexed Cyprus. The British government then offered Cyprus to Greece if Greece would agree to enter the war on the Allied side. Greece was given one week to decide, and when the decision was delayed the British withdrew the offer. By the terms of the peace arrangement imposed on the Turks after the war, Turkey formally recognized British possession of Cyprus and in 1925 the island was made a crown colony.

After World War II the issue of union with Greece again created tensions between the Greeks and Turks in Cyprus, and in 1946 the British proposed constitutional reforms leading to self-government on Cyprus. Talks held in 1959 between Britain, Turkey and Greece led to an agreement on the general features of a constitution for an independent republic of Cyprus. Great Britain retained sovereignty over two military bases. Archbishop Makarios was elected president on December 13. Dr. Fazil Küchük, a Turkish Cypriot, became vice-president. Independence was proclaimed on 16 August 1960. Cyprus was admitted to the U.N. and the Commonwealth of Nations. After years of tensions between the Greek and Turkish communities, extremist Greek Cypriots overthrew the government of Cyprus in July of 1974, aspiring for union with Greece. Turkey immediately invaded the island to protect Turkish Cypriots, eventually occupying the northern part. Since 1974, 37% of the island is under Turkish military occupation and 200,000 Greek Cypriots (40% of the total Greek Cypriot population) were forced to leave their homes in the occupied area and were turned into refugees. The rightful Cypriot president and government were restored in December of 1974 but the Turks remained in control of the northern part of the island. Since 1974 Cyprus has been divided de facto into two areas. In 1975 the Turkish Cypriots formally set up their own government. In 1983 the Turkish Cypriots declared the independence of Northern Cyprus, officially named “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” Its capital is the divided city of Nikosia. This action has not been recognized by any other nation except Turkey. The government of the Republic of Cyprus has continued as the internationally recognized authority but, in practice, its power extends only to the Greek Cypriot controlled areas.