Cyprus (??p???), called by the Turks Kibris, is a large island in the Mediterranean, lying near the coasts of Syria and Asia Minor. It is supposed to have an area of about 4500 square miles, but all the different measurements given vary considerably. Its length is about 145 miles, from the extreme north-east point, Cape St. Andreas, to Cape Arnauti, on the west coast. Its greatest breadth is about fifty miles from north to south; but it narrows towards the east, where in some parts it is not more than five miles wide, and, at the most extreme east point, Cape Andreas, it is only about sixty-five miles distant from Latakia, the nearest point of the Syrian coast. The nearest land on the coast of Karamania, or Cilicia, Cape Zephyrium, is about forty-two miles north by west of the point of land in Cyprus, which is near the ancient Carpasia.

Surface.

There are two ranges of mountains in Cyprus, one extending along the northern coast, and the other stretching across the southern part of the island. The highest summit is the “Troados,” or “Olympus,” which LÖher measured, and found to be 6160 feet above the sea level. The other principal peaks of this range are Mount Stavrovuni, or Sante Croce, Mount Makhaeras, and Mount Adelphi; the heights of these are uncertain. Equally uncertain are the elevations of the peaks of the northern range, the chief of which is Mount Pentedaktylo, between Kerinia and Makaria.

The most extensive plain is on the eastern part of the island, and is watered by the river Pedias. In 1330, this river was so swollen by heavy rain, that it inundated Nikosia, to the great destruction of life and property. The other plains of any size are those of Lefkosia in the centre, and Kerinia, to the west of the island.

Rivers.

The Pedias, or PedÆus, the principal river, rises on the range of Olympus, and waters the plains of Lefkosia and Messaria, and empties itself into the sea, on the east coast, at the ancient port of Salamis Constantia. The Morpha has its source among the same mountains as the Pedias, waters the plain of Kerinia, and falls into the sea on the north-west coast, about the centre of the Gulf of Morpha. There are no other rivers of much importance; the principal are, the Ezusa, or ancient Borgarus, the Diorizos, and the Khapotini, all of which take their source in the neighbourhood of Mount Olympus, and fall into the sea on the south-west coast; the Kurios, which empties itself into the Gulf of Piskopi, on the south coast; the Garilis, rising in the Makhaeras mountains and falling into the sea at Limasol, also on the south coast; while the Pentaskhino, a small stream, enters the sea near Dolos point, on the south-east coast.

Capes.

Cape Kormaciti, the ancient Crommyon, at the extreme north-west; Cape Andreas, the ancient Dinaretum, at the extreme north-east point of the island; Cape Arnauti, or St. Epiphanio, the ancient Akamas, at the most western point; Cape Gatto, and Cape Zevgari, the ancient Kurios, are the furthest points on the south coast; Cape Greco, the ancient Pedalion, lies at the south-eastern extremity. On the north coast are Cape Plakoti; on the west, Capes Drepani, Kokino, Limmity, Baffo (Papho); on the east coast, Cape Elaea, and on the south, Capes Pyla, the ancient Throni, Bianca, and Citi.

Gulfs and Bays.

Famagusta Bay, or Bay of Salamis, at the east; Gulf of Morpha, or Pendagia, at the north-west; Gulf of Chrysochou, at the west; and at the south, the Gulf of Piskopi, and bays of Larnaka and Akroteri.

Harbours and Roadsteads.

Larnaka and Limasol possess good roadsteads.

The ancient harbours are destroyed and filled with sand.

Towns and Important Places.

The following were the towns of Cyprus (A.D. 25). On the north coast of Cape Acamas, were Arsinoe, and Sali, with a harbour founded by Phalerus and Acamas of Athens, then east of Cape Crommyon, Lapethus, built by the Lacedemonians; next Agidus, Aphrodisium, and Carpasia; east of the last, was a mountain and a cape called Olympus, with a temple to Venus upon it, which women were forbidden to enter. Facing the cape are two small islands, called Keides, or “the keys of Cyprus.” Turning thence towards the south, was Salamis, at the mouth of the PedÆus, one of the principal cities of the island, said to have been built by Teucer, an emigrant from the island of Salamis.

Proceeding south was another Arsinoe, with a port; next came Leucolia, near Cape Pedalium, a lofty table-land, called the Table of Venus; west of Pedalium was Citium (the ancient Chittim), with a harbour that could be closed. Citium was a large town, and the birthplace of Zeno the Stoic (301 B.C.) From Citium to Berytas (Bairout) in Syria, the distance was about 130 miles. West of Citium was Amathus, and inland was Paloea Limisso. Sailing round by Cape Curias to the west, was the town of Curium, with a port built by the Argivi. Here the coast turns to the north-west, looking towards Rhodes, and on it were the towns of Ireta, Boosura, and Old Paphos; then Cape Zephyrium; and next to it another Arsinoe, with a port and temple, sacred grove, and New Paphos, built by Agapenor, five miles by land from Old Paphos.

Most of the above towns, and others which Strabo has omitted, have long since disappeared.

The present capital is Nikosia, the residence of the late Turkish governor. It lies near the centre of the island, close to the site of the ancient Letra, or Leucotra, on a plain surrounded with mountains. The streets are narrow and dirty, and many of the grand old mansions falling into decay. It is a truly Oriental city, and is very prettily situated; the air is balmy, dry, and redolent of the odour of laurel and myrtle. Every court-yard has its apple and pear-tree, and in between these masses of rosemary, peeping from beneath the flourishing fig. Its population does not exceed 16,000.

Lefkosia was the residence of the kings of the Lusignan dynasty, and was then much larger than it is at present, the Venetians having destroyed part of it in order to strengthen the remainder.

The church of St. Sophia, a fine Gothic building, is converted into a mosque; the monuments it contains of the Lusignans are sadly mutilated. There is also a fine bazaar, a khan, or enclosed court, surrounded by apartments for travellers, and the palace of the governor, on the portal of which is still seen the Venetian lion in stone; there are also several other churches and mosques. The bastioned walls, erected by the Venetians, are still standing.

The Greek Archbishop of Nikosia is metropolitan of the whole island. Cesnola, informs us, that, after sundown, no person is allowed to leave or enter the town without special permission from the governor-general. When such a case occurs, the soldiers are put under arms, and the drawbridge is lowered, with as much ceremony as if we were still in mediÆval times. The seraglio, where the late Turkish governor resided, is described by the same authority, as a large quadrangular building, two stories high, and in sad want of repair; it has a large court-yard, enclosed by walls twenty-five feet high.

The principal manufactures of the town are carpets, cotton prints, and morocco leather. The workmen of Nikosia pretend that they have a particular manner of dressing the leather, which they keep a profound secret; anyhow, the leather is said to be better dressed, more brilliant in colour, and more durable than that which is made in Turkey. There is also a little trade in raw cotton and wine.

Larnaka, or Larnika, on the site of old Citium, near the south coast, is the most thriving, bustling place, in the island, being the residence of the European consuls and factors, and the chief seat of trade. The port of Larnaka is at Salines, about a mile and half distant; a Greek bishop resides there, and there are also some Latin churches in the town. The houses are chiefly built of clay and only one story high, on account of the earthquakes, to which the island is subject. The interiors of the houses are comfortable; the apartments are paved with white marble, and almost every house has a garden.

This is the chief sea-port in the island, and has a fair anchorage for vessels in the roadstead. Near Larnaka is the well-known inland lake, whence in ancient days, the Phoenicians obtained the best salt. During the rainy season, this is swollen with water; in May and June it gradually evaporates, and under the fiery sun, and burning heat of July and August, the water almost boils off, and leaves behind a thick cake of nearly pure salt. This once yielded a yearly income of three hundred thousand ducats. This town is connected by telegraph with Latakia, on the Syrian coast, the wires passing through Nikosia.

Famagusta, on the south-east coast, a few miles south of old Salamis, and not far from the ancient Tamassus, occupies the site of Ammochostos, one of the ten royal cities, which paid tribute to Esarhaddon, and possesses the only harbour between Salamis and Leuculla, and was probably the city called Arsinoe under the Ptolemies.

“The city of Famagusta,” says Cesnola, “built by the Christians eight hundred years ago, from the ruins of Salamis, and destroyed by the Turks in 1571, after the terrible siege in which the Venetian soldiers so heroically defended their position, once counted its beautiful churches by hundreds and its palatial residences by thousands. Once it had been one of the principal commercial cities of the Levant, with a harbour, in which rode large fleets, but which now, through neglect, has become filled with sand, and is able only to float ships of light draught. It was just outside the mouth of this closed harbour, that the vessels containing the Venetian families and their most precious personal and household effects were sunk by the faithless Mustapha Pacha, after he had killed the Venetian generals.”

“As you approach the massive walls of the city, which are nearly seventeen feet thick, and of solid stone, all taken from the ruins of Salamis, you see how impossible it was to take such a city except by famine or treachery. The walls stand now as impregnable and intact as when raised by the Lusignans.”

“The old bronze guns of the Republic of Venice are still on the bastions, in their original place, looking formidably towards the sea, and the plain of Salamis, but spiked and out of service since 1571. There are a half dozen rusty iron guns of Turkish manufacture, pretty much in the same condition.”

“The ruins of Famagusta are not grand and imposing, yet they are most beautiful and touching. It is impossible to see the still existing walls of many of its fine mediÆval churches, with frescoes plainly visible in the interiors—here a rectory, there evidences of elegant homes—without a feeling of intense sadness. Only two out of the three hundred churches, which are said to have existed in Famagusta, were left standing. The principal one, formerly the cathedral and now used as a mosque, is paved with mortuary marble slabs engraved with the names and arms of Italian noblemen, once buried beneath them, whose bones were exhumed, and thrown into the sea, by order of the fanatical and ferocious Mustapha Pacha, the day after he captured the city. The other church, used as a granary and a stable by the Turks, contains also a few tombstones, now all worn out by the horses’ hoofs. There I discovered an inscription, recording the day on which, by the abdication of Katharine Cornaro, the Venetians became the rulers of Cyprus.”

“Within the city walls resides the caimakan[15] of the province of Carpass, with the Cadi of Famagusta, and the usual mejilis. There is also a military governor of the fortress, and a company of artillery. This governor resides with his troops in a small fort overlooking the sea, and flanked by a large round tower called by the natives ‘Torre del Moro’ (Tower of the Moor). Tradition asserts that in this tower were the head-quarters of the Venetian Lord-Lieutenant of Cyprus, Cristoforo Moro, during the years 1506 to 1508. In the latter year, on the 22nd of October, Cristoforo Moro was recalled from Cyprus, and returned to Venice; and from documents which I have been allowed to peruse, it would appear that this man was married four times, and that his private life was not very exemplary. This Cristoforo Moro was the ‘Othello’ of Shakespeare.”

“The fortress of Famagusta contained some of the worst criminals of the Turkish Empire. Many of them are condemned for life, others are sentenced to from fifteen to twenty-five years’ imprisonment, and all are heavily shackled.”

The harbour of Famagusta would be excellent, if it were cleared of the filth with which it is blocked up; but at present it can only accommodate a few small vessels.

Limasol, on the south coast, is the most European town in the island, and has a good harbour; but the old parts of the town are a heap of ruins. It is still of considerable importance, and is the chief place of export for the wines of the country, which are much in demand in the Levant. The surrounding country is rich in fruit trees, of which the carob-tree is the most conspicuous.

Near the town formerly stood the Commandery of the Knights Templars (Commandery of Kolossi), extending from Mount Olympus to Baffo and Limasol.

Baffo, or New Paphos, was under the Romans the principal town in the western part of the island, and is famous in ancient poetry as the favourite residence of Aphrodite or Venus, and here was her most celebrated temple.

During the reign of the Emperor Augustus, this town was destroyed by an earthquake, and was afterwards rebuilt.

Here St. Paul converted Sergius Paulus, the Roman deputy-governor, besides many others, preaching in the Jewish synagogues, of which there were several.

Here Elymas, the sorcerer, was struck blind for endeavouring to frustrate St. Paul’s attempts to Christianise the people.

The Church of St. Paul is the only Venetian building now standing. Baffo has a small but unsafe port, and is the see of a Greek bishop. Kerinia, Cerini, or Ghirneh, on the north coast, has a harbour, from which a limited trade is carried on with the opposite coast of Karamania. Its ruins would seem to indicate that it was formerly a fine town. It is fortified, and the second stronghold of the island, and like Lapethus (the original capital of the district of Kerinia), is traced to the Dorian colonists, under Praxander and Cepheus. This formed one of the royal cities of the island. “I passed near this town,” says Cesnola, “several times during my northern excursions, but never had the curiosity to enter it. The village itself, with the exception of the citadel, is a small dirty place, almost exclusively inhabited by Mussulmans, who, with the garrison, enjoy a very bad reputation—second only to that of their co-religionists at New Paphos. The ancient site of Kerinia is a little to the west of the present town, and more inland. For a considerable distance along the western shore, there are to be seen here and there large caverns excavated in the rock; some, though not all, seem to have been tombs. South-east of the town, about an hour’s ride from it, and midway up the mountains, stands an imposing mediÆval ruin called ‘Lapais.’ It was an abbey, built by King Hugo the Third, and belonged to the Latin Church, but was destroyed by the Turks when they captured the fortress of Kerinia. It is a fact worth noticing, that all the churches belonging to the Latins were destroyed by the Turks when they took possession of the island. In this I have no doubt they were gladly assisted, or at least encouraged, by the Greeks, who detested the Franks even more than the Turks. This abbey occupied one of the most picturesque and lovely spots of the whole island; a large hall is still standing, one hundred feet long, thirty-two feet wide, and about forty feet high, which was probably the refectory of the French abbots; beneath it is another apartment of like dimensions, divided into two chambers, the vault of which is supported by massive columns.”

“In the court-yard, piled the one upon the other, are two large marble sarcophagi of late Roman work, one of which has garlands of flowers, nude figures, and large bulls’ heads in bold relief. Both bear evidence of having been used for a long time as troughs. Upon the lintel, over the door of the great hall, are engraved three shields; one represents the Jerusalem cross, another the royal arms of the Lusignans, and the third a lion rampant. The Gothic chapel of the abbey has been partly repaired with sun-dried bricks and plaster, and is now used by the Greeks, living in the neighbourhood, as their place of worship; portions of the court-yard serve as their cemetery. On two high peaks in this range of mountains stood two feudal or royal castles, one called St. Hilarion, and the other Buffavento, which served as state prisons and places of refuge to some of the Latin kings of Cyprus. They were both dismantled by order of the Venetian Admiral Prioli.”

Climate.

The climate is generally healthy excepting on some parts of the coast, but this is entirely due to the neglected state of the country; if the much-needed drainage was properly carried out the most satisfactory result would ensue. As in most Eastern countries, the rain falls at stated periods, commencing about the middle of October and continuing until the end of April. After June slight showers fall from time to time, but have little power to modify the heat, which is, however, tempered occasionally by a cool wind. In September the great heat sets in, but does not continue for any length of time. At Larnaka, the mean temperature in February is about 52 deg., and in August 81 deg. The winters are milder, and the summers cooler than on the coast of Syria opposite.

The average rainfall is about fourteen inches in the year. Of late years, droughts have been of frequent occurrence, owing, no doubt, to the destruction of the woods and forests.

The north coast is liable to hot winds from the north-east, from the desert of Arabia in the south-east, and in the south and south-west from Egypt and Lybia.

Speaking of one of these winds, Dr. Clarke says, “We found it so scorching that the skin instantly peeled from our lips; a tendency to sneeze was excited, accompanied by great pains in the eyes, and chapping of the hands and face. The mercury, exposed to its full current, rose 6 deg. Fahrenheit in two minutes—from 80 deg. to 86 deg.”

Dr. Unger says, that it is so hot in summer as to make occupation irksome, and so cold in winter that the absence of spring and autumn makes the transition, from one extreme to the other, very sudden. The climate is, of course, cooler in the more mountainous portion of the west, than in the flat eastern side, where the temperature in the height of summer amounts to 90 deg. in the shade; during the winter, in the lower parts of the land, it seldom falls to freezing point. During October, November, and December the rain falls, and entirely ceases during the summer, when there is generally a blue sky over the island. The drier the summer, the damper the winter; and sometimes it then rains for forty days together. At such periods the thirsty land recovers itself. On the other hand, there are winters when no rain falls, and drought is severely felt during the summer. In the time of Constantine, we are told that no rain fell on the island for thirty-six years.

By the middle of May the harvest is over, and wherever the eye rests the grass is withered and parched. The temperature now reaches 80 deg. in the shade, and sometimes, in the middle of the day is even higher; the atmosphere grows thick, and a veil seems to fall over all surrounding objects; all rivers are dry; the dew ceases in June or July, and the hot winds, make the air more oppressive; finally come hosts of annoying insects, from which one may seek in vain to escape. At this season, all work is done in the evening and at night.

Population.

The number of inhabitants is very uncertain. It is variously estimated between 100,000 and 250,000 souls, of whom 40,000 to 60,000 are Mohammedans, including the Linopambagi or “men of linen and cotton,” as they are called in derision, who outwardly conforming to the tenets of Mohammed, are in reality Christians. The majority of the people belong to the Greek Church, and the remainder are either Armenians or Maronites, whose peculiar religion we will endeavour to describe. These number about 2800.

The Maronites are a tribe of people inhabiting the western declivity of Mount Lebanon, and figure in history as a sect of Christians. By adopting the Monothelitic doctrine soon after it had been condemned, in A.D. 680, by the Council of Constantinople, they came to be distinguished as a distinct religious party, and having as their first bishop, a certain monk, John Maro, they were called Maronites. Maro assumed the title of “Patriarch of Antioch,” and asserted the ecclesiastical independence of the tribe.

This sect defended their freedom first against the Greeks, and afterwards against the Saracens. At length, in 1182, they renounced the opinions of the Monothelites, and were re-admitted within the pale of the Romish Church; the terms of reconciliation being that the religious tenets, moral precepts, and ancient rites of the country should remain unaltered. The Maronites adopted no Popish opinion, except the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. By this slight tie they still continue united to the Church of Rome. In return for their imperfect allegiance, the Pope is obliged to defray the expenses of their public worship and to maintain a college at Rome for the education of their priests. He has the power of sanctioning the appointment of their patriarch, after he has been selected by their bishops. This dignitary has his head-quarters in the monastery of Lebanon, and holds the title of Patriarch of Antioch, and by adopting the name of Peter, claims to be the successor of that apostle. Like the bishops who compose his synod, he is bound to remain in perpetual celibacy, a law, however, which the rest of the clergy do not observe. The Maronite monks are of the order of St. Anthony, and live in monasteries scattered among the mountain solitudes.

Slavery exists, but owing to the increasing poverty of the Turks, the number of slaves is very much diminished.

Character of the Inhabitants.

Herr von LÖher describes the bulk of the population as devoid all energy, of sluggish temperament, and obstinately addicted to ancient customs. They are powerful, hospitable, and exceedingly amiable in their domestic relations. The women are very good housewives and very active. The girls are full of life, especially on festive occasions, are fond of gaudy colours, and dress very fantastically.

Elementary schools are established in all the larger villages, and others of superior class in the three principal towns of the island. The Greek bishops and many of the popes have been educated in these latter, or at Athens, and are generally men of culture; but most of the village priests and monks are as ignorant as the peasants amongst whom their lives are past.

Greek is the language used throughout Cyprus, and has even found its way into many of the Turkish houses.

Agriculture.

The cultivation of the country appears to be in a very primitive condition, and owing to the lightness and fertility of the soil but slight labour is required in producing the necessary crops. The cultivable surface of the island is estimated at 2,500,000 acres, of which not more than 130,000 acres are under tillage. The annual average yield of corn is said not to exceed 120,000 quarters, and we are told that the disposal of the whole has been a monopoly between the Turkish mulasallin and the Greek archbishop, who either export or retail it at an arbitrary price. The vegetation resembles that of the other islands of the Mediterranean. There is no meadow land, but a great deal of waste, which is either quite bare, or only covered with heather and aromatic plants.

Natural Productions.

The principal productions are cotton, hemp, silk, corn, opium, tobacco, turpentine, liquorice, madder, several dye-woods, gum-tragacinth, and colocynth. Fruits of all kind, in particular grapes, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, olives, walnuts, figs, mulberries, apricots, &c.; the carob-tree (Ceratonia siliqua) abounds in some districts. There were once extensive plantations of sugar-cane. Large quantities of fine vegetables are grown. Cyprus was celebrated for roses; hyacinths, anemones, ranunculuses, narcissus, poppies, &c., grow wild. Trees and shrubs of all kinds grow luxuriantly, including pines, firs, cypresses, ashes, oaks, beeches, elms, myrtles, evergreens, oleanders, &c.

One of the most important plants of the island is the Ferula GrÆca; of the stalks of which the Cypriotes form a great part of their household furniture, and the pith is used instead of tinder for conveying fire from one place to another.

Manufactures.

Wines of three kinds are made, namely, Commanderia, Muscadine, and Mavro. Cotton, silk, and woollen goods of various qualities are manufactured on a small scale. Olive oil, pitch, resin, cheese, raisins, and pottery (for home consumption) are also made. Nikosia is noted for its Morocco leather. The peasantry distil rose, orange, and lavender waters, myrtle and laudanum oil.

Minerals and Precious Stones.

Cyprus is rich in metals and minerals, including copper, silver, malachite, lead, and quicksilver. There are also quarries of asbestos, talc, sulphur, red jasper, agate, rock crystal, and marble. Soda is also found. The salt works, near Larnaka, produce a revenue of 20,000l. per annum. Gold is occasionally met with in the streams. Diamonds, emeralds, opals, amethysts, and other precious stones are sometimes found.

Natural History.

The principal animals in the island are oxen, sheep, and goats, which thrive well and are abundant. The most common of the wild animals are the fox, hare, and wild-cat. The hare feeds on fragrant herbs, which impart a most agreeable flavour to its flesh. All the birds that winter in Africa are to be found in Cyprus. Beccaficos and ortolans are very common and remarkably plump. Water-fowl are very numerous; game, such as partridges, quails, woodcock, and snipe, very plentiful.

Serpents of various species are commonly met with; these are stated to be, we believe erroneously, poisonous.

Dr. Clarke states that tarantulas, having black bodies covered with hair and bright yellow eyes, are not uncommon. A large venomous spider is sometimes seen, called by Sonnini, the Galcode of the Levant; its body, which is about an inch long, is a bright yellow, and covered with long hairs; this creature runs with extraordinary swiftness; its bite rarely produces death, but causes acute pain. The extent to which Cyprus was formerly devastated by locusts has been spoken of in another chapter. Bees are kept in great numbers in many parts of the island. Of these Dr. Clarke gives the following interesting account:

Speaking of the village of AttiÉn, he says, “In these little cottages we found very large establishments for bees, but all the honey thus made is demanded by the governor; so that an apiary is only considered as the cause of an additional tax. The manner, however, in which the honey is collected is curious, and worthy of imitation, and it merits a particular description: the contrivance is simple, and was doubtless suggested by the more ancient custom still existing in the Crimea, of harbouring bees in cylindrical hives made from the bark of trees. They build up a wall formed entirely of earthen cylinders, each about three feet in length, placed one above the other horizontally, and closed at their extremities with mortar. This wall is then covered with a shed, and upwards of one hundred hives may thus be maintained within a very small compass.”

Revenue.

Herr LÖher found it difficult to obtain trustworthy information respecting the revenue of the island. The best estimate obtainable calculated it at about sixteen and a half millions of piastres. Half a million of this, being derived from a consideration paid by Christians for exemption from military service, would have to be immediately surrendered by a Christian Government. Three, at least, of the remaining imposts, yielding an estimated return of two millions of piastres, are so execrable in principle that they ought to be abandoned with the least possible delay. These are the capitation tax on sheep, and the export duties on wine and silk. It is satisfactory to learn, on the other hand, that the annual cost of administration is not supposed to exceed at present from two to three millions of piastres, the balance of the revenue being confiscated by certain high functionaries now discharged; and that the apparent receipts do not represent the amount actually collected from the population, seeing that they have to pay half as much again in bribes. These abuses will henceforth cease; the customs revenue will be largely augmented by importations on account of the occupying force, and from the stimulus given to commerce in general; and it may even be possible, by prudent diplomacy, to make the vacouf, or Mohammedan ecclesiastical property, contribute its fair share towards the expenses of the State.

Sketch of General History.

According to Josephus, Cyprus was first colonised by Cittim, a grandson of Japhet, who settled in the island, and founded Chittim, in emulation of his brother Tarshish, who had built the town of Tarsus, on the opposite coast of Cilicia. The Phoenicians, it is supposed, invaded Cyprus at a very early date, and retained possession of the whole, or a portion of the island, until the reign of Solomon. Greek colonists also settled on the coast. Herodotus states that Amasis, King of Egypt, invaded Cyprus, and took Citium (Herod., ii. 162). The island then submitted to the Persians, and afterwards surrendered to Alexander the Great, on whose death it fell, with Egypt, to the share of Ptolemy Soter, “the son of Lagus.” Having overcome Cyrene, which had revolted, Ptolemy (b.c. 313) crossed over to Cyprus to punish the kings of the various little states upon that island for having joined Antigonus, one of Alexander’s generals. Demetrius, son of Antigonus, conquered the fleet of Ptolemy near the island of Cyprus, took 1600 men prisoners and sunk 200 ships.

Now that the fate of empires was to be settled by naval battles, the friendship of Cyprus became very important to the neighbouring states. The large and safe harbours gave to this island a great value in the naval warfare between Phoenicia and Asia Minor. Alexander had given it as his opinion that the command of the Mediterranean went with the island of Cyprus, and called it the key to Egypt. Under the Ptolemies Cyprus continued sometimes united to Egypt and sometimes governed by a separate prince of that dynasty. The last of these princes, brother to Ptolemy Auletes, King of Egypt, incurred the enmity of P. Clodius Pulcher, a Roman of illustrious family, who being taken prisoner by Cilician pirates, sent to the King of Cyprus for money to pay his ransom; the king sent an insufficient sum, and Clodius having recovered his liberty obtained a decree, as soon as he became tribune, for making Cyprus a Roman province. Marcus Cato, against whom he had a bitter enmity, was sent to take possession of the new territory, and achieved this difficult undertaking with unexpected success. The king, in despair at the attempt upon his kingdom, committed suicide. Cato at once seized upon the treasury and sent a large booty home. Cyprus thus became a Roman province, and on the division of that empire was allotted to the Byzantines, and long formed one of the brightest jewels of the imperial crown. At length, after many successive changes, it again became a separate principality, under a branch of the house of Comnena, from which it was finally wrested by the adventurous hand of Richard Coeur de Lion, who sold it to the Knights Templars. The new government proved so oppressive that the people were driven to open revolt, and Richard, having resumed the sovereignty, placed the crown, in 1192, upon the head of Guy de Lusignan, ex-king of Jerusalem.

John the Third, of Lusignan, died in 1458, leaving the kingdom to Charlotte, his only legitimate child, who married her cousin Louis, Count of Geneva, second son of the Duke of Savoy and of Anna of Cyprus. She was solemnly crowned at Likosia in 1460, but was soon afterwards expelled by her natural brother James, assisted by the Mamelukes of Egypt. James married Katharine Cornaro, the daughter of a Venetian merchant, who brought him a dowry of 100,000 golden ducats. On this occasion the Venetian Senate adopted Katharine Cornaro as daughter of St. Mark, and the marriage was celebrated in 1471. In 1473 James died, and his wife, soon after, was delivered of a son, of whom the Republic of Venice assumed the guardianship, and the Venetian troops were sent to garrison the towns of the island. The child dying whilst an infant, the Senate persuaded Katharine, in 1489, to abdicate the sovereignty in favour of the Republic, and to retire to Asolo, near Treviso, where she passed the rest of her days in a princely style on a liberal pension. Meantime, Charlotte Lusignan had retired to Rome, where she died in 1487, bequeathing her claims to Charles, Duke of Savoy, in consequence of which the sovereigns of that dynasty assume to this day the title of “Kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus.”

The Venetians kept possession of Cyprus till 1470, when Selim the Second sent a powerful force to invade the island. The Turks took Likosia by storm and massacred about 20,000 people. From that time until now the Turks have remained in possession of Cyprus.