__NOTOC__ Cyprus (, ''Kýpros'') or the Theme of Cyprus (, ''théma Kýprou'') was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

located in the island of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, established in 965 after the reconquest of Cyprus by the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the Navy, naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Like the state it served, it was a direct continuation from its Roman navy, Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than its ...

. Prior to this the island had been a Byzantine-

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

for three centuries, except occasional short periods where it was occupied by either power. Important cities on the island at this time included

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

, and

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

History

Rebellions by the thematic governors,

Theophilos Erotikos Theophilos Erotikos () was an 11th-century Byzantine '' strategos'' (general) and governor of Serbia and then Cyprus. In 1038, as governor of Serbia, he was ousted by a local rebellion against the Byzantine regime and its Serbian supporters. ...

in 1042 and

Rhapsomates Rhapsomates (or Rapsomates) () was a Byzantine official who led a revolt in the Theme of Cyprus in the early 1090s. Nothing is known about his life prior to the revolt apart from the fact that he served as an official in the region. The motivatio ...

in 1091, failed, quickly subdued by imperial forces. The island was spared the destruction of the loss of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and remained peaceful and relatively prosperous during turn of the 12th century. During the

Siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...

, a battle of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

, the Crusader army received supplies from Byzantine-controlled Cyprus. In the spring of 1156, the island was attacked by

Raynald of Châtillon Raynald of Châtillon ( 11244 July 1187), also known as Reynald, Reginald, or Renaud, was Prince of Antioch—a crusader states, crusader state in the Middle East—from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain—a Vassals of the Kingdo ...

and

Thoros II, Prince of Armenia Thoros II (; died 6 February 1169), also known as Thoros the Great, was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia from the Rubenid dynasty from 1144/1145Kurkjian 1958, p. 506 until 1169. Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupe ...

. The island was the governed by John Doukas Komnenos, who remained with part of the local garrison at Nicosia, while the general Michael Branas led a force to confront the invaders. Branas was driven back towards Nicosia, and John led a sally to rescue him. The Byzantines were again defeated, with both John and Branas taken prisoner. The victorious Franks and Crusaders then conducted widespread plundering of the island, not sparing churches or convents. In the words of the historian

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

, "The crops were burnt; the herds were rounded up, together with all the population, and driven down to the coast. The women were raped; children and folk too old to move had their throats cut". The rape of the island lasted for three weeks, before Raynald and Thoros boarded their ships with their loot and prisoners, and departed. The destruction was compounded by the effects of the

1157 Hama earthquake After a year of foreshocks, an earthquake occurred on 12 August 1157 near the city of Hama, in west-central Syria (region), Syria (then under the Seljuk Empire, Seljuk rule), where the most casualties were sustained. In eastern Syria, near the Eup ...

, and by a

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

naval raid in 1158. Proclaiming himself "

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

", Isaac Komnenos established control over the island in 1185. However, storms plaguing the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

wrecked two ships of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's fleet off Cyprus in 1187. A thirdcarrying his sister Joan and betrothed Berengariareached the port of Limassol but Isaac's known hostility to all "

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

" meant it sat at anchor in the harbor, Joan fearing that coming ashore would mean capture and being held for

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

. Richard's ships arrived a week later on May 8th and, outraged at the women's conditions and treatment, he invaded the island. He laid siege to Nicosia, defeated Isaac at Tremetousia, and became ruler of the island but sold it to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

in 1191 to fund his debts and further action in the Crusade.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Byzantine Empire topics

States and territories established in the 10th century Byzantine Cyprus States and territories disestablished in 1185 States and territories disestablished in the 1190s