sīˈprəs, Gr. Kypros, officially Republic of Cyprus, republic (1994 est. pop. 890,208), 3,578 sq mi (9,267 sq km), an island in the E Mediterranean Sea, c.40 mi (60 km) S of Turkey and c.60 mi (100 km) W of Syria. The capital and largest city is Nicosia. In addition to the capital, other important cities are Famagusta, Larnaca, and Limassol. Cyprus is divided into six administrative districts.

Land and People

Two mountain ranges traverse the island from east to west; the highest point is Mt. Olympus (6,406 ft/1,953 m), in the southwest. Between the ranges lies a wide plain, the chief agricultural region. Over three quarters of the population is Greek, generally occupies the southern sector of the country, and belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. Less than 20% of the people are Turkish Muslims, mainly living in the northern region. Religious minorities include the Maronites and Armenian Orthodox. In addition to Greek and Turkish, English is also widely spoken.

Economy

The island is divided by a thin buffer zone occupied by the United Nations Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which since 1974 has separated the northern Turkish Cypriot sector from the southern Greek Cypriot sector. Agricultural products include cereal grains, olives, citrus, potatoes, and cotton; in addition, the Greek sector grows deciduous fruits and wine grapes, and the Turkish side grows tobacco, vegetables, and table grapes. Sheep, goats, poultry, hogs, and some cattle are raised. Fishing is an important industry in the Turkish sector, and the Greek side has a strong manufacturing economy (processed foods and beverages, paper, chemicals, textiles, metal products, and refined petroleum). Tourism is important for both areas but has been affected by political instability. Mineral resources include copper, pyrites, chrome, asbestos, and gypsum. Timber is also important. The Greek sector is considerably more prosperous than the Turkish side, which is heavily dependent on aid from Turkey.

History

Excavations have proved the existence of a Neolithic culture on Cyprus in the period from 6000 b.c. to 3000 b.c. Contact with the Middle East and, after 1500 b.c., with Greece greatly influenced Cypriot civilization. Phoenicians settled on the island c.800 b.c. Cyprus subsequently fell under Assyrian, Egyptian, and Persian rule. Alexander the Great conquered it in 333 b.c., after which the island again became an Egyptian dependency until its annexation by Rome in 58 b.c. Ancient Cyprus was a center of the cult of Aphrodite.

After a.d. 395, Cyprus was ruled by the Byzantines until 1191, when Richard I of England conquered it. In 1192, Richard bestowed the island on Guy of Lusignan. In 1489, Cyprus was annexed by Venice. The Turks conquered it in 1571. At the Congress of Berlin (1878) the Ottoman Empire placed Cyprus under British administration, and in 1914, Britain annexed it outright.

Under British rule the movement among the Greek Cypriot population for union (enosis) with Greece was a constant source of tension. In 1955 a Greek Cypriot organization (EOKA), led by Col. George Grivas, launched a campaign of widespread terrorism. Tension and terror mounted, especially after British authorities deported (1956) Makarios III, the spokesman for the Greek Cypriot nationalists. The conflict was aggravated by Turkish support of Turkish Cypriot demands for partition of the island. Negotiations (1955) among Britain, Greece, and Turkey on the status of Cyprus broke down completely. Finally in 1959, a settlement was reached, providing for Cypriot independence in 1960 and for the terms of the constitution. Treaties precluded both enosis and partition. Makarios was elected president in 1959 and reelected in 1968 and 1973.

In 1961, Cyprus joined the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. Large-scale fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots erupted several times in the 1960s, and a UN peacekeeping force was sent in 1965. In Mar., 1970, there was an attempt on Makarios's life by radical Greek Cypriots. The government was also fearful of a possible coup led by Grivas, who favored enosis. Turkish Cypriots demanded official recognition of their organization (which exercised de facto political control in the 30 Turkish enclaves) and the stationing of Turkish troops on the island to offset the influence of the Cypriot national guard, which was dominated by officers from Greece. Greek Cypriots interpreted the proposal as amounting to partition. Acts of violence against the government increased and were met in 1973 by an effort to suppress the guerrillas by the national police force (which had been created by Makarios to counter the national guard). Grivas died in Jan., 1974, and although EOKA was split between hard-liners and moderates, it continued to be dominated by Greek officers.

On July 15, 1974, following a large-scale national police assault on EOKA, the Makarios government was overthrown by the national guard. Nikos Sampson, a Greek Cypriot newspaper publisher, acceded to the presidency and Makarios fled the country. Both Greece and Turkey mobilized their armed forces. Citing its obligation to protect the Turkish Cypriot community, Turkey invaded (July 20) N Cyprus, occupied over 30% of the island, and displaced about 200,000 Greek Cypriots. The invasion precipitated the fall of the military regime in Athens and also resulted in the resignation of Sampson. He was replaced by Glafkos Clerides, the conservative Greek Cypriot president of the house of representatives.

A UN-sponsored cease-fire was arranged on July 22, and Turkey was permitted to retain military forces in the areas it had captured. Makarios was returned to office in Dec., 1974. In 1975 the island was partitioned into Greek and Turkish territories separated by a UN-occupied buffer zone. Makarios remained president until his death in 1977 and was succeeded by Spyros Kyprianou (1977–88). In 1983, Turkish Cypriots declared themselves independent from the Cypriot state; the resulting Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, with Rauf Denktash as president, was recognized only by Turkey. Negotiations to end the division of the country have continued intermittently and inconclusively in the subsequent decades. George Vassiliou, a leftist, defeated Clerides in the presidential elections of 1988, but Clerides was elected president in 1993 and again in 1998. By the late 1990s it was estimated that over half the population of Turkish Cyprus consisted of recent settlers from Turkey. In 1998, Cyprus began membership talks with the European Union, a move that was bitterly opposed by Turkish Cypriots. Turkey has insisted on a political settlement for the island prior to its joining the EU, which is slated to occur in 2004. Denktash was elected to his fourth term as president in 2000, but Clerides lost his bid for a third consecutive term in 2003, losing to Tassos Papadopoulos of the Democratic party. In Apr., 2003, long-standing Turkish Cypriot restrictions on cross-border travel were eased, and the Greek south ended a ban on trade with the north. Later the same year, parliamentary elections in the north resulted in gains for opposition parties favoring reunification, but both sides won an equal number of seats.

Bibliography

See G. F. Hill, History of Cyprus (4 vol., 1940–52); V. Karageorghis, Ancient Cyprus (1982); J. S. Joseph, Cyprus: Ethnic Conflict and International Concern (1985); I. Robertson, Cyprus (1987).

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