Cyprus

History

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, located off the coast of the Levant in West Asia. Cyprus' capital and largest municipality is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is called Northern Cyprus, and the United Nations Buffer Zone separates it from the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. In the south of the island are the British sovereign military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily and Sardinia. Cyprus was first settled by hunter-gatherers around 13,000 years ago, with farming communities emerging by 8500 BC. The late Bronze Age saw the emergence of Alashiya, an urbanised society closely connected to the wider Mediterranean world. Cyprus experienced waves of settlement by Mycenaean Greeks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Owing to its rich natural resources (particularly copper) and strategic position at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the island was subsequently contested and occupied by several empires, including the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians, from whom it was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the... Summary adapted from the English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). The live article includes citations, maps, and updates.