Ottoman Cyprus

During Venetian rule, the Ottomans at times raided Cyprus. In 1489, the first year of Venetian control, Ottomans attacked the Karpass Peninsula, pillaging and taking captives to be sold into slavery.[4] In 1539 the Ottoman fleet attacked and destroyed Limassol.[4] Fearing the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, the Venetians had fortified Famagusta, Nicosia, and Kyrenia, but most other cities were easy prey.

In the summer of 1570, the Ottomans struck again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. About 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery, under the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha landed unopposed near Limassol on July 2, 1570, and laid siege to Nicosia. The city fell on September 9, 1570; 20,000 Nicosians were massacred and every church, public building, and palace was looted. Only women and boys who were captured to be sold as slaves were spared.[5][6]

Word of the massacre spread, and a few days later Mustafa took Kyrenia without having to fire a shot. The citizens of Famagusta, on the other hand, led by Venetian commander Marco Antonio Bragadin, put up a heroic resistance which led to the siege of the city for about a year, from September 1570 until August 1571. When the Ottomans eventually breached the fortifications, a massacre of most remaining Christians in the city followed, despite the Ottoman commander previously agreeing that in return for the city's surrender, Christians would be guaranteed safe passage to Crete. Bragadin had his ears and nose cut off and, after thrown in prison for two weeks, he was dragged round the walls with sacks of earth and stone on his back, then tied naked to a column in the main square and skinned alive.[7][8][9][10]

The fall of Famagusta marked the end of the Venetian rule and the beginning of the Ottoman period in Cyprus, with Lala Mustafa Pasha becoming the island’s first Turkish Governor.

On 25 May 1571, Pope Pius V formed the Holy League, a coalition between the Papal States, Malta, Habsburg Spain, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, and some other Italian states. Four months later, on 7 October, the naval forces of the League, composed mainly of Venetian, Spanish, and Papal ships under the command of Don John of Austria, defeated the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in one of the decisive battles in general — and naval battles in particular — of world history. The victory over the Ottomans, however, came too late to help Cyprus, and the island remained under Ottoman rule for the next three centuries.

In 1573 the Venetians left Cyprus, removing the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Administrative map of Cyprus drawn by the British in 1878, showing the Ottoman administrative division of the island at the time of the handover

Chalcography depicting Famagusta in 1703

As soon as Nicosia was conquered, Cyprus was declared an eyalet under the administration of a beylerbey, and Lala Mustafa Pasha, the former beylerbey of Avlonya, was appointed to the post. Cyprus was divided into three sanjaks: Famagusta, Kyrenia and Paphos. Additionally, the sanjaks of Alâiye, Tarsus, İçel, Sis, Zülkadriye and Tripoli (Trablusşam) on the mainland were placed under the administration of the Cyprus eyalet. Cyprus was also divided into several kazas: Tuzla, Limassol, Episkopi, Kythrea, Paphos, Kukla, Lefka, Morphou, Hirsofu, Famagusta, Kyrenia and Mesariye.

These kazas each had their own kadı or naib.[11] The sanjak of Tripoli, however, was removed from the jurisdiction of Cyprus in 1573 due to its distance and given to the Damascus Eyalet. The sanjaks of İçel, Alâiye and Tarsus were also removed in 1610 and given to the newly created Adana Eyalet.[12]

However, after the Ottoman conquest of Crete, the Cypriot Orthodox Church argued that Cyprus had lost importance, that trade volume had decreased and that people were emigrating. It thus requested a change in the administrative status as Cyprus could not afford remaining an eyalet. Thus, in 1670, Cyprus became a sanjak under the Eyalet of the Archipelago, under the direct control of the Kapudan Pasha, the head of the Ottoman Navy. This control was exercised through an appointed mütesellim.[11] However, under this system, local aghas were the tax collectors. This magnified their power and resulted in discontent, with the rivalry between them causing a two-year long revolt in the 1680s, led by Boyacıoğlu Mehmed Agha.[13] This proved that the existing system caused a power vacuum and was ineffective, so in 1703 Cyprus was placed directly under the control of the Grand Vizier, administered on his behalf by a muhassıl. To reduce the powers of the aghas, the muhassıl was given the power to collect taxes, as well as increased political and military authority. Between 1745 and 1748, Cyprus briefly became an eyalet again. These three years, especially the reign of governor Ebubekir Pasha (1746–48), were a period of development and relative prosperity. After the end of Ebubekir Pasha's tenure, Cyprus reverted to its former status.[11]

Greek Cypriots had two very important administrative positions: the Archbishop, who headed the Orthodox Church, was recognized as the sole representative of the Greek Cypriot population from the 1670s onwards, and the Dragoman, chosen from the candidates determined by the Archbishop.[11]

The muhassıl administration slowly became more and more dysfunctional. In 1764, muhassıl Çil Osman Agha was killed amidst a chaotic environment caused by his rule. Meanwhile, the ongoing war with Russia meant a deterioration in the people's welfare. Thus, on the request of the Archbishop and the Dragoman, Cyprus was placed directly under the administration of the Imperial Council in 1785, with the muhassıl being directly appointed. These new muhassıls lacked some of their old powers, which greatly increased the influence of the Orthodox clergy as they became tax collectors.[11][14] In 1839, with the reforms of Abdülmecid I, the island once again became a sanjak of the Eyalet of the Archipelago but gained significant autonomy. The island was governed by a mutasarrıf, the kazas were consolidated into six larger kazas with their own administrative and judicial councils. A sanjak administrative council, in which Turks, Greeks and other minorities were proportionally represented, was established.[11]

In 1861, Cyprus became an independent mutasarrifate under the direct control of the Sublime Porte. However, this changed again in 1868, when Cyprus became a sanjak under the Vilayet of the Archipelago under the newly established vilayet system. This would not last long, as the vilayet was administered from Çanakkale, and the long distance made the administration impractical. With the efforts of Archbishop Sophronios III of Cyprus, as well as given the drought and ravages of locusts, Cyprus was made an independent mutasarrifate once again in 1870. This arrangement lasted until 1878, when the British took over the island.[11][15][16]

Traditional clothing of (from right to left) a Christian resident of Ammochostos (Famagusta, Cyprus), a Christian woman of Magossa, and a Greek monk of the Monastery of Tchiko (Kykkos), near Lefka, 1873

The Ottoman occupation brought about two radical changes to the history of the island: A new ethnic element appeared on the island, the Turks, while Cypriots now had a new ruler, the Ottomans.

The Ottoman Empire gave timars—land grants—to soldiers under the condition that they and their families would stay there permanently. An action of far-reaching importance because the predefined soldiers became the nucleus of the island's Turkish community. During the 17th century the Turkish population grew rapidly, partly by Greek conversion (including converts who retained some pre-Islamic practices) joined to them. Most of the Turks who had settled on the island during the three centuries of Ottoman rule remained when control of Cyprus—although not sovereignty—was ceded to Britain in 1878. The distinction between the two groups was by both religion and language.

The Ottomans applied the millet system to Cyprus, which allowed religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church as the ethno-religious institution of the ethnic Greek population. Gradually, the Archbishop of Cyprus became not only religious but ethnic leader as well, something the Ottoman Turks promoted, wanting to have somebody responsible for the loyalty of the Greek flock. In this way, the Church undertook the task of the guardian of the Greek cultural legacy until the island was ceded to Britain.

The Hala Sultan Tekke, built in 1817, was one of many landmarks constructed by the Ottoman Turks in Cyprus.

The Limassol Medieval Castle was rebuilt in 1590 by the Ottomans.

• Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios Mansion
• Siege of Famagusta

Notes

Bibliography

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