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 The
Stone Age
The first signs of human life on the island date back to c.
8500 BC during the Paleolithic period. Evidence of human
activity was found in cave dwellings near Liopetri, though it
is not known whether they were just hunting parties passing
through or permanent settlers.
The first undisputed settlements are believed to have been
established towards the end of the 8th millennium BC. Vestiges
of such early communities are found all over the island, such
as at Khirokitia, Kalavasos-Tenta, Apostolos Andreas- Kastros,
Phrenaros, Petra tou Limniti.
Neolithic Cypriots built circular
houses with small undressed stones for the lower structures
and sun-dried mudbricks and clay for the middle and
superstructure. The Khirokitia Neolithic settlement in Larnaca
district stands out as a striking example of prehistoric
architecture.
The Bronze/ Copper Age
Large copper deposits brought fame and wealth to the island
and may have even given it its name. It has been documented
that during the bronze age Cyprus had intense commercial
relations with the main commercial and cultural centers of
that time. During this period metallurgy and pottery
flourished while close relations developed, particularly with
Crete, which are also expressed in the Cypro-Minoan script
which appeared in Cyprus around 1500 BC.
Of special significance for the
future of Cyprus was its colonization around 1200 BC by
Mycenaean and Achaean Greeks, a migration process that lasted
for more than a century. They brought with them to the island
the Hellenic language, culture and religion. Legend has it
that the first Hellenes who settled in Cyprus were heroes of
the Trojan war. The arrival of the Achaeans greatly influenced
town planning, architecture, and pottery. Since then Cyprus
has remained predominantly Greek in culture, language and
population despite influences resulting from successive
occupations.
Iron Age
More and more people from the Greek world came to live in
Cyprus. They built city along the lines of the Greek ones.
There were about eleven city kingdoms in all: Kourion, Paphos,
Soloi, Marion, Lapithos, Salamis, Kition, Kyrenia, Amathus,
and Idalion.
Although Cyprus was conquered by other peoples, these city
kingdoms mostly ruled themselves, paying taxes to their
conquerors. The island was conquered in succession by the
Assyrians, the Egyptians and the Persians (800-332 BC).
The Classical Period
For more than a century, Cyprus was caught in the middle of
the power struggle between Greece and Persia. In the 6th
century BC Persia became the dominant power and the kings of
Cyprus, while being allowed to retain their autonomy, were
obliged to pay tribute to the Persian King and place their
military forces at his disposal. Persia's domination, however,
was not maintained easily and there were several attempts
tooverthrow the Persian yoke, the most significant being the
Ionian revolt and an attempt by King Evagoras I of Salamis to
unite all of Cyprus' city-kingdoms under him. attempts
failed.
The Hellenistic Period
Cyprus stayed in Persian hands until Alexander the Great
defeated the Persian Empire when the island became part of his
huge Empire. Upon Alexander's death Cyprus fell to one of his
generals, Ptolemy I, the ruler of Egypt. From then on Cyprus,
under the Ptolemies, was an integral part of the Hellenistic
World until its integration with the Roman Empire in 30 BC.
During this time Cyprus experienced
significant cultural activity and close contacts with the city
kingdoms of the Hellenic World. Cypriot athletes took part in
the Olympic and Panathenian Games and the names of Cypriot
sculptors are referred to at Delphi and Lemnos. The worship of
Aphrodite was known throughout the region and the Temple of
Goddess of Love and Beauty at Palaepaphos gathered pilgrims
from all over the ancient world. The city-kingdoms of Salamis,
Amathus, Paphos and others which were established at the time
of Greek colonisation flourished during this period and
produced magnificent pieces of architecture and sculpture
which survive till our days.
The Roman Period
As the Ptolemaic empire declined, Cyprus came under Roman
domination and was a colony in 58 BC. Romans also left their
legacy on the island in the form of Roman amphitheatres,
public baths, mosaics and other architectural edifices. One of
the most significant events during this period was the visit
to the island of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, the latter
being considered the founder of the Autocephalous Greek
Orthodox Church of Cyprus. The Apostles travelled all across
the island to Paphos where they converted the Roman governor
to Christianity and so Cyprus became the first country to be
ruled by a Christian.
The Byzantine Period
The Christian civilisation was consolidated in the island
during the Byzantine Period (330-1191 AD) at which time the
island was an important spiritual focus. Wonderful churches
and magnificent monasteries containing fine wall paintings and
mosaics survive to our times and are testimony to the
importance of Cyprus in the East Roman Empire.
With the emergence of Islam in the 6th and 7th centuries AD,
Cyprus became an object dispute between Christendom and Islam.
The Arabs, who with their repeated incursions, spread death
and destruction in coastal settlements, were finally pushed
away in 965 AD by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas and restored
Cyprus as a province of the Byzantine Empire.
The western Crusaders influenced a
great deal the development of the history of Cyprus. It was
Richard the Lionheart, King of England, who during the Third
Crusade captured the island defeating its ruler, Isaac
Comnenos in 1191. Richard tried to sell Cyprus to the Knights
Templars, who nevertheless, were not able to resist the revolt
of the people of Cyprus. Thus the island went back to the
English King, who sold it again this time to the Frankish King
of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan.
The Frankish Period
The rule of the Franks in Cyprus lasted until 1489 and during
that time life on the island was organised on the basis of the
feudal model of the West, oppression of the indigenous
population being its main characteristic. The Lusignan period
left numerous monuments on the island - mainly Gothic churches
and mountain fortifications.
During the 14th century Cyprus is an important point of
contact between East and West. Within a network of
contradictions, a complex cultural creation took shape both in
the letters and in the arts with the pronounced seal of a
variety of influences.
The end of the Latin period in Cyprus
came with the Venetian rule from 1489 to 1571. The Venetians
held the island for its strategic position in the area of the
Eastern Mediterranean on the way to the vital Silk Route to
China. Venice, wished in this way to underline its prominence
among the western powers of the time and attempted to keep to
road to the East open despite the growing menace of the
Ottomans. The Venetians also left their mark on the island's
cultural heritage with their fortifications around Nicosia and
Famagusta. These, built with the intention of fending off the
Turks, proved inadequate and Cyprus fell to the Turks in 1571,
becoming part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Turkish Period
Though Cyprus on the whole became less prosperous under
Ottoman rule, there were certain immediate benefits. Serfdom
was abolished and the rights of the Greek Orthodox Church,
which had been suppressed since the Franks, were restored.
However, there was very harsh rule and harsh taxation which
impoverished the people, and there were continual revolts. In
1821 an attempt by Cypriots to support the Greeks in their
revolt against Ottoman rule was brutally crushed, with the
Archbishop being publicly hanged and many others, including
three bishops, put to death.
Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule
until 1878 when, with the Treaty of Berlin, the Sultan in his
effort to secure British support in his conflict with the
Russians leased Cyprus to Great Britain. Then in 1914,
following the entry of Turkey in World War I on the side of
Germany, the British government annexed Cyprus and turned it
into a Crown colony in 1925. In the meantime Turkey
surrendered all claim on Cyprus with the Lausanne Treaty it
concluded with Greece in 1923.
The British Period
British rule left its mark on the island's complex culture
with the adoption by the people Cyprus of some of the customs
of their colonial masters, the legacy of some British colonial
buildings, and, most importantly, the tradition of the British
administration especially in the civil service.
Cypriots fought alongside the allies
against fascism and nazism during World War II. The British,
however, refused to keep their word and offer the island the
right of self determination at the end of the war. There
followed the Enosis referendum of 1950, when 96% of Greek
Cypriots voted for Enosis, Union with Greece. In April 1955
the EOKA Liberation Struggle, against the colonial rulers,
resulted in the granting of independence to the island on the
basis of the Zurich and London Agreements of February 1959.
Independence and invasion
The independent Republic of Cyprus came into being in August
1960. Its first President was Archbishop Makarios. Over the
first three years of independence relations between the Greek
and Turkish Cypriots deteriorated, mainly as a result of flaws
in the constitution which gave disproportional rights to the
Turkish Cypriot community including the right to block the
passing of laws. In 1963 intercommunal violence broke out
following which many Turkish Cypriots withdrew to enclaves.
Attempts to bring the two sides back together were made
through the United Nations who sent a contingent to the
island.
On 15 July 1974 the Junta ruling
Athens at the time organised a coup to overthrow Archbishop
Makarios. A week later Turkey invaded the island, claiming
this was to restore constitutional order. However, when the
rightful government was restored, Turkish troops stayed on,
implementing a long-held policy of partitioning the island.
They went on to occupy more than a third of Cyprus, forcing
200,000 people to lose their homes and become refugees. The
area under Turkish occupation unilaterally declared
independence in 1983, an act condemned by the UN and other
international organisations. No country in the world other
than Turkey has recognised this illegal state.
The political issue, despite efforts
to solve it, remains virtually frozen since 1974 and the
occupation of part of Cyprus by the Turkish army still
continues.
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