Althouse: "The Arabs invaded Cyprus in force in the 650s, but in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik..."

February 24, 2013

"The Arabs invaded Cyprus in force in the 650s, but in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik..."

"... reached an unprecedented agreement. For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines as a condominium, despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland."

In Cyprus, today's "History of" country.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...: Snow occurs only in the highest mountains. It's completely unknown in most of the country.

For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines as a condominium, despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland.

History repeats itself. Cyprus has been a divided country for the past 40-odd years.

Peter; 2/24/13, 3:53 PM
Anonymous said...: note that they take Muslim (Turkish rule) out of the history by placing it at a link. The part I note:

The city fell—September 9, 1570–20,000 Nicosian Greeks were put to death, and every church, public building, and palace was looted. Only women and boys who were captured to be sold as slaves were spared

Slavery was a Muslim thing

As was a high tax system applied to non-muslims to force conversions.; 2/24/13, 3:59 PM
SteveR said...: In a bad spot to be left alone; 2/24/13, 4:04 PM
edutcher said...: I thought a condominium was something you wore so the girl didn't get pregnant.

As for Cyprus, it has never been a peaceful place. The Turks and Greeks hate each other cordially.; 2/24/13, 4:11 PM
Moose said...: Did they allow gays and dogs?; 2/24/13, 4:40 PM
Basta! said...: Cyprus is attested in texts starting in the 2nd millenium BC, when it was called Alasia by the Hittites and Akkadians.

It was one of the major mining centers and exporters of copper in antiquity. In fact, its association with that metal was so strong that the word "copper" actually derives from it, i.e. Cyprium aes, or "copper of Cyprus" > cuprum > copper.

Before the Iron Age, copper was the essential component of weapons, which made any place that had copper deposits important.; 2/24/13, 5:57 PM
David said...: Too bad the compromise did not last:

During the Greek War of Independence the Greek people fought for independence from the Ottoman Empire who ruled them. A number of Greek Cypriots rebelled on Cyprus, in return the Ottoman rulers of Cyprus tried to keep control by using draconian means of suppression. 486 Greek Cypriots were executed on 9 July 1821, accused of conspiring with the rebelling Greeks, including four Bishops and numerous prominent citizens—all beheaded in the central square of Nicosia, while Archbishop Kyprianos was hanged.; 2/24/13, 6:11 PM
n.n said...: In modern days, communists and capitalists shared Hong Kong. It is an arrangement of convenience, where one party recognizes the material inferiority of their system, while simultaneously desiring the personal benefits it confers.; 2/24/13, 6:47 PM
Douglas2 said...: Spent the morning one day in Larnaca, wading on the beach wearing shorts and a t-shirt then drove up to the ski-lodge in Troodos park and had lunch and hot cocoa whilst looking out the windows at the feet of snow and big puffy falling snowflakes.

Was a bit disappointed that the 900cc/auto-box Micra car couldn't quite reach the speed limit on the motorway, as the Traffipax/Robot GMBH subsidiary there had installed the speed cameras on the wrong side of the carriageway -- they drive on the left in Cyprus, and all the cameras were pointing the wrong direction.; 2/24/13, 8:19 PM
Douglas2 said...: Spent the morning one day in Larnaca, wading on the beach wearing shorts and a t-shirt then drove up to the ski-lodge in Troodos park and had lunch and hot cocoa whilst looking out the windows at the feet of snow and big puffy falling snowflakes.

Was a bit disappointed that the 900cc/auto-box Micra car couldn't quite reach the speed limit on the motorway, as the Traffipax/Robot GMBH subsidiary there had installed the speed cameras on the wrong side of the carriageway -- they drive on the left in Cyprus, and all the cameras were pointing the wrong direction.; 2/24/13, 8:21 PM
Synova said...: Ah... I knew a guy from Cyprus at NDSU. Constantino. OMG, what a hottie. Asked if I'd been out of the states and then told me Canada didn't count. Told me that he hadn't seen any Turks on campus... yet.

His father (I think it was) had either been killed or spent time as a prisoner of war. Constantino had a two year obligation to military service in Greece but it was put off for school in the states.

My friend and I flirted with him shamelessly, but he knew we were just having fun.; 2/24/13, 9:02 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Cyprus is about to get even messier than it was previously, as I understand it, because there are undersea energy reserves, and no clue as to who actually owns them, particularly as the waters are contested too. Greece? Turkey? Israel? The PA?; 2/24/13, 11:24 PM
J said...: I think you mean codominium.; 2/25/13, 1:47 AM
J said...: I think you mean codominium.; 2/25/13, 1:47 AM
Mitch H. said...: I think you mean codominium.

Seems like your formulation would be better English, but it seems like the term of art really is "condominium". I'd like to see more details on this supposed tax-sharing arrangement, it seems outrageously unlikely given the ferocity of eighth and ninth century Byzantine-Muslim relations.

Cyprus is another one of these eternal colonial possessions, having been a dependency of one neighbor, foreign-born dynasty or imperium of some sort pretty much continuously since the late Bronze Ages, right up to the Turkish invasion in 1974. Even now, the British maintain a significant military presence in Cyprus, and the Greek government has very strong ties to Greece proper.

There's a lot of material in there on the late Bronze Age in Cyprus, but like almost all late Bronze Age history, it's a confused mis-mash of Mycenaean settlement, Hittite domination, and airy references to Crete. No references to the possible imaginary character some or most of the history and archeology of the period 1100-700 in this part of the eastern Mediterranean, which would explain the loose and contradictory collection of assertions found herein. I'm willing to bet that there's the occasional edit-war on this part of the page. (Huh, not that I can see, but then, I'm not all that conversant on how to read Wiki edit history.); 2/25/13, 11:03 AM
lgv said...: Cypress was ruined in 1974.

I remember it, admittedly through a Greek friends perspective.

I also recall Michael Totten's brief encounter. Nothing has changed. Truly amazing seeing the modern ruins.

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/000985.html; 2/25/13, 2:30 PM