Cyprus-Forum.com

[magikthrill]

i was looking at a historical atlas of europe and when i was look at pre-1400 it labeled Cyprus as The Kingdom of Cyprus.

Was it an indepenednt Kingdom or was it controlled by the venetians? the map can be found here: http://www.euratlas.com/big/big1300.htm

looking at all those kingdoms and whatnot I am not surprised why so many Europeans (Especially Spaniards and Italians) are such separatists. Looks like who ever wanted to be king just seized soem land and created their own kingdom!

[metecyp]

I remember talking about this in another forum. I think Cyprus was under Lusignan rule and there was a time when it was called Kingdom of Cyprus.

[cannedmoose]

i was looking at a historical atlas of europe and when i was look at pre-1400 it labeled Cyprus as The Kingdom of Cyprus.

Was it an indepenednt Kingdom or was it controlled by the venetians? the map can be found here: http://www.euratlas.com/big/big1300.htm

looking at all those kingdoms and whatnot I am not surprised why so many Europeans (Especially Spaniards and Italians) are such separatists. Looks like who ever wanted to be king just seized soem land and created their own kingdom!

Firstly Thrill, great map, I love looking at old maps like that, so much has changed and yet you can still see the origins of modern Europe... I particularly love the idea of places like the 'Western Kipchak Horde' and 'Moldavian Banates'... conjurs up great images. I was also shocked to see a 'Khanate of Great Bulgaria' way over by the Urals... very strange.

Anyways, in answer to your question, the Kingdom of Cyprus was essentially a Lusignan creation and was closely linked to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Once the Knights Templar (another great image being conjured!) sold the territory to Guy of Lusignan (aka Guy of Jerusalem) in 1192, Guy established the Kingdom as a Roman Catholic entity, albeit allowing the Orthodox church to remain.

Upon Guy's death, the kingdom passed to a series of kings who retained the title Kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem, even after Jerusalem was lost in the late 13th century, Kings of Cyprus keptthe title.

During the 14th and 15th centuries the Kingdom increasingly came under the domination of the Genoese and Mamalukes, who essentially made it into a vassal state in the early 1400s. As a result, the last kings and finally Queen Cornaro, who sold the island to Venice, were not independent monarchs.

So, Cyprus' history as a kingdom was not as a Greek Kingdom but as a Latin Crusader Kingdom. Nonetheless, for a while it was indeed an independent territory.

[magikthrill]

thanks moose! that was really interesting.

did you do your undergrad in european history by any chance?

[cannedmoose]

thanks moose! that was really interesting.

did you do your undergrad in european history by any chance?

Nope, Politics and International Relations... A-level plus self-study in European History re... plus I must have read almost every book written in English on Cyprus so I've come across the medieval history about a billion times as well. Makes a change from the more contentious modern history anyways

Just another snippet of interesting history I just found out, St Hilarion was the summer residence of the Kings... must have been one hell of a place to hold court... shame it's in ruins, that would be spectacular.

[efe]

maps are very iteresting.

here is the list of all the maps they have on that website.

http://www.euratlas.com/time1.htm (YEAR 0-1000AD)
http://www.euratlas.com/time2.htm (1000-2000AD)

why do they call ottomans, ottoman sultane of rome?
also when you look at the 2000 map, they even have kurdistan. wow.