Greek Cypriots have influences from Greece and Christianity, while Turkish Cypriots have influences from Turkey and Islam. The Limassol Carnival Festival is an annual carnival which is held at Limassol, in Cyprus. The event which is very popular in Cyprus was introduced in the 20th century.
Culture
Cyprus
Cyprus | Culture
Greek Cypriots have influences from Greece and Christianity, while Turkish Cypriots have influences from Turkey and Islam. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture due to cultural exchanges but also have differences. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture due to cultural exchanges but also have differences Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture due to cultural exchanges but also have differences. Several traditional food (such as souvla and halloumi) and beverages are similar with the Greek Cypriots traditionally being Greek Orthodox and Turkish Cypriots traditionally being Sunni Muslims,
where may have the mycenaeans ultimately ended up
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Cyprus and the Levantine coast
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where is the former place located?
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In the Eastern Mediterranean - south of Turkey; west of Syria and Lebanon; north of Egypt, Israel, and Palestine; and southeast of Greece.
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how was the place during the middle ages?
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When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 395, Cyprus became part of the East Roman, or Byzantine Empire.
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what cultural influence does it have?
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When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 395, Cyprus became part of the East Roman, or Byzantine Empire, and would remain so until the Crusades some 800 years later. Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot community. Beginning in 649, Cyprus endured several attacks launched by raiders from the Levant, which continued for the next 300 years. Many were quick piratical raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were slaughtered and great wealth carried off or destroyed.
Cyprus | Middle Ages
The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 replaced Venetian rule. Despite the inherent oppression of foreign subjugation, the period of Ottoman rule (1570–1878) had a limited impact on Greek Cypriot culture. The Ottomans tended to administer their multicultural empire with the help of their subject "millets", or religious communities. The "millet" system allowed the Greek Cypriot community to survive, administered on behalf of Constantinople by the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus. Cypriot Greeks were now able to take control of the land they had been working on for centuries. Although religiously tolerant, Ottoman rule was generally harsh and inefficient.
Greek Cypriots | Early modern period
The Byzantine era profoundly molded Greek Cypriot culture. The Greek Orthodox Christian legacy bestowed on Greek Cypriots in this period would live on during the succeeding centuries of foreign domination. Because Cyprus was never the final goal of any external ambition, but simply fell under the domination of whichever power was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean, destroying its civilization was never a military objective or necessity. The Cypriots did however endure the oppressive rule of first the Lusignans and then the Venetians from the 1190s through to 1570. King Amaury, who succeeded his brother Guy de Lusignan in 1194, was particularly intolerant of the Orthodox Church.
Greek Cypriots | Middle Ages
The isolation of Cyprus from the rest of the Greek-speaking world assisted the formation of a separate Cypriot dialect. This period of Arab influence lasted until the 10th century.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Arab conquest and Arab–Byzantine condominium
Art in Cyprus eventually came to assimilate Hellenistic elements as the Ptolemies conquered the country in 300 BC. Although artistic elements of ancient Athens influenced Cypriot burial architecture and other art forms in the beginning, Egyptian styles ultimately superseded. After the Romans seized control in 58 BC, Cyprus once again became a vibrant trading centre. Eastern Mediterranean traders and artists, including sculptors, brought with them a range of foreign artistic practices as they entered the country. As marble and bronze sculptures were increasingly imported from the Aegean, traditional limestone sculptures started to diminish. Hellenistic elements were still prevalent in Cypriot sculpture, ceramics and jewellery during this time.
Ancient Cypriot art | Hellenistic and Roman Periods (c. 310 BC - c. 330 AD)
Adaptations of foreign stylistic elements from the Aegean, the Near East, and Egypt led to their reinterpretation and as a result incorporation into unique Cypriot customs. Particularly during the 12th century BC, bronze-work, writing, jewellery, and stone seal carvings were all influenced by the Aegean. From c. 1500 BC, Cypriots commenced using an undecipherable Cypro-Minoan script adopted from Crete which gave them the means to manage records and inventories at a time when social organisation was becoming increasingly complex. This script can be seen on clay tablets and records found in metropolitan cities such as Enkomi and Kalavasos. The Cesnola Collection also contains numerous vases on which some characters of this ancient script is visible.
Ancient Cypriot art | Late Bronze Age (c. 1650 - c. 1050 BC)
Neither temples nor theatres can be found at the site, but it is obvious that the city was accepting of Roman influence because of inscriptions suggesting a gymnasium where the Actaean games were performed in honor of Augustus' victory. Other inscriptions suggest statues of Augustus, Tiberius, Trajan, and Hadrian within the city walls. It is also important to note that the consular of the island during the mid third century, Cl. Leontichus Illyrius, is the first example of Imperial distinction bestowed upon a family native to the island of Cyprus.
Roman Cyprus | Lapethus
Imperial cult continued to exist throughout Roman occupation of Cyprus, and a number of unique cults emerged from this transition to the Roman period. After Augustus gained control of Rome—and Cyprus with it—the island's inhabitants seemed perfectly willing to accept the divinity of the new emperor. Much of our information about Roman religion on the island comes from five sources: ancient literature, Cypriot numismatics, excavations and archaeological work, epigraphy, and burials. Through an analysis of these sources, where appropriate, scholars have been able to come up with an idea of how Roman involvement affected Cypriot religion. One example of epigraphy that illustrates the Roman Imperial cult is found on a white marble slab that originated from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaiaphos.
Roman Cyprus | Religion and imperial cults
St. Barnabas returned for a second visit in 49 AD but the spread of Christianity was slow, especially in the rural areas. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Vespasian, the Roman Emperor, and his son Titus there was a large influx of Jewish refugees into Cyprus. In 115-117 AD a widespread Jewish revolt (Kitos War) resulted in thousands of deaths in Cyprus and around the Eastern Empire and in the expulsion of Jews from Cyprus. In 269 AD there was a brief Gothic invasion (Battle of Naissus) throughout the eastern empire including Cyprus. In 293 AD Cyprus became part of the Eastern Empire as the Roman Empire was divided under the Diocletianic reforms.
Roman Cyprus | Overview
It was mainly Christian and due to this some alterations were made during the rebuilding. The palaestra was turned into a meeting place and many architectural elements were used to erect spacious churches decorated with murals, mosaics and coloured marbles. The main event in Cyprus in this period was the spreading of the Christian faith. At that time, its bishop, while still subject to the Church, was made autocephalous by the First Council of Ephesus. People were engaged very much in matters of faith, especially fighting the effort of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch to put the Church of Cyprus under his control.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Byzantine period
After its recuperation, new settlements arose in Cyprus as a result of the influx of Greek and Achaean immigrants who brought with them their Mycenaean culture in the forms of pottery, clothing, weaponry, burial customs, and the Greek language. The country maintained its role as a main exporter of raw materials in the Mediterranean, and eventually introduced a new local syllabic script in the 11th century BC which was in use until the 3rd century BC for the writing of ancient Greek and Cypriot language. The establishment of a Phoenician settlement at Kition on the southern coast in around 900 BC further pushed Cyprus’ trade as the Phoenicians were interested in the plentiful copper and wood resources for shipbuilding.
Ancient Cypriot art | Cypro-Geometric Period (c. 1050 - c. 750 BC)
The distinctive geographical location of Cyprus in the centre of Eastern Mediterranean maritime trade allowed for the country to become a significant commercial hub. This advantage also provided the country the ability to build contacts with Egypt, the Near East, Minoan Crete, and Mycenaean Greece. However, despite progressive social organisation, the profound distinctions in wealth as evidenced in burials highlight the explicit social divisions at the time. Such divide and local disputes resulted in the construction of fortifications in many settlements. The shapes and designs of pottery produced in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages were innovative and creative. Terracotta was used extensively to produce statuettes for tomb burials.
Ancient Cypriot art | Middle Bronze Age (c. 1900 - c. 1650 BC)
As far back in Cyprus' history as archaeological evidence exists, so too do examples of religion. Around the middle of the 4th century B.C., a new ruling dynasty—the Ptolemies—gained power over Cyprus and established imperial cult over the existing religions on the island. This imperial cult put the king at the head of religious observance on the island, and dictated that he was on an equal footing with other gods. To the average citizen, the king was considered a direct representative or descendant of the gods. It is easy to see the extent to which politics and religion became intertwined not only with each other, but with society as well; the king maintained control over the Koinon, an administrative body founded by the various cities scattered across Cyprus for the purpose of coordinating religious activities and festivals.
Roman Cyprus | Religion and imperial cults
During this period, a new flood of Syro-Palestinian and Anatolian migrants introduced a more advanced culture where religion was practised and art processes became more complex. Examples of such art are that of female figurines formed from clay or stone—in particular the local stone picrolite—with prominent genitals which represented fertility as one of the crucial values of agrarian society at the time. Towards the end of this period, small implements and ornamental decorations began to be hammered from copper, "" in Greek, hence giving the name of this era of progression from the Neolithic Period to the Bronze Age. Despite the continuation of agriculture, certain developments such as diversified burial procedures, the building of unique religious installations, and the use of seals indicate a more sophisticated and organised society.
Ancient Cypriot art | Chalcolithic Period (c. 3900 - c. 2500 BC)
Greek Cypriot land was appropriated for the Latin churches after they were established in the major towns on the island. In addition, tax collection was also part of the heavy oppressive attitude of the occupiers to the locals of the island, in that it was now being conducted by the Latin churches themselves.
Greek Cypriots | Middle Ages
In 570 BCE, Cyprus was conquered by Egypt under Amasis II. This brief period of Egyptian domination left its influence mainly in the arts, especially sculpture, where the rigidity and the dress of the Egyptian style can be observed. Cypriot artists later discarded this Egyptian style in favour of Greek prototypes. Statues in stone often show a mixture of Egyptian and Greek influence. In particular, ceramics recovered on Cyprus show influence from ancient Crete. Men often wore Egyptian wigs and Assyrian-style beards. Armour and dress showed western Asiatic elements as well.
Ancient history of Cyprus | Egyptian period
The unique combination of ethnocultural traits inhered from the fusion of a Greek-Macedonian cultural base, Hellenistic Judaism and Roman civilization gave birth to the distinctly Antiochian “Middle Eastern-Roman” Christian traditions of Cilicia (Southeastern Turkey) and Syria/Lebanon: Some typically Grecian "Ancient Synagogal" priestly rites and hymns have survived partially to the present, notably in the distinct church services of the followers of the Melkite Greek Catholic church and its sister-church the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the Hatay Province of Southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Northern Israel, and in the Greek-Levantine Christian diasporas of Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Hellenistic Judaism | Influence on Levantine Byzantine traditions
During this period, Phoenician and native Cypriot traits disappeared, together with the old Cypriot syllabic script, and Cyprus became thoroughly Hellenised. Cyprus figures prominently in the early history of Christianity, being the first province of Rome to be ruled by a Christian governor, in the first century, and providing a backdrop for events in the New Testament
Ancient history of Cyprus | Introduction
This, the earliest known culture in Cyprus, consisted of a well-organised, developed society mainly engaged in farming, hunting and herding. Farming was mainly of cereal crops. They also picked the fruit of trees growing wild in the surrounding area such as pistachio nuts, figs, olives and prunes. The four main species of animals whose remains were found on the site were deer, sheep, goats and pigs. The village of Choirokoitia was suddenly abandoned for reasons unknown at around 6000 BC and it seems that the island remained uninhabited for about 1500 years until the next recorded entity, the Sotira group.
Khirokitia | Archaeology
The art history of Cyprus can be said to stretch back up to 10,000 years, following the discovery of a series of Chalcolithic period carved figures in the villages of Khoirokoitia and Lempa. The island is the home to numerous examples of high quality religious icon painting from the Middle Ages as well as many painted churches. Cypriot architecture was heavily influenced by French Gothic and Italian renaissance introduced in the island during the era of Latin domination (1191–1571). A well known traditional art that dates at least from the 14th century is the Lefkara Lace (also known as "Lefkaratika", which originates from the village Lefkara.
Cyprus | Arts
After the division of the Roman Empire into an eastern half and a western half, Cyprus came under the rule of Byzantium. The cities of Cyprus were destroyed by two successive earthquakes in 332 and 342 AD and this marked the end of an era and at the same time the beginning of a new one, very much connected with modern life in Cyprus. Most of the cities were not rebuilt, save Salamis which was rebuilt on a smaller scale and renamed Constantia after the Roman Emperor Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, residing in Constantinople. The new city was now the capital of the island.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Byzantine period
Greek Cypriots have influences from Greece and Christianity, while Turkish Cypriots have influences from Turkey and Islam. The Limassol Carnival Festival is an annual carnival which is held at Limassol, in Cyprus. The event which is very popular in Cyprus was introduced in the 20th century.
Cyprus | Culture
Cyprus was divided into four regions with thirteen known cities with Nea Paphos becoming the capital. Cyprus was allowed a large amount of autonomy remaining mainly Greek in culture while adopting and adapting Roman customs. No Roman colonies were settled on the island. During this time period there are very few primary literary sources that mention Cyprus, let alone provide a detailed history. However, epigraphic and archaeological evidence indicates thriving economic, culture and civic life in Cyprus throughout the Roman period. In 45 AD Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas visited Cyprus as part of Paul's first missionary journey to convert the people to Christianity.
Roman Cyprus | Overview
The distinction between the two groups was by both religion and language. The Ottomans applied the millet system to Cyprus, which allowed religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church as the ethno-religious institution of the ethnic Greek population. Gradually, the Archbishop of Cyprus became not only religious but ethnic leader as well, something the Ottoman Turks promoted, wanting to have somebody responsible for the loyalty of the Greek flock. In this way, the Church undertook the task of the guardian of the Greek cultural legacy until the island was ceded to Britain.
Ottoman Cyprus | Social history
The Iron Age follows the Submycenean period (1125–1050 BC) or Late Bronze Age and is divided into the: In the ensuing Early Iron Age Cyprus becomes predominantly Greek. Pottery shapes and decoration show a marked Aegean inspiration although Oriental ideas creep in from time to time. Pottery types also appear from other Mediterranean cultures as evidenced from in archaeological recovery on Cyprus of pottery from Cydonia, a powerful urban center of ancient Crete. New burial customs with rock-cut chamber tombs having a long "dromos" (a ramp leading gradually towards the entrance) along with new religious beliefs speak in favour of the arrival of people from the Aegean.
Prehistoric Cyprus | Iron Age
Rule passed on to his nephew Hugh IV (1324–1359), who found himself in a new privileged position. The fall of the last coastal strongholds of the Kingdom of Jerusalem made it unnecessary for the island to waste its money on its defense. It also made the island the center for Oriental trade, and Famagustan merchants became notoriously rich, and the island as a whole became known for its wealth. Hugh enjoyed a peaceful reign, and preferred to stay on the island.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Hugh IV
Ultimately, all forms of Cypriot art became influenced by Roman techniques and styles.
Ancient Cypriot art | Hellenistic and Roman Periods (c. 310 BC - c. 330 AD)
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the early 20th century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
Cypriot intercommunal violence | Background
BCE. Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology being the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis, and home to King Cinyras, Teucer and Pygmalion. Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence at Kition which was under Tyrian rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC. Some Phoenician merchants who were believed to come from Tyre colonised the area and expanded the political influence of Kition. After c. 850 BC the sanctuaries [at the Kathari site] were rebuilt and reused by the Phoenicians."
Cyprus | Prehistoric and Ancient Cyprus
There are no Byzantine churches which survive from this period; thousands of people were killed, and many cities – such as Salamis – were destroyed and never rebuilt. Byzantine rule was restored in 965, when Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas scored decisive victories on land and sea.
Cyprus | Middle Ages
Originally from Lebanon and Syria, today's Maronite community in Cyprus was shaped by four successive waves of emigration that started in the 8th century. With the Islamic conquests radiating outward from the Arab Peninsula, many Maronites abandoned Syria and Lebanon and settled in Cyprus. In 938, the destruction of St Maron's Monastery in Lebanon prompted a second wave of refugees. Another three centuries passed and Crusader king Guy of Lusignan purchased Cyprus from Richard the Lionheart, leading the former to import Maronite warriors to the island to protect its coastlines. The last wave of emigration came 100 years later when Acre, last outpost of the Crusader edifice, collapsed leading to the last migration of Maronites to Cyprus.
Kormakitis | Middle Ages
By the beginning of the 7th century, the patriarch of Alexandria was John the Merciful from Amathus. Another important Cypriot of the time is the church writer Leontios of Neapolis.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Byzantine period
The latter is home to several specimens of native species that lived in Cyprus in different periods, as well as antiquities from the Neolithic Age to the Byzantine period. The St Mamas Church still annually hosts a Greek Cypriot mass. Bandabuliya (the closed market) is an important commercial center and was built in the 1930s in the British colonial architecture. The town is the home of Binatlı Yılmaz S.K., a football club that spent the 2014-15 season in the KTFF 1. Lig, the second highest division. They finished the season in the third place and achieved promotion into the Süper Lig.
Morphou | Culture
Upon excavations of rich burial grounds and 14th to 13th century BC urban centres like Enkomi, luxurious artefacts made from a range of materials have been discovered. Burial chambers of an elite class have further unearthed nearly exclusively a collection of imported Mycenaean vessels from the 14th century. While the arts in Cyprus thrived, social inequities arose as a result of the flux of imported wealth and resources. During the latter part of the 13th century BC, unrest took over Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, leaving cities in ruins and generating a surge of Aegean refugees to Cyprus. However, despite the turmoil, Cyprus managed to eventually recover its economic and commercial success.
Ancient Cypriot art | Late Bronze Age (c. 1650 - c. 1050 BC)
The Medieval history of Cyprus starts with the division of the Roman Empire into an Eastern and Western half.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Introduction
Roman influence can be seen in the use and import of marble as a medium for sculptures, and the display of these sculptures within civic centers and private homes. This use of marble was limited to economically and politically powerful cities located near harbors such as Salamis and Paphos, where there was easier access to imported marble and means to afford and display these statues. It is unknown whether the marble was carved prior to shipment to Cyprus, or if the marble was shipped as blocks and carved on the island. Although marble was a key part of Roman period sculptures on Cyprus, limestone was still being used for sculptures.
Roman Cyprus | Cypriot sculptures of the Roman period
The establishment of the Crusader Kingdom of Cyprus, in 1192, was the beginning of intense French influence on the island for the next three centuries. That influence, which touched almost every aspect of life on the island, would endure even after the end of Lusignan domination. It survives as part of Cypriot culture. The Republic of Cyprus became an associate member of the Francophonie in 2006.
Francophile | Cyprus
Amalric I of Cyprus received the royal crown and title from Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. A small minority Roman Catholic population of the island was mainly confined to some coastal cities, such as Famagusta, as well as inland Nicosia, the traditional capital. Roman Catholics kept the reins of power and control, while the Greek inhabitants lived in the countryside; this was much the same as the arrangement in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The independent Eastern Orthodox Church of Cyprus, with its own archbishop and subject to no patriarch, was allowed to remain on the island, but the Latin Church largely displaced it in stature and holding property.
History of Cyprus | Kingdom of Cyprus
Burial customs are typically slow to change, even during times of social transition and foreign influence. Burial customs on Cyprus during the Hellenistic period were largely retained during the Roman period. Nevertheless, the study of these customs can still provide a great deal of insight into who was living in Cyprus at the time and the extent of their influence. The tombs of Roman Cyprus typically were cave-like chambers with sloping dromos, the ends of which were sealed with earth and occasionally with stone. The number, size, and ornamentation of these chambers in differed according to wealth, ethnicity, and the dates of construction.
Roman Cyprus | Roman Cypriot burials
In 1570, a full-scale Ottoman assault with 60,000 troops brought the island under Ottoman control, despite stiff resistance by the inhabitants of Nicosia and Famagusta. Ottoman forces capturing Cyprus massacred many Greek and Armenian Christian inhabitants. The previous Latin elite were destroyed and the first significant demographic change since antiquity took place with the formation of a Muslim community. Soldiers who fought in the conquest settled on the island and Turkish peasants and craftsmen were brought to the island from Anatolia. This new community also included banished Anatolian tribes, "undesirable" persons and members of various "troublesome" Muslim sects, as well as a number of new converts on the island.
Cyprus | Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans, while trying to reduce Latin influence, treated the Orthodox Cypriots with consideration and gained their good will. The Ottomans assured them free enjoyment of their religion, with the undisturbed possession of their churches; gave them permission to acquire houses and land, with the power of transmission to their heirs; recognized the supremacy of the Orthodox community over all other Christian denominations in the island. In later times the Church developed so great an influence on temporal affairs that at the beginning of the nineteenth century the Archbishop was in fact ruling Cyprus through his control of its finances.
Church of Cyprus | Ottoman era
But many of the surviving liturgical traditions of these communities rooted in Hellenistic Judaism and, more generally, Second Temple Greco-Jewish Septuagint culture, were expunged progressively in the late medieval and modern eras by both Phanariot European-Greek (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) and Vatican (Roman Catholic) gentile theologians who sought to 'bring back' Levantine Greek Orthodox and Greek-Catholic communities into the European Christian fold: some ancient Judeo-Greek traditions were thus deliberately abolished or reduced in the process. Members of these communities still call themselves "Rûm" (literally "Roman"; usually referred to as "Byzantine" in English) and referring to Greeks in Turkish, Persian and Levantine Arabic.
Hellenistic Judaism | Influence on Levantine Byzantine traditions
By the time the British took control of the island in 1878, the bi-communal character of Cyprus had become deeply engrained in the society. With the millet system not having been fully abolished upon establishment of British rule, a modern bureaucratic system was implemented, however control over religion, education, culture, personal status, and communal institutions. The divisive education systems were of particular significance in the upholding of ethnic distinctions between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots in the emphasis they placed on religion, national heritage, ethnic values, and the history of the Greek-Turkish conflict. The divisive curriculum combined with active church involvement in educational affairs contributed to the transference of conflicting ethnic values through the generations.
History of nationality in Cyprus | Bi-communal character under British rule
Being strategically located between three continents, Cyprus is a unique nation that did not follow the pattern of current European territories, and until this day the island serves as a bone of contention between the rival nationalisms of the Greek and the Turkish. Under the control of various powers throughout its ancient history, Cyprus was a Roman province from 58 BC to 395, after which it became part of the Byzantine Empire, then by Muslim Khalifate. Successively followed by periods of Lusignan (1192–1489), Venetian (1489–1571), and Ottoman rule (1571-1878), Great Britain eventually administered the region first under lease from the Sultan, and then upon annexation after the First World War with their colonial rule lasting until 1960.
History of nationality in Cyprus | Ancient rule
Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots have a minor genetic relation with surrounding populations, mainly with Calabrians (southern Italy), Albanians (particularly for Greek Cypriots), Lebanese and Libyans (only for Turkish Cypriots). The genetic affinity between Calabrians and Cypriots could be a result of a common ancient Greek (Achaean) genetic contribution to both populations. In addition to documented settlement of Anatolian peasants and craftsmen, as well as the arrival of soldiers, decrees were also issued banishing Anatolian tribes, "undesirable" persons, and members of various "troublesome" Muslim sects, principally those officially classified as heretical. This influx of mainly Muslim settlers to Cyprus continued intermittently until the end of the Ottoman period.
Turkish Cypriots | Ottoman Cyprus
Even after the foundation of Nea Paphos in the late 4th century BC, Palaiaphos did not lose its significance. It remained a central place of worship in the Mediterranean world and cult worship of Aphrodite continued at this site until the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I outlawed all pagan worship in 391 AD. Modern construction in the town of Kouklia has unfortunately obliterated much of the remains at Palaiaphos. However, enough remains that Roman built temples can be identified apart from earlier constructions. These buildings are situated on an East/West orientation, and are located in the Northern part of the sanctuary complex.
Roman Cyprus | Palaiaphos ("Old Paphos")
The Ottomans abolished the feudal system previously in place and applied the millet system to Cyprus, under which non-Muslim peoples were governed by their own religious authorities. In a reversal from the days of Latin rule, the head of the Church of Cyprus was invested as leader of the Greek Cypriot population and acted as mediator between Christian Greek Cypriots and the Ottoman authorities. This status ensured that the Church of Cyprus was in a position to end the constant encroachments of the Roman Catholic Church. Ottoman rule of Cyprus was at times indifferent, at times oppressive, depending on the temperaments of the sultans and local officials, and the island began over 250 years of economic decline.
Cyprus | Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire
Human habitation of Cyprus dates back to the Paleolithic era. Cyprus's geographic position has caused Cyprus to be influenced by differing Eastern Mediterranean civilisations over the millennia. Cyprus is a small country. Periods of Cyprus's history from 1050 BC have been named according to styles of pottery found as follows:
History of Cyprus | Introduction
The culture of Northern Cyprus is the pattern of human activity and symbolism associated with Northern Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots. It features significant elements influenced by or developed upon the culture of Turkey, but combines these elements with a unique Cypriot approach and local traditions (in common with Greek Cypriots), as well as several other influences, such as the British and contemporary western cultures.
Culture of Northern Cyprus | Introduction
Literary production from antiquity includes the "Cypria", an epic poem, probably composed in the late 7th century BC and attributed to Stasinus. The Cypriot Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic School of Philosophy, followed by his friend and disciple Persaeus. Cyprus also figures in early Christian literature such as the Acts of the Apostles according to which the Apostles Barnabas and Paul preached on the island. Byzantine/medieval Cypriot writers include Leontios of Neapolis, Altheides and Patriarch Gregory II of Constantinople. Byzantine Epic poetry, notably the "acritic songs", flourished during the Middle Ages.
Cypriot literature | Ancient / Medieval
Cyprus was cut off from the rest of the Greek-speaking world from the 7th to the 10th century due to Arab attacks. It was reintegrated in the Byzantine Empire in 962 to be isolated again in 1191 when it fell to the hands of the Crusaders. These periods of isolation led to the development of various linguistic characteristics distinct from Byzantine Greek. The oldest surviving written works in Cypriot date back to the Medieval period. Some of these are: the legal code of the Kingdom of Cyprus, the Assizes of Jerusalem; the chronicles of Leontios Machairas and Georgios Voustronios; and a collection of sonnets in the manner of Francesco Petrarca.
Cypriot Greek | History
Neighboring Muslim powers were potentially a great threat to Cyprus, the last Christian Crusader stronghold on the mainland of the Near East having been wiped out with the Fall of Acre in 1291. At the moment a new Islamic power had recently come to the fore, but the expanding Ottomans had their eye fixed on what remained of the Byzantine Empire. In addition, they were primarily a land power, and for the moment the remaining Latin Christian entities in the region could hold their own on the seas. Along with the Knights of Saint John (the Hospitallers) the kings of Cyprus were the main inheritors of the Crusading tradition.
Peter I of Cyprus | Wars against the Turks
The conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire in 1571 led to the recognition of the Orthodox Church as the only legal Christian church. The church was considered by the Ottomans to be the political leadership of the Christian population ("Rum millet") and was responsible for collecting taxes. Because of the different policies of the Ottoman Empire towards Muslim and non-Muslim citizens, especially regarding taxation, some Christians converted to Islam. These are known in Cyprus with the name ""Linopampakoi"". Under Ottoman rule the position of the Cypriot Church was greatly enhanced through the application of the "millet" system, whereby the head of each religious community was answerable to the governor for its behavior.
Church of Cyprus | Ottoman era
Until Cyprus was liberated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, there was a constant power struggle for Cypriot independence against the Persians. During the Cypro-Classical era, sculptures, jewellery, clothing, and other art forms began to take on many Hellenic elements as a result of increased affiliation with the Greeks who aided the Cypriots in their attempts to depose the Persians. Sculptures in this period were generally made from terracotta or limestone and could only be afforded by the affluent. Although the influence of Greek culture was evident in the arts of Cyprus, the Cypriots still kept and used their own artistic styles.
Ancient Cypriot art | Cypro-Classical Period (c. 480 - c. 310 BC)
Literacy was introduced to Cyprus with the Cypro-Minoan syllabary, a derivation from Cretan Linear A. It was first used in early phases of the late Bronze Age (LCIB, 14th century BC) and continued in use for c. 400 years into the LC IIIB, maybe up to the second half of the 11th century BC. It likely evolved into the Cypriot syllabary. The Late Cypriot (LC) IIC (1300–1200 BC) was a time of local prosperity. Cities were rebuilt on a rectangular grid plan, like Enkomi, where the town gates now correspond to the grid axes and numerous grand buildings front the street system or newly founded.
Prehistoric Cyprus | Late Bronze Age
Cyprus was conquered by the Ottoman Empire after their war with Venice. During Ottoman rule the Jewish community of Cyprus thrived due to the influx of Sephardi Jews from Ottoman lands, who had emigrated en masse to the Ottoman territories after expulsion from Spain in 1492. Famagusta became the main center of the Ottoman Jewish community in Cyprus. Ottoman rule lasted until 1878, when Cyprus came under British rule.
History of the Jews in Cyprus | Ottoman Era (1571-1878)
The pottery white painted IV and V, Red II and Biochrome types showed influence and varied import relations with the East Greek. The Samarian bowl and Phoenician carving inside a Cypriote jug suggested close coastal relations throughout the Mediterranean.
Archaeology of Cyprus | Pottery
All these acts of defiance could be attributed to decolonization. When the Cypriots made acts of nationalism, they were participating in a form of decolonization because they were attempting to remove all trace of Turkic and Muslim influence within their society. The Greek War of Independence had major affects on Cyprus and after the Ottomans had left, Cyprus continued to create a Greek culture they wished to be a part of. Cyprus would continue to create this imagined identity of Greek culture. This can also be a form of imagined human geography because Cyprus used this identity to justify its revolts and nationalist movements.
Decolonization | Ottoman Empire
After the division of the Roman Empire into an eastern half and a western half, Cyprus came under the rule of Constantinople. At that time, its bishop, while still subject to the Church, was made autocephalous by the Council of Ephesus. The Arabs and Muslims invaded Cyprus in force in the 650s, but in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik reached an unprecedented agreement. For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines as a condominium, despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland. The Byzantines recovered control over the island for short periods thereafter, but the "status quo" was always restored.
History of Cyprus | Medieval Cyprus
Many of the religious sites in Cyprus can be traced to early Byzantine foundations, built before the East-West Schism between Rome and Constantinople in the 11th century. Their architecture and iconography reveal a profound influence on ecclesial building traditions still in use in the Cypriot Orthodox Church. In the Middle Ages, Cyprus was ruled by a Frankish aristocracy, the Lusignan dynasty. They favoured the Gothic style when establishing cathedrals and monasteries. The former Catholic Augustinian Cloister of Bellapais near Kyrenia was transferred to Orthodox Church authorities when the Ottomans conquered Cyprus at the end of the 16th century. Other Gothic churches were converted to mosques, for example Saint Sophia Cathedral, now Selimiye Mosque (Nicosia), and Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
Catholic Church in Cyprus | Sacred sites in Cyprus
Politically, the concept of "enosis" – unification with the Greek "motherland" – became important to literate Greek Cypriots after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. A movement for the realization of "enosis" gradually formed, in which the Church of Cyprus played a dominant role during the Cyprus dispute. During British rule (1878–1960), the British brought an efficient colonial administration, but government and education were administered along ethnic lines, accentuating differences. For example, the education system was organized with two Boards of Education, one Greek and one Turkish, controlled by Athens and Istanbul, respectively. The resulting education emphasized linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences and ignored traditional ties between the two Cypriot communities.
Greek Cypriots | Modern history
From around 1200 BC, Palaepaphos was a major religious centre famous all over Cyprus, but also throughout the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, it also became a city and seat of power about which still little is known today. Paphos was also a kingdom and the city was capital of the region. When the last King of Palaepaphos, Nicocles, moved his capital at the end of the 4th century B.C. to the newly-founded Nea Paphos, some 16 km to the west, the old town retained some of its importance thanks to the continuation of the cult at the temple of Aphrodite. During the Roman period it became the centre of the newly established 'Koinon Kyprion', (the 'Confederation of the Cypriots'), which dealt with religious affairs, the cult of the Roman emperor and controlled the island's bronze coinage.
Kouklia | History
It was later officially Greek after Diocletian had split the empire into its eastern and western components and the Byzantines had been fully realised as having separate control of the eastern empire. The presence of Hellenic culture in the eastern parts of the empire, especially in Anatolia as it was one of the most Hellenic places of the Roman world outside of Greece itself, was important for Rome to maintain control of their provinces. Its similarities allowed them to rule more effectively and efficiently than in other areas as it allowed important factors for everyday Roman life in the form of religious worship, city layout and local customs.
Romanization of Anatolia | Hellenic Influence
The City was the basic economic unit of the Roman Empire; it could interact with its surrounding agricultural hinterland in one of two ways. In the first, a sort of symbiotic relationship, the city would act as a redistribution center and manufactured goods needed by the agricultural area supporting it. In the second, a more parasitic relationship, the city center would redistribute agricultural surplus while manufacturing goods to be sold or traded with other centers. The role of the city was determined by its proximity to an important trade route. The major coastal cities of Cyprus which showed this kind of economic growth were Paphos, Amathous, and Salamis.
Roman Cyprus | Economy
The PPNB settlers built round houses with floors made of terrazzo of burned lime (e.g. Kastros, Shillourokambos) and cultivated einkorn and emmer. Pigs, sheep, goats and cattle were kept but remained, for the most part, behaviourally wild. Evidence of cattle such as that attested at Shillourokambos is rare, and when they apparently died out in the course of the 8th millennium they were not re-introduced until the ceramic Neolithic. In the 6th millennium BC, the aceramic Khirokitia culture was characterised by roundhouses, stone vessels and an economy based on sheep, goats and pigs. Cattle were unknown, and Persian fallow deer were hunted.
History of Cyprus | Prehistoric Cyprus
There were no visible traces of Minoan invasion, colonization, or even significant cultural influence in Bronze Age Cyprus. At that time, the island was part of the Near-East cultural circle rather than Aegean civilizations. Based on the above-mentioned classification of the script into several varieties, Emilia Masson hypothesized that they may represent different languages that chronologically supplanted each other. Ferrara, while disproving Masson's hypothesis about these varieties as chronological stages, also indicated that the statistics of use of signs for all the varieties, as well as several noticeable combinations of signs, were the same for all the varieties, which may point to the same language rather than separate languages.
Cypro-Minoan syllabary | Language and cultural attribution
Moreover, the properties of many monasteries were confiscated. The persecutions, especially during the Frankish period, did not succeed in uprooting the faith of the Greek Cypriots. Despite initial frictions, the two churches gradually managed to coexist side by side peacefully. The local Orthodox Christians shared some of the benefits of the economic development of Cyprus and especially Famagusta at the time. The Orthodox cathedral of St George (known as "Saint George of the Greeks" – today in ruins) is almost as high and monumental as the nearby Catholic cathedral of St Nicholas (a mosque since 1571), and is also an example of an interesting fusion of gothic and Byzantine architecture.
Church of Cyprus | Crusader era
The Cyprus dispute originated from tensions between the two separate cultural groups inhabiting the island. What some historians refer to as the “Cyprus problem” has been a source of conflict for several decades. Since 1955, repeated clashes between the island’s Greek and Turkish communities have created political instability. Cyprus is placed in an advantageous position in between the Middle East and Europe, making it an ideal base for the strategic power in the region. Though the population of Cyprus is composed of mostly Greek and Turkish communities, the Greeks are considered to be the “dominant cultural influence.” In a 1960 census, the population was 77% Greek and 18% Turkish.
Operation SNOWGOOSE | History
After the purchase of Cyprus by titular Frankish King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan in 1192, in his attempt to establish a western-type feudal kingdom, the latter sent emissaries to Europe, Cilicia and the Levant, resulting in a massive immigration of Armenians and other peoples. Because of their proximity, their commercial ties and a series of royal and nobility marriages, the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Cilicia became inextricably linked. In the subsequent centuries, thousands of Cilician Armenians sought refuge in Cyprus fleeing the Muslim attacks such as the Fall of Antioch. Cyprus became now the easternmost bulwark of Christianity; in 1441 the authorities of Famagusta invited Armenians from Cilicia to settle there.
Armenians in Cyprus | Latin Era (1191–1570)
The LCIIC (1300–1200 BC) was a time of local prosperity. Cities such as Enkomi were rebuilt on a rectangular grid plan, where the town gates correspond to the grid axes and numerous grand buildings front the street system or newly founded. Great official buildings constructed from ashlar masonry point to increased social hierarchisation and control. Some of these buildings contain facilities for processing and storing olive oil, such as Maroni-Vournes and Building X at Kalavassos-Ayios Dhimitrios. A Sanctuary with a horned altar constructed from ashlar masonry has been found at Myrtou-Pigadhes, other temples have been located at Enkomi, Kition and Kouklia (Palaepaphos).
History of Cyprus | Bronze Age
They were finally successful in 488, when Archbishop Anthemius guided by a dream discovered the tomb of Barnabas with the saint's body lying in a coffin and on his chest a copy of the "Gospel of Matthew" in Barnabas' own writing. Having the relics with him, Anthemius dashed to Constantinople and presented them to Emperor Zeno. The latter was very much impressed and he not only confirmed the independence of the Church of Cyprus but he also gave to the Archbishop in perpetuity three privileges that are as much alive today as they were then, namely to carry a sceptre instead of a pastoral staff, to sign with red ink and to wear a purple cloak during services.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Byzantine period
The music of the island is influenced also by the Byzantine music. Athanasios Demetriadis, also known as Kasavetis, was a Cypriot deacon in Constantinople when Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was his uncle Yerasimos (1794–1797). A secular song lamenting Death's preference for the young, written and set to music by him survives in a collection by Nikiforos Naftouniaris. Chrysanthos of Madytos, Gregory the Protopsaltes, and Chourmouzios the Archivist were responsible for a reform of the notation of Greek ecclesiastical music. Essentially, this work consisted of a simplification of the Byzantine musical symbols which, by the early 19th century, had become so complex and technical that only highly skilled chanters were able to interpret them correctly.
Music of Cyprus | Byzantine music
From 22 BCE onwards, Cyprus was a senatorial province "divided into four districts centred around Paphus, Salamis, Amathus and Lapethus." After the reforms of Diocletian it was placed under the Diocese of Oriens. The "Pax Romana" (Roman peace) was only twice disturbed in Cyprus in three centuries of Roman occupation. The first serious interruption occurred in 115–16, when a revolt by Jews inspired by Messianic hopes broke out. Their leader was Artemion, a Jew with a Hellenised name, as was the practice of the time. The island suffered great losses in this war; it is believed that 240,000 Greek and Roman civilians were killed.
Ancient history of Cyprus | Roman period
European tradition was adopted for the knighting of Armenian nobles, while jousts and tournaments similar to those in Europe had become popular in Cilician Armenia. The extent of Western influence over Cilician Armenia is also reflected by the incorporation of two new letters (Ֆ ֆ = "f" and Օ օ = "o") and various Latin-based words into the Armenian language. In other areas, there was more hostility to the new Western trends. Above all, most ordinary Armenians frowned on conversion to Roman Catholicism or Greek Orthodoxy. Cultural influence was not merely one-way, however; Cilician Armenians had an important impact on Crusaders returning to the West, most notably with their architectural traditions.
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia | Culture
During the Ottoman era, numerous mosques, masjids, churches, public baths, bazaars, caravanserais, medreses, schools and libraries were built in Cyprus. Ottoman architecture in Cyprus is closely linked to mainstream Ottoman architecture, however, there are some features that make it distinctly Cypriot. This stems from the fact that, whilst leaving Greek Orthodox churches intact, many buildings used by the Catholics, built in Gothic architecture, were converted into mosques or palaces, such as the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Famagusta and Selimiye Mosque in Nicosia. These buildings were later modified for use and thus synthesised with distinctly Ottoman elements. Gothic architecture also influenced Ottoman architecture in the island as Gothic elements were used by the Ottomans, such as in the minaret of Cami Kebir in Larnaca.
Ottoman Cyprus | Architecture
The Turkish language was introduced to Cyprus with the Ottoman conquest in 1571 and became the politically dominant, prestigious language, of the administration. In the post-Ottoman period, Cypriot Turkish was relatively isolated from standard Turkish and had strong influences by the Cypriot Greek dialect. The condition of coexistence with the Greek Cypriots led to a certain bilingualism whereby Turkish Cypriots' knowledge of Greek was important in areas where the two communities lived and worked together. According to Prof. C. F. Beckingham (1957), in Cyprus religious and linguistic divisions do not always coincide. There were "Turkish", i.e. Muslim villages in which the normal language was Greek.
Turkish Cypriots | Language
When the British arrived in Cyprus, they regarded the people they encountered as an entity which contained populations which spoke different languages and practiced different forms of worship. To the inhabitants themselves however, the term "Cypriot" did not serve as an accurate definition of their identity. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire had brought with it a fluid definition of the term, and ones socially relevant identity was thus defined based on their religious identification, with birthplace only becoming relevant in its capacity to establish social relationships. Thus the inhabitants of Cyprus regarded themselves as subjects, rather than citizens.
History of nationality in Cyprus | British imperial rule
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture due to cultural exchanges but also have differences. Several traditional food (such as souvla and halloumi) and beverages are similar, as well as expressions and ways of life. Hospitality and buying or offering food and drinks for guests or others are common among both. In both communities, music, dance and art are integral parts of social life and many artistic, verbal and nonverbal expressions, traditional dances such as tsifteteli, similarities in dance costumes and importance placed on social activities are shared between the communities. However, the two communities have distinct religions and religious cultures, with the Greek Cypriots traditionally being Greek Orthodox and Turkish Cypriots traditionally being Sunni Muslims, which has partly hindered cultural exchange.
Cyprus | Culture
The British period also saw a significant demographic shift in the city. In 1881, Christians constituted 60% of the city's population whilst Muslims were at 40%. By 1960, Turkish Cypriot population had dropped to 17.5% of the overall population, whilst the Greek Cypriot population had risen to 70%. The city was also the site for one of the British internment camps for nearly 50,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust trying to emigrate to Palestine.
Famagusta | British rule
Historians estimate that the first immigrants came between 1322 and 1400, when Cyprus was under the rule of the Lusignan (Crusader) kings. These Roma were part of a general movement from Asia Minor to Europe. Those who landed on Cyprus probably came across from the Crusader colonies on the eastern Mediterranean coast (present-day Lebanon and Israel). There is no evidence suggesting one cause for the Roma to leave mainland Asia, but historical events caused widespread upheaval and may have prompted a move to the island. In 1347 the Black Death had reached Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire; in 1390 the Turks defeated the Greek kingdom in Asia; and ten years later, the Battle of Aleppo marked the advance of the Mongols under Tamerlane.
Romani diaspora | History
Turkish Cypriot folk music consists of a rich variety of local tunes, influenced by the mainland Turkish music to a limited extent. Historically, it was shaped around the tradition of weddings, the primary social gatherings at the time. Violin, goblet drum, known locally as "darbuka", zurna and other drums were heavily used in these gatherings, and a large number of traditional songs developed based on this legacy. Many traditional songs are shared with the Greek Cypriot community. The songs were not only used for entertainment at weddings, but also at other special occasions such as bayrams, circumcision ceremonies and wrestling matches, when a band, called "ince saz" ("shrill ensemble") consisting of a darbuka player, violinist, tambourine and cymbals players would be assembled.
Culture of Northern Cyprus | Folk music
Other burial items, particularly those for men, consisted of bronze weaponry and tools. Cylinder seals and use of gold and silver for jewellery were gradually popularised as well. With the increasing need for more complex ways of expressing religion, ceremonial sites and unique metalworks were constructed. Such constructions give evidence of the growing significance of metals like copper in Cyprus. By the end of the Bronze Age, Near Eastern and Aegean influences allowed for Cyprus to develop the art of engraving and carving to a large extent.
Ancient Cypriot art | Middle Bronze Age (c. 1900 - c. 1650 BC)
Culture of Cyprus
Outline of Cyprus | Culture of Cyprus
Profound changes caused by incoming coastal Asia Minor migrants and other intra-societal processes marked the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. Communities began to move, settling in areas of fertile land near sources of water. Influences from the Near East, where metallurgy was highly developed, established standardised procedures of mining, extracting, and smelting of the rich copper ores found in Cyprus. This resource would become a valued export of high demand throughout Mediterranean antiquity during the Middle Bronze Age. Although Cypriot society was still rooted in agriculture, bronze-smiths began to manufacture unique ornaments and tools following personal techniques towards the end of Early Bronze Age.
Ancient Cypriot art | Early Bronze Age (c. 2500 - c. 1900 BC)
During the Ottoman conquest of the island (1570–1571), about 40,000 Ottoman-Armenian craftsmen were recruited, mainly as sappers. The new order of things affected the Armenian community as well: many of the Ottoman Armenians who survived the conquest settled mainly in Nicosia, increasing its Armenian population, while the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus was recognised as an Ethnarchy ("Ազգային Իշխանութիւն, Azkayin Ishkhanoutiun"), through the "millet" institution. However, the Bishopric in Famagusta was abolished, as the Christian population was slaughtered or expelled and the entire walled city became forbidden for non-Muslims until the early years of the British Era. As a reward for their services during the conquest, the Armenians of Nicosia were granted the right to guard Paphos Gate (this privilege was used only for a short period, due to the large expenditure required) and, by a "firman" dated May 1571, they were given back the Notre Dame de Tyre church (also known as Tortosa), which the Ottomans had turned into a salt store.
History of Armenians in Cyprus | Ottoman Era (1570–1878)
As a result of the bi-communal character that was established under the legislation of the late 1950s, Greece and Turkey both had long-lasting impacts on Cyprians national and ethnic identity. Despite four centuries of coexistence, the two communities maintained separate ethnic characters. Strongly divided over linguistic, ethnic, cultural and religious lines, the British colonial framework of ‘divide and rule’ reinforced the separation and made no attempts to unify Cypriot political culture.
History of nationality in Cyprus | Ethnic conflict and political repercussions
According to a late source, written by Eutychius of Alexandria Cypriot Jews attacked Christian monasteries on the island during the reign of Heraclius (610-641). Twice in 649 and 653, when the population was overwhelmingly Christian, Cyprus was subjected to two raids by Arab forces, which resulted in the capture and abduction into slavery of many Cypriots. One story relates that an enslaved Jew in Syria managed to escape and seek sanctuary on the island, where he converted and settled in Amathus in the late 7th century. Communities of Romaniote Jews from the Byzantine period are known.
History of the Jews in Cyprus | Jewish rebellions and Byzantine rule
From the second to the fourth centuries, Syrian intellectuals argued that Greek culture did not evolve in Greece but was adapted from the Near East. According to Iamblichus, the great Greek philosophers reused Near Eastern and Egyptian ideas. The Palmyrene court was probably dominated by this school of thought, with an intellectual narrative presenting Palmyra's dynasty as a Roman imperial one succeeding the Persian, Seleucid and Ptolemaic rulers who controlled the region in which Hellenistic culture allegedly originated. Nicostratus wrote a history of the Roman Empire from Philip the Arab to Odaenathus, presenting the latter as a legitimate imperial successor and contrasting his successes with the disastrous reigns of the emperors.
Zenobia | Culture
With this, the Phoenician language was adopted, and foreign ideas such as the cult of the goddess Astarte were assimilated into Cypriot culture. However, despite such imported customs at the time, Cypriot art managed to maintain its native characteristics. Pottery of this period was generally produced from Proto-White Painted Ware, but the Cypriots also painted in black and red. Advancements in the political structure of society could be seen in the founding of ten kingdoms ruled by kings called "wanaktes", as evidenced in a 7th century BC inscription.
Ancient Cypriot art | Cypro-Geometric Period (c. 1050 - c. 750 BC)
The millet system established during the period of Ottoman rule was an administrative system that served as a means of effectively reinforcing the divide between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. An administrative structure which distinguished the communities based on religion and ethnicity, each group was treated as a distinct entity. With the Orthodox Church playing a dominant position among the Greek Cypriots so as to help them preserve their ethnic, cultural, and political identity, religious activities and institutions factored into virtually every facet of the Cypriot community. Through the imposition of taxation and other various administrative tasks on a denominational basis, the millet system served as a central contributor in the creation of "political cleavage over ethnic lines.
History of nationality in Cyprus | Politics
As a concession to Iconoclast sentiment, monumental religious sculpture was effectively banned. Neither of these attitudes were held in Western Europe, but Byzantine art nonetheless had great influence there until the High Middle Ages, and remained very popular long after that, with vast numbers of icons of the Cretan School exported to Europe as late as the Renaissance. Where possible, Byzantine artists were borrowed for projects such as mosaics in Venice and Palermo. The enigmatic frescoes at Castelseprio may be an example of work by a Greek artist working in Italy. The art of Eastern Catholicism has always been rather closer to the Orthodox art of Greece and Russia, and in countries near the Orthodox world, notably Poland, Catholic art has many Orthodox influences.
Christian culture | Eastern Christian art
The Hellenic presence in the East had several major factors that went into its relation with the Roman culture that was trying to make itself evident after Roman expansion. One of these are the vast similarities between the two cultures religions which share a similar pantheon of gods, as well as mythology in the form of texts such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid. Even after the Romans took ownership of the land they were never able to fully Romanize the province as successfully as they had in the western reaches of the empire in places such as Gaul. This was due to the vast Hellenic presence that was evident throughout the eastern parts of the empire that lasted well into the Byzantine era which was predominantly Greek.
Romanization of Anatolia | Hellenic Influence
In 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik reached an unprecedented agreement. The Arabs evacuated the island, and for the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Caliphate and the Byzantines as a condominium, despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland. The collected taxes were divided among the Arabs and the emperor. Under Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886) Byzantine troops recaptured Cyprus, which was established as a theme, but after seven years the island reverted to the previous status quo. Once again, in 911, the Cypriots helped a Byzantine fleet under admiral Himerios, and in retaliation the Arabs under Damian of Tarsus ravaged the island for four months and carried off many captives.
Cyprus in the Middle Ages | Arab conquest and Arab–Byzantine condominium
The island of Cyprus was first inhabited in 9000 BC, with the arrival of farming societies who built round houses with floors of terazzo. Cities were first built during the Bronze Age and the inhabitants had their own Eteocypriot language until around the 4th century BC. The island was part of the Hittite Empire as part of the Ugarit Kingdom during the late Bronze Age until the arrival of two waves of Greek settlement. Cyprus experienced an uninterrupted Greek presence on the island dating from the arrival of Mycenaeans around 1100 BC, when the burials began to take the form of long "dromos".
Cyprus dispute | Historical background before 1960
During the Ottoman conquest of the island, about 40,000 Ottoman-Armenian craftsmen were recruited. Many of the Ottoman Armenians who survived the conquest settled mainly in Nicosia, increasing its Armenian population, while the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus was recognised as an Ethnarchy, through the "millet" institution. However, the Bishopric in Famagusta was abolished, as the Christian population was slaughtered or expelled and the entire walled city became forbidden for non-Muslims. As a reward for their services during the conquest, the Armenians of Nicosia were granted the right to guard Paphos Gate. However this privilege was used only for a short period.
Armenians in Cyprus | Ottoman Era (1570–1878)
The ratio of Muslims to Christians fluctuated throughout the period of Ottoman domination. In 1777–78, 47,000 Muslims constituted a majority over the island's 37,000 Christians. By 1872, the population of the island had risen to 144,000, comprising 44,000 Muslims and 100,000 Christians. The Muslim population included numerous crypto-Christians, including the Linobambaki, a crypto-Catholic community that arose due to religious persecution of the Catholic community by the Ottoman authorities; this community would assimilate into the Turkish Cypriot community during British rule.
Cyprus | Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire
Some typically Grecian "Ancient Synagogal" priestly rites have survived partially to the present, notably in the distinct church service of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Church and the Melkite Greek Catholic communities of the Hatay Province of Southern Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. The unique combination of ethnocultural traits inhered from the fusion of a Greek-Macedonian cultural base, Hellenistic Judaism and Roman civilization gave birth to the distinctly Antiochian "Middle Eastern-Roman" Christian traditions of Cilicia (Southeastern Turkey) and Syria/Lebanon: Members of these communities still call themselves Rûm which literally means "Eastern Roman", "Byzantine" or "Asian Greek" in Turkish, Persian and Arabic.
Jewish Christian | Surviving Byzantine and 'Syriac' communities in the Middle East
The ancient city of Kition is completely overlaid by the modern city of Larnaka, and is therefore largely unexcavated. It possessed an acropolis at Bamboula; to the southeast of the acropolis lay a large natural harbor, which has since silted in. It was very important in trade as a port city and the administration changed hands many times in its history, notably by the Phoenicians prior to the Roman administration. Even under the rule of the Romans, aspects of the old city life remained. For example, the cult of Eshmun continued into the Augustan age through a transition to the worship of Asclepius.
Roman Cyprus | Kition (Citium)
Cippi are carved-stone altars comprising a base, a narrow shaft, and a cap. Inscriptions labeling the tombs were made on the shafts of the cippi, and other forms of ornamentation (such as foliage) were common. The living could honor their dead by placing flowers on the cippus or pouring libations on the cippus. Gifts continued to be incorporated into burial, as seen in early period of Cypriot history. Jewelry, imported Roman pottery, local imitation pottery, gold wreaths, and glass were common burial gifts. Mummy portraits, depicting the deceased wearing gold wreaths and busts or stelae of the dead, began to emerge as a result of Alexandrian influence.
Roman Cyprus | Roman Cypriot burials
The Cypro-Minoan script was absent in some Bronze Age cities of Cyprus, yet abundant in others. Unlike many other neighboring states, the Late Bronze Age collapse had only a slight impact on Bronze Age Cyprus; in fact, the island culture flourished in the period immediately following the dramatic events of the collapse, and there was a visible increase in the use of the script in such centers as Enkomi. On the other hand, as a direct result of this collapse, the script ceased to exist in Ugarit, along with Ugarit itself. After that point, the number of Greek artifacts gradually increased in the Cypriot context, and around 950 BC the Cypro-Minoan script suddenly disappears, being soon substituted by the new Cypriot syllabary, whose inscriptions represent mainly the Greek language, with just a few short texts in Eteocypriot.
Cypro-Minoan syllabary | Spread and extinction