The Theme of Cyprus ( el, θέμα Κύπρου, ''thema Kyprou'') was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

military-civilian province, located in the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, established in the 960s after the reconquest of Cyprus by the Byzantine navy. Prior to this the island had been a Byzantine-

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

condominium for three centuries, except occasional short periods where it was occupied by either power. A rebellion by governor

Theophilos Erotikos Theophilos Erotikos ( el, ) was an 11th-century Byzantine general, and governor in Serbia and Cyprus, where he led a short-lived rebellion in 1042. Biography Serbian revolts Around 1034, according to John Skylitzes, the Serbs renounced Byzantine ...

in 1042, and another in 1092 by

Rhapsomates Rhapsomates (or Rapsomates) ( gr, Ῥαψομάτης) was a Byzantine official who led a revolt on Cyprus in the early 1090s. He was defeated by the '' megas doux'' John Doukas and taken captive. The main narrative sources for his revolt are Anna ...

, failed as they were quickly subdued by imperial forces. At the end of the 12th century there were again separatist tendencies in Cyprus:

Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus Isaac Doukas Komnenos (or Ducas Comnenus, c. 1155 – 1195/1196) was a claimant to the Byzantine Empire and the ruler of Cyprus from 1184 to 1191. Contemporary sources commonly refer to him as the emperor of Cyprus. He lost the island to King ...

proclaimed himself as "'' basileus''" (

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

) in 1185. Cyprus remained under his command until its conquest in 1191 during the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

, who sold it to the Knights Templars.

Sources

States and territories established in the 10th century Byzantine Cyprus {{Cyprus-hist-stub