The History Cyprus

Early History and Antiquity

The island was settled as early as the Neolithic period, and its favorable location in the eastern Mediterranean facilitated early copper mining and trade. From the 2nd millennium BC, Mycenaean Greeks shaped Cyprus’s cultural profile, followed by Assyrian, Egyptian, and Persian dominance. In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great incorporated the island into his empire, before it came under Hellenistic Ptolemaic rule and later became a province of the Roman Empire.

Byzantine and Crusader Era

After the division of the Roman Empire, Cyprus fell to Byzantium and became an important outpost against Arab raids. In 1191, Richard the Lionheart conquered the island during the Third Crusade; shortly after, he sold it to the Knights Templar, who, lacking resources, passed it on to the French royal house of Lusignan. Under the Lusignans, a feudal society developed with Venetian-influenced architecture, especially in cities like Famagusta and Kyrenia.

Venetian and Ottoman Rule

In 1473, rule passed to the Republic of Venice, which expanded Cyprus as a bulwark against the expanding Ottoman Empire. In 1571, the island fell to the Ottomans during the war. During the subsequent Ottoman period, land ownership and administration were restructured, but religious diversity remained: Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Armenian, and Muslim communities lived side by side.

British Colonial Period

In 1878, the United Kingdom leased Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire and formally incorporated it as a Crown colony in 1914. Under British rule, the Greek Cypriot majority’s demand for Enosis (union with Greece) grew, while Turkish Cypriot circles sought to maintain British administration or even Taksim (partition).

Independence and Founding of the Republic

After an anti-colonial uprising by the Greek Cypriot liberation organization EOKA and intense negotiations between Britain, Greece, and Turkey, the Republic of Cyprus was founded in 1960. The constitution provided for a joint government of Greek and Turkish Cypriots with guaranteed minority rights.

Interethnic Conflicts and Division

From 1963, growing tensions and armed conflicts led to the invasion of Turkish troops following the coup attempt by Greek nationalists in 1974. The Turkish army occupied the northern part of the island, about 37% of the state’s territory, and established the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” there, which to this day is recognized only by Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and a UN buffer zone (“Green Line”) has since separated the north from the south.

Immigration, EU Accession, and Current Situation

The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but EU legal protection effectively applies only to the southern part controlled by Nicosia. UN-mediated negotiations for reunification have been ongoing for decades, so far without a lasting solution. Today, the Greek Cypriot state is economically well-developed, while the north remains politically isolated and economically weaker.