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Cyprus
According to archaeological investigation and conjecture, the aboriginal inhabitants of Cyprus were
Indo-European people who had a written language. Extensive excavation has shown that
during the Neolithic and Bronze ages the Cypriots had an advanced civilisation. The
recorded history of Cyprus begins with the occupation of part of the island by
Egypt. In subsequent centuries seafaring
and trading peoples from the Mediterranean countries set up scattered settlements along
the coasts. The first Mycenaean colony is believed to have
been founded by traders from Arcadia about 1400 BC. The Phoenicians began to colonise the
island from about 800 BC.
Beginning with the rise of Assyria
during the eighth century BC, Cyprus was under the control of each of the empires that successively dominated the
eastern Mediterranean. Assyrian authority was followed by Egyptian, then
Persian.
For almost a thousand years thereafter control of the island passed from empire to empire
until a Crusader kingdom was set up in the twelfth century AD.
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c.10, 000 BC |
Hunter-gathers become active on the island. |
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c.8200 BC |
The first settled village communities start to appear. |
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c.1600 BC |
Mycenaean culture appears. |
1450 BC |
Egypt takes control of Cyprus during the
reign of Thutmose III. |
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Kingdom of Alashiya (Enkomi)
The eastern Cypriot state of Alashiya (Alasiya) appeared by
1350 BC, near modern Famagusta, although evidence points to it having
occupied the entire island during at least part of its existence. A contributor to the Amarna letters, it
played an important role in trade with the great states of the period, the
Hittites,
Mitanni,
Egypt,
Babylon and
Elam, with goods being shipped from a prosperous port protected by
massive stone walls. Its rulers were counted amongst the 'great kings' of the day,
mainly because the island controlled the region's copper trade - vital to
all of the major states.
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fl 1300s BC |
? |
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The
king refers to himself as the 'brother' of the
Egyptian
king in the Amarna letters, revealing that he is considered to be a ruler of
equal standing. |
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c.1250? BC |
Later
Hittite kings invade the kingdom and establish pro-Hittite rulers, but
they never fully control the island. |
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c.1200 BC |
Alashiya is sacked by the Sea Peoples at the same time as they contribute
towards the fall of the
Hittites and the destruction of many Syrian cities. However, despite
this setback, the state is one of the few to actually prosper during this
period, perhaps due to the removal of
Mycenaean dominance in the
region. There is increased urban expansion and metal production, improved
contacts with
Egypt,
the Levant, and the central Mediterranean. |
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fl c.1195 BC |
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c.1195 BC |
The
king of Alashiya advises Ugarit to defend itself in the face of continuing
attacks on Syria by the Sea Peoples.
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fl c.1050 BC |
Hatiba |
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The kingdom is mentioned in the Chronicle of Wenamun, an eleventh-century
Egyptian
priest who journeyed throughout the Levant. |
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709 BC |
The
Assyrian Empire conquers the island. |
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550 BC |
Egypt re-occupies the
island after the
Assyrian
collapse. Client kings continue to govern the city state of
Salamis. |
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Kingdom of Salamis
Cypriot Salamis was to the north of modern Famagusta, on the
east coast, with the city state kingdom legendarily being founded by Teukros.
Most of the client kings of this and the other Cypriot cities are relatively
poorly documented.
During
the late fifth century Persian occupation, Evagoras, pro-Hellenic ruler of the Cypriot city of Salamis, made
the first recorded attempt to unify the many city states of Cyprus. In 391 BC Evagoras, with the
aid of Athens, led a successful revolt against
Persia and temporarily made himself master
of the island. However, Cyprus soon became a Persian possession again. |
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Teukros |
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569 - 525 BC |
Evelthon |
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525 BC |
Persia conquers Cyprus. |
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fl c.525 BC |
Siromos |
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fl c.515 BC |
Hersis |
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500 - 499 BC |
Gorgos |
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499 - 498 BC |
Onysilos |
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498 - 480 BC |
Gorgos |
Restored, and
declared independence from
Persia. |
c.490 BC |
Persia
re-conquers Salamis. |
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480 - 465 BC |
Philaon |
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465 - 450 BC |
Nicodemus |
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Lacharidas |
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fl c.450 BC |
Eventhes |
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Name unknown. |
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fl c.411 BC |
Avdimon |
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411 - 374 BC |
Evagoras I |
Son. Declared
independence from
Persia
and unified Cyprus. |
391 - 381 BC |
Persia
regains control in 381 BC,
and Salamis continues to be governed by Evagoras as client king. In 374 BC
he is murdered by a eunuch who is seeking revenge for personal reasons. |
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374 - 368 BC |
Nikocles |
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368 - 351 BC |
Evagoras II |
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351 - 332 BC |
Pnytagoras |
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333 - 310 BC |
Alexander the Great's
Greek Empire
takes control, although the island's various client kings are retained. |
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331 - 310 BC |
Nicocreon |
Forced to commit suicide by Ptolemy I. |
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310 - 306 BC |
Menelaos |
Last king of
Salamis, claimed independence during Greek wars. |
306 - 301 BC |
Cyprus falls under the control of the
Empire of Antigonus. When Antigonus is killed at the end of the Fourth
War of the Diadochi, the island again becomes an Egyptian possession, under
the Ptolemies. |
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58 BC |
Cyprus passes to
Rome. |
AD 383 |
It comes under
Byzantine control at the division of the Roman Empire. |
c.820 |
The
island is conquered by the
Arabs for the
Islamic Empire,
who sack and destroy Salamis. |
965 |
The
Byzantine Empire
recovers Cyprus. |
1192 |
Cyprus is seized by Richard the Lionheart and a Catholic Christian kingdom
is founded there. |
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Christian Kingdom of Cyprus
AD 1192 - 1489
On his way to the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart of
England
seized Cyprus from the
Byzantine Empire and handed it to the
king and queen of
Jerusalem, who were
by this time residing at
Acre. |
1192 - 1194 |
Guy of Lusignan |
King of
Jerusalem (1186-1192). |
1194 - 1205 |
Amalric I de Lusignan |
Almaric II of
Jerusalem (1197-1205). |
1205 - 1218 |
Hugh I |
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1218 - 1253 |
Henry I of Cyprus |
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1253 - 1267 |
Hugh II of Cyprus |
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1267 - 1284 |
Hugh III of Cyprus |
King of
Jerusalem (1269-1284). |
1284 - 1306 |
Cyprus is united with the Kingdom of
Jerusalem. |
1284 - 1285 |
John I |
King of
Jerusalem. |
1285 - 1306 |
Henry II |
King of
Jerusalem,
which was lost at this time. |
1306 - 1310 |
Amalric II of Tyre |
Usurped Henry II. Father of Guy of
Armenia. |
1310 - 1324 |
Henry II |
Restored. |
1324 - 1359 |
Hugh IV |
Hugh II of
Jerusalem. |
1359 - 1369 |
Peter I |
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1369 - 1382 |
Peter II |
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1382 - 1398 |
James I |
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1398 - 1432 |
Janus |
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1432 - 1458 |
John II |
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1458 - 1464 |
Queen Charlotte |
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1464 - 1473 |
James II the Bastard |
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1473 - 1474 |
James III |
Son. |
1474 - 1489 |
Queen Caterina Cornaro |
Wife of James II. d.1510. |
1489 |
Cyprus falls under
the control of the Republic of Venice. |
1571 |
Cyprus is conquered by the
Ottoman
Empire. |
1878 |
The
island is leased to
Britain as a result of the Cyprus Convention, which grants control of
the island to Britain in return for support of the
Ottoman
Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. |
1913 |
The
island is formally annexed by
Britain in the run-up to the Great War, as the
Ottoman
Empire had already joined the
German-led Central
Powers. |
1960 |
Cyprus achieves independence from
Britain, becoming a Commonwealth republic the following year. Britain
retains administrative authority over the districts of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. |
1974 |
Following a period of violence between
Greek and Turkish Cypriots and
an attempted Greek Cypriot coup sponsored by the Greek military junta,
Turkey invades the island and occupies the north-eastern third of its
territory. |
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