After the division of the Roman empire Cyprus naturally passed, with all
the neighbouring countries, into the hands of the Eastern or Byzantine
emperors, to whom it continued subject, with brief intervals, for more
than seven centuries. Until 644 the island was exceedingly prosperous,
but in that year began the period of Arab invasions, which continued
intermittently until 975. At the outset the Arabs under the caliph
Othman made themselves masters of the island, and destroyed the city of
Salamis, which until that time had continued to be the capital. The
island was recovered by the Greek emperors and, though again conquered
by the Arabs in the reign of Harun al-Rashid (802), it was finally
restored to the Byzantine empire under Nicephorus Phocas. Its princes
became practically independent, and tyrannized the island, until in 1191
Isaac Comnenus provoked the wrath of Richard I., king of England, by
wantonly ill-treating his crusaders. He thereupon wrested the island
from Isaac, whom he took captive. He then sold Cyprus to the Knights
Templars, who presently resold it to Guy de Lusignan, titular king of
Jerusalem.
Guy ruled from 1192 till his death in 1194; his brother Amaury took the
title of king, and from this time Cyprus was governed for nearly three
centuries by a succession of kings of the same dynasty, who introduced
into the island the feudal system and other institutions of western
Europe. During the later part of this period, indeed, the Genoese made
themselves masters of Famagusta--which had risen in place of Salamis to
be the chief commercial city in the island--and retained possession of
it for a considerable time (1376-1464); but it was recovered by King
James II., and the whole island was reunited under his rule. His
marriage with Caterina Cornaro, a Venetian lady of rank, was designed to
secure the support of the powerful republic of Venice, but had the
effect after a few years, in consequence of his own death and that of
his son James III., of transferring the sovereignty of the island to his
new allies. Caterina, feeling herself unable to contend alone with the
increasing power of the Turks, was induced to abdicate the sovereign
power in favour of the Venetian republic, which at once entered into
full possession of the island (1489).
The Venetians retained their acquisition for eighty-two years,
notwithstanding the neighbourhood of the Turks. Cyprus was now harshly
governed by a lieutenant, and the condition of the natives, who had been
much oppressed under the Lusignan dynasty, became worse. In 1570 the
Turks, under Selim II., made a serious attempt to conquer the island, in
which they landed an army of 60,000 men. The greater part of the island
was reduced with little difficulty; Nicosia, the capital, was taken
after a siege of 45 days, and 20,000 of its inhabitants put to the
sword. Famagusta alone made a gallant and protracted resistance, and
did not capitulate till after a siege of nearly a year's duration
(August 1571). The terms of the capitulation were shamefully violated by
the Turks, who put to death the governor Marcantonio Bragadino with
cruel torments. From that time Cyprus was under Turkish administration
until the agreement with Great Britain in 1878. Its history during that
period is almost a blank. A serious insurrection broke out in 1764, but
was speedily suppressed; and a few similar incidents are the only
evidence of the Turkish oppression of the Christian population of the
island, and the consequent stagnation of its trade.
AUTHORITIES.--_An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus_, by C. D.
Cobham (4th ed., Nicosia, 1900), registers over 700 works which deal
with Cyprus. _A Handbook of Cyprus_, by Sir J. T. Hutchinson and C. D.
Cobham (London), treats the island briefly from every standpoint. See
also E. Oberhummer, _Die Insel Cypern_ (Munich, 1903 et seq.), a
comprehensive work. The most interesting travels may be found under
the names of Felix Faber, _Evagatorium_ (Stuttgart, 1843); de
Villamont, Voyages (Arras, 1598); van Kootwyck, _Cotovici itinerarium_
(Antwerp, 1619); R. Pococke, _Description of the East_ (London, 1743);
A. Drummond, _Travels_ (London, 1754); E. D. Clarke, _Travels_
(London, 1812); Sir S. Baker, _Cyprus in 1879_ (London, 1879); W. H.
Mallock, _In an Enchanted Island_ (London, 1879). The geology of the
island has been handled by A. Gaudry, _Geologie de l'ile de Chypre_
(Paris, 1862); C. V. Bellamy, _Notes on the Geology of Cyprus, to
accompany a Geological Map of Cyprus_ (London, 1905); C. V. Bellamy
and A. J. Jukes-Brown, _Geology of Cyprus_ (Plymouth, 1905). Its
natural history by F. Unger and T. Kotschy, _Die Insel Cypern_ (Wien,
1865). Numismatics by the Duc de Luynes, _Numismatique et inscriptions
cypriotes_ (Paris, 1852); R. H. Lang, _Numism. Chronicle_, vol. xi.
(1871); J. P. Six, _Rev. num._ pp. 249-374 (Paris, 1883); and E.
Babelon, _Monnaies grecques_ (Paris, 1893). The coins of medieval date
have been described by P. Lambros, _Monnaies inedites_ (Athens, 1876);
and G. Schlumberger, _Num. de l'orient latin_ (Paris, 1878).
Inscriptions in the Cypriote character have been collected by M.
Schmidt, _Sammlung_ (Jena, 1876); and W. Deecke, _Die
griechisch-kyprischen Inschriften_ (Gottingen, 1883); in Phoenician in
the _C.I.P._ (Paris, 1881). J. Meursius, _Cyprus_ (Amsterdam, 1675),
marshals the classical authorities; and W. Engel, _Kypros_ (Berlin,
1841), gives a good summary of the ancient history of the island. For
the Phoenician element, see F. Movers, _Die Phonizier_ (Bonn and
Berlin, 1841-1856). L. Comte de Mas Latrie published between 1852 and
1861 one volume of _History_ (1191-1291), and two of most precious
documents in illustration of the reigns of the Lusignan kings. Fra
Stefano Lusignano, _Chorograffia di Cipro_ (Bologna, 1573), and Bp.
Stubbs, _Two Lectures_ (Oxford, 1878), are useful for the same period;
and perhaps a score of contemporary pamphlets--the best of them by N.
Martinengo, _Relatione di tutto il successo di Famagosta_ (Venezia,
1572), and A. Calepio (in Lusignan's _Chorograffia_)--preserve details
of the famous sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta. G. Mariti, _Viaggi_
(Lucca, 1769; Eng. trans. C. D. Cobham, 2nd ed., 1909), and Cyprianos,
_History_ (Venice, 1768), are the best authorities of Cyprus under
Turkish rule. Medieval tombs and their inscriptions are recorded and
illustrated in T. J. Chamberlayne, _Lacrimae nicossienses_ (Paris,
1894); and C. Enlart's volumes, _L'Art gothique et la Renaissance en
Chypre_ (Paris, 1899), deal with medieval architecture. For Cypriote
pottery in Athens and Constantinople, see G. Nicole, _Bulletin de
l'Institut Genevois_, xxxvii.