Editing Cyprus (section)

===Middle Ages===
{{Main|Cyprus in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of Cyprus}}
[[File:Nicosia by Giacomo Franco.jpg|thumb|The [[Walls of Nicosia]] were built by the Venetians to defend the city in case of an Ottoman attack.]]
[[File:Kyrenia 01-2017 img11 Castle exterior.jpg|thumb|[[Kyrenia Castle]] was originally built by the Byzantines and enlarged by the Venetians.]]
When the [[Roman Empire]] was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 286, Cyprus became part of the East Roman Empire (also called the [[Byzantine Empire]]), and would remain so for some 900 years. 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.<ref name="Keefe 1993">{{Country study |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |country=Cyprus |abbr=cy |title=Cyprus: A Country Study |url= https://www.loc.gov/item/92036090/ |edition=Fourth |editor-last=Solsten |editor-first=Eric |year=1993 |isbn=0-8444-0752-6 |last1=Keefe |first1=Eugene K. |last2=Solsten |first2=Eric |chapter=Historical Setting |pages=10–12}}</ref>

Beginning in 649, Cyprus endured repeated attacks and raids launched by [[Umayyad Caliphate]]. Many were quick raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were killed and great wealth carried off or destroyed.<ref name="Keefe 1993"/> The city of [[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]] was destroyed and never rebuilt.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov"/> Byzantine control remained stronger in the northern coast, the Arabs exerted more influence in the south. In 688, Emperor [[Justinian II|Justinian&nbsp;II]] and Caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] signed a treaty whereby Cyprus would be paying an equal amount of tribute to the Caliphate and tax to the Empire, but would remain politically neutral to both while being retained as a province administered by the Empire. There are no Byzantine churches which survive from this period, and the island entered a period of impoverishment.<ref>{{cite book |first=David Michael |author-link=Michael Metcalf |last=Metcalf |title=Byzantine Cyprus, 491–1191 |publisher=Cyprus Research Centre |year=2009|pages=32–33; 427–421}}</ref> Full Byzantine rule was restored in 965, when Emperor [[Nikephoros II Phokas|Nikephoros&nbsp;II Phokas]] scored decisive victories on land and sea.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" />

In 1156 [[Raynald of Châtillon]] and [[Thoros II|Thoros II of Armenia]] brutally sacked Cyprus over a period of three weeks, stealing so much plunder and capturing so many of the leading citizens and their families for ransom, that the island took generations to recover. Several Greek priests were mutilated and sent away to Constantinople.<ref>Norwich, J. J. (1995) ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall''. London: Viking, p. 121</ref>

In 1185 [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus|Isaac Komnenos]], a member of the Byzantine imperial family, took over Cyprus and declared it independent of the Empire. In 1191, during the [[Third Crusade]], [[Richard I of England]] captured the island from Isaac.<ref>Riddle, J.M. ''A History of the Middle Ages''. Lanham, MD, US: Rowman & Littlefield 2008. p.&nbsp;326. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rhWpPr93KjMC&pg=PA326] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915220219/https://books.google.com/books?id=rhWpPr93KjMC&pg=PA326|date=15 September 2015}}</ref> He used it as a major supply base that was relatively safe from the [[Saracen]]s. A year later Richard sold the island to the [[Knights Templar]], who, following a bloody revolt, in turn sold it to [[Guy of Lusignan]]. His brother and successor [[Aimery of Cyprus|Aimery]] was recognised as [[Kingdom of Cyprus|King of Cyprus]] by [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" />

Following the death in 1473 of [[James II of Cyprus|James&nbsp;II]], the last Lusignan king, the [[Republic of Venice]] assumed control of the island, while the late king's Venetian widow, Queen [[Catherine Cornaro]], reigned as figurehead. Venice formally annexed the [[Kingdom of Cyprus]] in 1489, following the abdication of Catherine.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" /> The Venetians fortified [[Nicosia]] by building the [[Walls of Nicosia]], and used it as an important commercial hub. Throughout Venetian rule, the [[Ottoman Empire]] frequently raided Cyprus. In 1539 the Ottomans destroyed [[Limassol]] and so fearing the worst, the Venetians also fortified [[Famagusta]] and [[Kyrenia]].<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" />

Although the Lusignan French aristocracy remained the dominant social class in Cyprus throughout the medieval period, the former assumption that Greeks were treated only as serfs on the island<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" /> is no longer considered by academics to be accurate. It is now accepted that the medieval period saw increasing numbers of Greek Cypriots elevated to the upper classes, a growing Greek [[middle class|middle ranks]],<ref>See James G. Schryver, 'Colonialism or Conviviencia in Frankish Cyprus?' in I.W. Zartman (ed.), ''Understanding Life in the Borderlands: Boundaries in Depth and in Motio'' (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010) pp.&nbsp;133–159; see also Evangelia Skoufari "Cyprus during the 16th&nbsp;century: a Frankish kingdom, a Venetian colony, a multicultural society", in ''Joves pensant la Mediterrània – Mar de diàleg'', no.&nbsp;5 dir. Enric Olivé Serret, Tarragona, Publicacions de la Universitat Rovira y Virgili, Tarragona 2008, pp.&nbsp;283–295.</ref> and the Lusignan royal household even marrying Greeks. This included King [[John II of Cyprus|John&nbsp;II of Cyprus]] who married [[Helena Palaiologina]].<ref>Benjamin Arbel, David Jacoby, ''Intercultural Contacts in the Medieval Mediterranean'', (London: Taylor and Francis, 1996) p.&nbsp;45</ref>