History

The history of Cyprus is rich in various and very exciting events. But 10,000 years is impossible to fit into a short article, so only the most important historical moments will be described here. And it all started with the Greeks. It was the Greeks who brought Hellenistic culture to Cyprus, founded cities, and established trade. Salamis, Kourion, Paphos – still exist and are desirable places for visiting.

After the Greeks there were the Persians, followed by the Egyptians, but antiquity ended with the reign of Roman hegemony. It was under the Romans that Christianity began to spread actively. And when the empire split into western and eastern, Cyprus became a part of Byzantium.

The island also played an interesting role during the Crusades. The famous King Richard the Lionheart conquered Cyprus on his way to the Holy Land, and subsequently sold it to the notorious Knights Templar.

In the 14th century, Cyprus again became a center of interest for several cultures. The crusades died down and remained in the past, but Muslims, Turks, crusaders and the local population of Cypriots began to fight for this territory. In the same period, piracy was on top, from which the entire Cypriot coast suffered.

A special period in the history of Cyprus is the Venetian domination, when the island became a transshipment base for the trading republic. The local Greek population was brutally humiliated, which provoked constant rebellions. The Venetians were only interested in profit. So, for example, salt, which was a limited source at that time, was exported from Cyprus in huge quantities.

In 1570, the Turkish-Venetian war broke out, quickly ending with the rise of the Ottoman sultan. Since then, more and more Turkish settlers came to the island with their families. This gave rise to a conflict of faith, which reached its peak in the 19th century. The unrest of the Greeks, as well as the defeat in 1878 from the Russian Empire, contributed to the transfer of Cyprus to Britain.

During the world wars, the government of the United Kingdom offered several times to transfer the island under Greece’s jurisdiction, but negotiations stalled. However, the conflicts on the island itself continued.

Under British control, Cyprus flourished as a center of commerce. Nevertheless, an extremely tense situation remained between the inhabitants of the island: the Turks demanded the independence of the island, the Greeks – to unite it with Greece. Considering the Greeks more dangerous, the British tried their best to restrain them. Twice during the First and Second World Wars, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece in exchange for entry into the war, but Greece did not accept these offers.

After Cyprus gained independence, peace did not reign for long. Already in 1974, a revolution initiated by the Greeks began. But the attempt to join the island to Greece was unsuccessful. In response, Turkey sent troops. During the hostilities, Cyprus was divided into two parts, which exist to this day – the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus.

To date, the situation on the island is calm. A lot of money is being invested in Northern Cyprus, including in touristic facilities, real estate and infrastructure.

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