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CYPRUS HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT

Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, at the cross-roads of three
               continents - Europe, Asia and Africa - has one of the oldest histories
of the
               world, dating back 9000 years.

               Its strategic position, its wealth in forests and mineral deposits,
as well as its
               skilled craftsmen, made it the prized possession of the powers of
the day.

               Cultural influences came from all directions - all major regional
civilisations left
               their mark on the island, contributing to the development of a very
rich and
               diverse cultural  heritage. 



                                 ANCIENT TIMES




              The Stone Age

              The first signs of human life on the island date back to c. 8500 BC
during the
              Palaeolithic 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 Neolithic settlement of Khirokitia




              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
centres 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 colonisation
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 MIDDLE AGES



              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. 






                                                   St Bartholomew, mosaic from the

                                                  Kanakaria Church. 6th century AD






              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.






                                 MODERN TIMES
              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.

---
Al T. Lehman
"Lehman@mailcity.com"
(MY WEBSITE)> "http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/6743"




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Essay Data Section
Word Count: 4258 Title: Cyprus History Of Conflic Type: Student Submitted

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