Editing Nicosia (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Prehistoric Nicosia===
{{main|Ledra}}
Nicosia has been in continuous habitation since around {{nowrap|2500 BC}} near the beginning of the [[Bronze Age]], when the first inhabitants settled in the fertile plain of Mesaoria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_arxaia_lefkosia.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=21 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315231529/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_arxaia_lefkosia.shtm |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[city-state]] of [[Ledra]] is similarly connected with the area of Nicosia, although the larger share of [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean-era]] ruins in the area are at the broad hill of Ayia Paraskevi or Leondari Vounò {{convert|6|km|sp=us|abbr=on}} southeast of central Nicosia.{{sfnp|Hill|1939|p=379}} Ledra is reported as one of the twelve kingdoms of ancient Cyprus built by [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaeans]] after the end of the [[Trojan War]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-10 |title=Nicosia {{!}} Cyprus, Map, History, & Population {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nicosia |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The kingdom was quickly destroyed. The Cypriot vassal state transcribed as "Lidir" in a 672 BC Assyrian text is generally identified with the remains which have been found nearer to the modern city.{{sfnp|Hill|1939|p=379}} Its ruler Onasagoras{{clarify|date=February 2024}}<!--Assyrian form of name--> was recorded paying tribute to the [[Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] [[list of Assyrian emperors|king]] [[Esarhaddon]].

===Ancient Nicosia===
By 330 BC, Ledra was recorded to be a small unimportant town.<ref>World and its Peoples: Greece and the Eastern Balkans. Marshall Cavendish, 2010.</ref> It is thought that the settlement was economically and politically dependent on the nearby town of [[Chytri]].{{sfnp|Michaelides & al.|2012|p=52}} The main activity of the town inhabitants was farming. During this era, Ledra did not have the huge growth that the other Cypriot coastal towns had, which was primarily based on trade.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_lidras.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307153813/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_lidras.shtm |archive-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some sources record that it was restored and improved by Leucos, son of [[Ptolemy I Soter]] of [[Ptolemaid Egypt|Egypt]] around {{nowrap|280 BC,}}<ref>{{citation |last= |first= |contribution=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Nicosia (Cyprus)|Nicosia]] |title=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |edition=11th |volume= |page= |date=1911 |editor=Hugh Chisholm |display-editors=0 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. |location=New York }}.</ref><ref name=sternburg>{{citation |last=Sternberg |first=C. |title=North Cyprus Pocket Guide |publisher=Rüstem Bookshop |location= |year=2006|isbn=9789944968034 |page=29 }}.</ref> although [[Sir George Hill|Hill]] considered this an early modern "fancy" based solely on pseudoetymological speculations.{{sfnp|Hill|1939|p=379}}

In the 4th century, the town was the seat of a bishopric under the name Ledron, Leuteon, or Leucotheon. Its bishop [[Saint Tryphillius|St Tryphillius]] was a student of [[Saint Spyridon|St Spyridon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://saintsoftheday108.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-13-saint-tryphillius-trifillios-of.html |title=Saint Tryphillius |publisher=Saintsoftheday108.blogspot.com |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> Archaeological evidence indicates that the town regained much of its earlier significance in the early Christian period,<ref name="which is abut 58 secs long demetrios4">{{cite book |last1=Michaelides|first1=Demetrios|last2=Pilides|first2=Despina|editor1-last=Michaelides |editor1-first=D. |title=Historic Nicosia |date=2012 |publisher=Rimal Publications |location=Nicosia |pages=4–8|chapter=Nicosia from the Beginnings to the Roman Ledroi}}</ref> and the presence of two or three [[basilica]]s with ''[[opus sectile]]'' decorations, along with marbles decorated with high relief indicate the presence of a relatively prosperous and sophisticated Christian society.<ref>Demetrios and Pallides, p. 59.</ref>

===Medieval Nicosia===
After the destruction of Cyprus's capital [[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]] by Arab raids in 647, along with extensive damage to other coastal settlements, the economy of the island became much more inward-looking and inland towns gained relative significance. Nicosia benefited from this and functioned as an outlet of the agricultural products from its hinterland, the [[Mesaoria]] plain. It further was at an advantageous position due to its ample water supply. As such, the town developed enough for the [[Byzantine Empire]] to choose Nicosia as the capital of the island around 965, when the [[Byzantine navy]] restored full Byzantine control over the island and it was organized as a [[Theme of Cyprus|theme of the empire]].<ref>Papacostas 2012, p. 103.</ref> The Byzantines moved the island's administration seat to Nicosia primarily for security reasons as coastal towns were often suffering from raids. From that point on it has remained as the capital of Cyprus and was the seat of the Byzantine governor of Cyprus. The last such governor was [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus|Isaac Komnenos]], who declared himself emperor on the island and ruled it from 1183 to 1191.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_mexri_simera.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305172209/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_mexri_simera.shtm |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Testimony as late as 1211 indicates that Nicosia was not a walled city at that point and thus that the Byzantines did not build a city wall, thinking that the city's inland location would be sufficient for defense purposes. The Byzantines did, however, build a relatively weak fort within the city.<ref>Papacostas 2012, pp. 83–84.</ref> The economy under Byzantine rule consisted mostly of the trading of agricultural goods, but the town also produced luxury items and metalware due to the presence of the imperial administration.<ref>Papacostas 2012, pp. 99–100.</ref>

[[File:Selimiye Mosque (St. Sophie Cathedral) (36).JPG|left|thumb|St. Sophia Cathedral, which was built during rule by the [[House of Lusignan]] and later converted into the  [[Selimiye Mosque, Nicosia|Selimiye Mosque]], exemplifies the [[Gothic architecture]] in Nicosia.]]
[[File:Venetian walls and green parks Nicosia Republic of Cyprus Kypros.jpg|thumb|[[Venetian walls of Nicosia]]]]
On his way to the [[Holy Land]] during the [[Third Crusade]] in 1187, [[Richard I of England]]'s fleet was plagued by storms, making him to stop first at [[Crete]] and then at [[Rhodes]]. Three ships continued on, one of which was carrying [[Joan of England, Queen of Sicily]] and [[Berengaria of Navarre]], Richard's bride-to-be. Two of the ships were wrecked off Cyprus, but the ship bearing Joan and Berengaria made it safely to [[Limassol]]. Joan refused to come ashore, fearing she would be captured and held hostage by [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus]], who hated all Franks. Her ship sat at anchor for a full week before Richard finally arrived on 8 May. Outraged at the treatment of his sister and his future bride, Richard invaded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/crusades/3rd/07.shtml |title=The Crusades – home page |publisher=Boisestate.edu |access-date=10 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001165212/http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/crusades/3rd/07.shtml |archive-date=1 October 2009 }}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} Richard laid siege to Nicosia, finally met and defeated Isaac Komnenos at [[Tremetousia]] and became ruler of the island, but sold it to the [[Knights Templar]].

The Frankish rule of Cyprus started from 1192 and lasted until 1489. During this time, Nicosia was the capital of the medieval [[Kingdom of Cyprus]], the seat of [[Lusignan]] kings, the Latin Church and the Frankish administration of the island. During the Frankish rule, the walls of the city were built along with many other palaces and buildings, including the gothic [[St. Sophia Cathedral, Nicosia|St. Sophia Cathedral]]. The tombs of the [[House of Lusignan|Lusignan kings]] can be found there.

[[File:Nicosia by Giacomo Franco.jpg|thumb|alt=Image of map of Nicosia, created in 1597|right|Map of Nicosia in Cyprus, created in 1597]]
[[File:Nicosia 01-2017 img08 Famagusta Gate.jpg|thumb|[[Famagusta Gate]] built in 1567]]
In 1373/4, Nicosia was occupied and ravaged by the [[Republic of Genoa]] and in 1426 from the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nicosia |title=Nicosia |website=Britannica |date=15 December 2023 }}</ref>

In 1489, when Cyprus came under the rule of the [[Republic of Venice]], Nicosia became their administrative centre and the seat of the Republic. The Venetian Governors saw it as a necessity for all the cities of Cyprus to be fortified due to the Ottoman threat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_dikoisi_veneton.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305145302/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_dikoisi_veneton.shtm |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1567 Venetians built the new fortifications of Nicosia, which are well-preserved still to this day, demolishing the old walls built by the [[Franks]] as well as other important buildings of the Frankish era including the King's Palace, other private palaces and churches and monasteries of both Orthodox and Latin Christians.<ref name="nicosia.org.cy">{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_nea_tixi_tzoulio.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306102256/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_nea_tixi_tzoulio.shtm |archive-date=6 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new walls took the shape of a star with eleven bastions. The design of the bastion is more suitable for artillery and a better control for the defenders. The walls have three gates, to the North [[Kyrenia Gate]], to the west Paphos Gate and to the east [[Famagusta Gate]].<ref name="nicosia.org.cy"/> The river [[Pedieos]] used to flow through the Venetian walled city. In 1567 it was later diverted outside onto the newly built moat for strategic reasons, due to the expected Ottoman attack.<ref name="liminalzones.kein.org">{{cite web |url=http://liminalzones.kein.org/sites/liminalzones.kein.org/files/Nicosia,%20River-Bridge,%20GlobMedJourn.pdf |title=Nicosia |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422001342/http://liminalzones.kein.org/sites/liminalzones.kein.org/files/Nicosia,%20River-Bridge,%20GlobMedJourn.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Ottoman rule===
[[File:Nicosia 01-2017 img04 aqueduct.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photo of old city aqueduct in Nicosia|The [[Nicosia aqueduct]]]]
[[File:Nicosia. (1878) - TIMEA.jpg|thumb|View of Nicosia in 1878]]
On 1 July 1570, the city came under the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. On 22 July, [[Piyale Pasha]] having captured Paphos, [[Limassol]] and Larnaca marched his army towards Nicosia and laid siege to the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_poliorkia_lefkosias.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307111831/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_poliorkia_lefkosias.shtm |archive-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The city managed to last 40 days under siege until its fall on 9 September 1570. The story of the Cypriot martyr [[Arnaude de Rocas]] dates from the fall of Nicosia. Some 20,000 residents died during the siege and every church, public building, and palace was looted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historymedren.about.com/library/text/bltxtcyprus5.htm |title=Cyprus – Historical Setting – Ottoman Rule |publisher=Historymedren.about.com |date=17 June 2010 |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-date=4 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404134032/http://historymedren.about.com/library/text/bltxtcyprus5.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nicosia had an estimated population of 21,000 before the Ottoman conquest, and based on the Ottoman census data of 1572, the population had been reduced to 1,100–1,200. The devastation of the city was so extensive that for the few years after the conquest, a number of villages in the island had a larger population than Nicosia.{{sfnp|Theocharides & al.|2012|p=237}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jennings |first1=Ronald C. |title=Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 |date=1993 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York, London |page=256}}</ref> The main Latin churches were converted into mosques, such as the conversion of the Saint Sophia Cathedral.

Nicosia was the seat of the [[Pasha]], the [[Church of Cyprus|Greek Archbishop]], the [[Dragoman]] and the [[Qadi]]. The {{lang|it|Palazzo del Governo}} of Venetian times became the seat of the Pasha, the governor of Cyprus, and the building was renamed as the Konak or Seraglio (Saray). The square outside was known as Seraglio Square or Sarayonu (literally front of the Saray), as it is known to the present day. The saray was demolished in 1904 and the present block of Government Offices built on the site.<ref name=jeffery>A description of the historic monuments of Cyprus. Studies in the archaeology and architecture of the island, by George Jeffery, Architect, 1918</ref>

When the newly settled Turkish population arrived they generally lived in the north of the old riverbed. Greek Cypriots remained concentrated in the south, where the [[Archbishopric]] of the Orthodox Church was built. Other ethnic minority groups such as the Armenians and Latins came to be settled near the western entry into the city at Paphos Gate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conflictincities.org/nicosia.html |title=Nicosia |publisher=Conflictincities.org |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425141625/http://www.conflictincities.org/nicosia.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The names of the 12 quarters into which Nicosia was originally divided at the time of the Ottoman Conquest are said to be derived from the 12 generals in command of divisions of the Ottoman army at the time. Each general being posted to a quarter, that quarter (with two exceptions) was known by his name as follows:

# General Ibrahim Pasha.
# General Mahmoud Pasha.
# General Ak Kavuk Pasha. (This is a nickname meaning "white cap".)
# General Koukoud Effendi.
# General Arab Ahmed Pasha.
# General Abdi Pasha, known as Chavush (Sergeant) from which rank he was probably promoted.
# General Haydar Pasha.
# General Karamanzade (son of a Caramanian, other names not given).
# General Yahya Pasha (now known as the Phaneromeni Quarter).
# General Daniel Pasha (name of quarter changed subsequently to Omerie in honor of the Caliph Omar who stayed there for a night when in Cyprus).
# Tophane (Artillery Barracks)
# Nebetkhane, meaning police station or quarters of the patrol.<ref name=jeffery/>

The names of the generals in command of the last two-quarters have been lost:

Later the number of neighborhoods was increased to 24. Each neighborhood was organized around a mosque or a church, where mainly the respective Muslim and Christian communities lived.<ref name=Coexistence>"Coexistence in the Disappeared Mixed Neighbourhoods of Nicosia", by Ahmet An (Paper read at the conference, "Nicosia: The Last Divided Capital in Europe", organized by the London Metropolitan University on 20 June 2011)</ref>

===British rule===

[[File:Hosting the British flag at Nicosia.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting, hoisting the British flat in Nicosia|right|Hoisting the British flag in Nicosia]]

{{Historical populations |type = |footnote =Source for 1881–1960.<ref name="Cyprus">{{cite web|url=http://www.prio-cyprus-displacement.net/default.asp?id=336 |title=PRIO |publisher=PRIO Internal Displacement In Cyprus |access-date=2017-03-29}}</ref> |align=left|1881 |11536|1891| 12515|1901|14481|1911| 16052| 1921| 11831|1931|23324|1946|34485|1960|45629}}

[[File:1914 Nicosia Cyprus.png|thumb|right|View of Nicosia in 1914]]
Nicosia came under the rule of [[British Empire|the United Kingdom]] on 5 July 1878 in consequence of the [[Cyprus Convention]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicosia Municipality |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_aglliki_katoxi.shtm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306054708/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_aglliki_katoxi.shtm |archive-date=6 March 2012 |access-date=10 March 2012 |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy}}</ref> in exchange for its support of the [[Ottoman Empire]] during the [[Congress of Berlin]].

The old Ottoman administrative headquarters (the Saray) was replaced in 1904 by a new building containing Law Courts, the Land Registry, and the Forestry, Customs, and Nicosia Commissioner's Offices.<ref name=jeffery/> Adjacent was the Nicosia Police headquarters, while opposite were the General Post Office and the Telegraph Office.<ref>See map drawn in 1952 published in "Romantic Cyprus", by Kevork Keshishian, 1958 edition</ref> A Venetian Column, previously in a fenced courtyard near the Saray,<ref>"Levkosia, the capital of Cyprus" by Archduke Louis Salvator, 1881</ref> was restored on a new site in the summer of 1915 in the middle of Saray Square. The Nicosia column was presumably erected in compliment to the reigning Doge Francesco Donati about the year 1550.<ref name=jeffery/>

Just after the British Occupation a Municipal Council was constituted in Nicosia in 1882 for the general administration of public affairs within the city and for a certain area without the walls, under the presidency of a Mayor.<ref name=jeffery/> The first municipal offices were in Municipality Square (now the central municipal market), but in 1944 the offices were transferred temporarily to the d'Avila bastion and in 1952 this was made permanent with a decision to renovate the building.<ref>[http://www.nicosia.org.cy Municipality web site, section on Municipal Building] retrieved August 2013</ref>

[[File:Nicosia boundary extensions.png|thumb|upright=1.35|left|alt=Extensions to the Nicosia municipal area|Extensions to the Nicosia municipal area]]
In 1923 the municipal limits were extended further (see map) and this new area was divided among several of the existing intramural neighborhoods.<ref>Order No. 397 published in Cyprus Gazette No. 1597, 4 August 1923</ref> In 1938 the boundary was extended to the present limits in the west and to the boundaries of Ayii Omoloyites, Palouriotissa, Kaimakli and Omorfita.<ref name =nicexpand2>Cyprus Gazette No. 2676. 23 September 1938, Supplement No.3:The Municipal Corporations Laws, 1930 to 1938 – Limits of the Municipal Corporation of Nicosia</ref> In 1944 the village authority of Ayii Omoloyites was absorbed, then, shortly after independence, Palouriotissa, Kaimakli and Omorfita were annexed to the city in 1968.<ref>Nicosia Capital of Cyprus by Kevork Keshishian, pub 1978</ref>

[[Nicosia International Airport]] was opened in 1947. It remained the location for the Air Station until its abandonment in 1974.

In 1955 an armed struggle against British rule began aiming to unite the island with Greece, [[Enosis]]. The struggle was led by EOKA, a [[Greek Cypriot]] nationalist military resistance organization,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britains-smallwars.com/cyprus/war.html|title=War and Politics – Cyprus|access-date=12 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216001406/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/cyprus/war.html|archive-date=16 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and supported by the vast majority of Greek Cypriots. The unification with Greece failed and instead the independence of Cyprus was declared in 1960. During the period of the struggle, Nicosia was the scene of violent protests against British rule.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-movement-occupation/fed-up-with-separation-cypriot-youths-seek-change-idUSTRE7AR1L520111128|title=Fed up with separation Cypriot youths seek change|last=Bahceli|first=Simon|date=28 November 2011|work=[[Reuters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513225558/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-movement-occupation/fed-up-with-separation-cypriot-youths-seek-change-idUSTRE7AR1L520111128|archive-date=13 May 2019|url-status=live|quote=Camped on a tiny sliver of land that forms part of a United Nations-controlled buffer zone in the heart of Nicosia, these 18-year-olds and their friends are calling for a return to a way of life they have never known, one in which their communities can mix freely... It is fitting that the youths’ movement is on Ledra Street, a bustling thoroughfare where the first seeds of Cyprus's separation were sown in the 1950s.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/british-cyprus-1914-1960/|title=30. British Cyprus (1914–1960)|website=[[University of Central Arkansas]] Department of Political Science|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513233211/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/british-cyprus-1914-1960/|archive-date=13 May 2019|url-status=live|quote=The EOKA rebelled against the British colonial government on April 1, 1955. EOKA insurgents attacked police stations in Nicosia and Kyrenia on June 19, 1955. One individual was killed and fourteen individuals were injured in an explosion near the Central Police Station in Nicosia on June 21, 1955... Turkish Cypriots demonstrated against the British colonial government in Nicosia on January 27–29, 1958. Seven Turkish Cypriots were killed in clashes with British soldiers in Nicosia on January 27, 1958.}}</ref>

===Independence and division===
{{see also|Modern history of Cyprus}}
[[File:Nicosia Eleftheria Ariadnis Street Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.jpg|thumb|Scheme for new pedestrianized streets in old Nicosia implemented after 2004]]
[[File:Nicosia, Cyprus (37581219510).jpg|thumb|Street in Nicosia close to the buffer zone]]

In 1960, Nicosia became the capital of the [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]], a state established by the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In 1963, the Greek Cypriot side proposed amendments to the constitution, which were rejected by the Turkish Cypriot community.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eric|last=Solsten|url=http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/12.htm |title=The Republic of Cyprus |publisher=US Library of Congress |access-date=18 June 2012}}</ref> During the aftermath of this crisis, on 21 December 1963, [[Cypriot intercommunal violence|intercommunal violence]] broke out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Nicosia was divided into Greek and Turkish Cypriot quarters with the [[Green Line (Cyprus)|Green Line]], named after the color of the pen used by the [[United Nations]] officer to draw the line on a map of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_lefkosia1963.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307020610/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_lefkosia1963.shtm |archive-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This resulted in Turkish Cypriots withdrawing from the government, and following more intercommunal violence in 1964, a number of Turkish Cypriots moved to the Turkish quarter of Nicosia, causing serious overcrowding.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eric|last=Solsten|url=http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/13.htm |title=Intercommunal Violence |publisher=US Library of Congress |access-date=18 June 2012}}</ref>

On 15 July 1974, there was [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état|an attempted coup d'état]] led by the [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974|Greek military junta]] to unite the island with [[Greece]]. The coup ousted president [[Makarios III]] and replaced him with pro-[[enosis]] nationalist [[Nikos Sampson]].<ref name="TIME">{{Cite magazine |title=CYPRUS: Big Troubles over a Small Island |date=29 July 1974 |magazine=[[TIME]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911440,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307152514/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911440,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 March 2008 }}</ref>

On 20 July 1974, the [[coup d'état]] precipitated the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|invasion of the island by the Turkish army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_1974.shtm |title=Nicosia Municipality |publisher=Nicosia.org.cy |access-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417134703/http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/lefkosia_istoria_1974.shtm |archive-date=17 April 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The operation included two phases. The second phase of the Turkish invasion was performed on 14 August 1974, where the Turkish army advanced their positions, eventually capturing a total of 37% of Cypriot territory including the northern part of Nicosia. The fighting left the island with a massive refugee problem on both sides.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dotrHSZLGUC&q=turkish+invasion+of+cyprus+number+of+people+killed&pg=PA221 |title=The Cyprus Conspiracy: America, Espionage and the Turkish Invasion. By Brendan O'Malley, Ian Craig |date=25 August 2001 |access-date=10 March 2012|isbn=9781860647376 |last1=O'Malley |first1=Brendan |last2=Craig |first2=Ian |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

On 13 February 1975, the Turkish Cypriot community declared the [[Turkish Federated State of Cyprus]] in the area occupied by Turkish forces.<ref name="NathanShaw212">Malcolm Nathan Shaw, ''International Law'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-521-82473-6}}, [https://archive.org/details/internationallaw0000shaw/page/212 <!-- quote="On 13 February 1975 the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was proclaimed in the area occupied by Turkish forces". --> p. 212.]</ref> On 15 November 1983, Turkish Cypriots proclaimed their independence as the [[Northern Cyprus|Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]], that is recognized only by [[Turkey]] and seen by the international community as a part of the [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]] but not under its effective control.

On 23 April 2003, the [[Ledra Palace]] crossing was opened through the [[United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus|Green Line]], the first time that crossing was allowed since 1974.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2969089.stm |title=Emotion as Cyprus border opens |work=BBC News |date=23 April 2003 |access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> This was followed by the opening of [[Ayios Dometios]]/[[Metehan, Nicosia|Metehan]] crossing point on 9 May 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:2LSheATdp40J:www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/669FE6D32B5DEEC5C2256DC3002DE05A/%24file/27%2520May%25202003.doc%3FOpenElement+10+May+2003+cyprus+ayios+dometios&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgbI-U9uhq1bVhGCx5BFUodre7oF3QwDE4rsMeeqL649lLXb28-a00aVDd7gys3GDlE3WWZLQxke9bWGMANnv9_-6fqYkKb63ExxQit6UOC274BNZV5EZ-qRxlfpbS3IthcdMkv&sig=AHIEtbRoF8A2rV3CkgSAlD2q9y0lvFX4Pw |title=Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus |access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> On 3 April 2008, the [[Ledra Street]] crossing was also reopened.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7327866.stm |title=Symbolic Cyprus crossing reopens |work=BBC News |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref>

From 30 October 2016 and onwards, Nicosia became the only capital city in the world that had two [[time zones]], after the parliament of the [[de facto]] Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus abolished standard time and decided that Northern Cyprus remains at [[UTC+03:00]] year-round, following Turkey's example.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/09/08/two-time-zones-cyprus-turkey-will-not-turn-clocks-back-next-month/|title=Cyprus to have two time zones, north to follow Turkey in refusing to turn clocks back|work=Cyprus Mail|date=8 September 2016|access-date=25 November 2016|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108112525/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/09/08/two-time-zones-cyprus-turkey-will-not-turn-clocks-back-next-month/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/10/29/clocks-going-back-tonight/|title=Clocks going back tonight|work=Cyprus Mail|date=29 October 2016|access-date=25 November 2016|archive-date=11 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111095723/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/10/29/clocks-going-back-tonight/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The following year, due to criticism from the Turkish Cypriot public in the north, the Turkish Cypriot government decided to go back to standard time, following the rest of Europe.