Editing History of Cyprus (section)

==Medieval Cyprus==
{{main|Cyprus in the Middle Ages|Theme of Cyprus}}
[[File:Yeroskipou 2010-05-04.jpg|thumb|250px|Ayia Paraskevi Byzantine church in [[Yeroskipou]], Cyprus]]

After the [[History of the Roman Empire|division of the Roman Empire]] into an eastern half and a [[Western Roman Empire|western half]], Cyprus came under the rule of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]]. At that time, its [[bishop]], while still subject to the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church|Christian Church]], was made [[autocephalous]] by the [[First Council of Ephesus]] in 431.

The [[Arabs|Arab]] [[Muslims]] invaded Cyprus in force in the 650s, but in 688, the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Justinian II]] and the [[Umayyad caliphate|Umayyad caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān]] reached an unprecedented agreement. For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines as a ''[[Condominium (international law)|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.

This period lasted until the year 965, when [[Niketas Chalkoutzes]] conquered the island for a resurgent Byzantium. In 1185, the last Byzantine governor of Cyprus, [[Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus]] from a minor line of the Imperial house, rose in rebellion, and attempted to seize the throne. His attempted coup was unsuccessful, but Comnenus was able to retain control of the island. Byzantine actions against Comnenus failed because he enjoyed the support of [[William II of Sicily]]. The Byzantine emperor had an agreement with the [[sultan of Egypt]] to close Cypriot harbours to the [[Crusaders]].

===The Third Crusade===
{{main|Third Crusade}}

During the [[Third Crusade]], the island of Cyprus became a target of the [[Crusaders]] in the late 12th century.<ref name="Nicholson 2018">{{cite book |author-last=Nicholson |author-first=Helen J. |year=2018 |chapter=Remembering the Crusaders in Cyprus: The Lusignans, the Hospitallers, and the 1191 Conquest of Cyprus in Jean d'Arras's Mélusine |editor1-last=Parsons |editor1-first=Simon T. |editor2-last=Paterson |editor2-first=Linda M. |title=Literature of the Crusades |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=158–172 |doi=10.1017/9781787441736.011 |isbn=9781787441736}}</ref> [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]] landed in [[Limassol]] on 1 June 1191 in search of his sister and his bride [[Berengaria of Navarre|Berengaria]], whose ship had become separated from the fleet in a storm.<ref name="Nicholson 2018"/> Richard's army landed when Isaac refused to return the hostages (Richard's sister, his bride, and several shipwrecked soldiers), and forced Isaac to flee from Limassol. He eventually surrendered, conceding control of the island to the King of England. Richard married Berengaria in Limassol on 12 May 1192; she was crowned as Queen of England by [[John Fitzluke]], [[Bishop of Évreux]]. The Crusader fleet continued to [[St. Jean d'Acre]] on 5 June of the same year.<ref name="Nicholson 2018"/>

The army of [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]] continued to occupy Cyprus and raised taxes.<ref name="Nicholson 2018"/> He sold the island to the [[Knights Templar]]. Soon after that, the [[French people|French]] army under the [[House of Lusignan]] occupied the island, establishing the [[Kingdom of Cyprus]] in 1192.<ref name="Nicholson 2018"/> They declared [[Latin]] as the official language, later replacing it with [[Medieval French|French]]; much later, [[Medieval Greek|Greek]] was recognized as a second official language. In 1196, dioceses of the [[Latin Church]] were established on the island, and the [[Church of Cyprus|Greek Orthodox Cypriot Church]] experienced a series of [[Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians|religious persecutions]] perpetrated by the Latin Catholics. [[Maronites]] settled on Cyprus during the Crusades and still maintain some villages in the North.