Timeline of Cypriot history

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This is a timeline of Cypriot history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Cyprus. To read about the background to these events, see History of Cyprus. See also the list of presidents of Cyprus.

Millennia: 1st BC1st2nd3rd

Epipaleolithic and Neolithic periods (up to circa 3,800 BCE) Year Date Event 12000–11000 BCE The earliest site of putative human activity on Cyprus is Aetokremnos, situated on the south coast. Fossilised animal remains and lithic tools indicate that seasonal hunter-gatherers were active on the island from around 12,000 BC.Mithen, S. After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20000 BC–5000 BC. Boston: Harvard University Press 2005, p.97. Simmons, A., Mandel, R. (2016) Site Formation Processes at Akrotiri Aetokremnos, Cyprus. Why the site so controversial? In: Géoarchéologie des îles de la Méditerranée/Geoarchaeology of the Mediterranean Islands. Extinction of the endemic to Cyprus pigmy hippos and pigmy elephants, likely due to human presence.Simmons, A. H. Faunal extinction in an island society: pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus. New York: Springer 1999, p.15. 9500–8800 BCE The first permanent settlements are formed in Asprokremnos, Klimonas and Roudias, founded by Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations who also introduced dog, sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, foxes, and deer to the island. Klimonas is to date the oldest known farming village in the world.Vigne JD, Briois F, Zazzo A, Willcox G, Cucchi T, Thiébault S, Carrère I, Franel Y, Touquet R, Martin C, Moreau C, Comby C, Guilaine J (2012) First wave of cultivators spread to Cyprus at least 10,600 y ago. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109(22): 8445–9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201693109. 8700–7000 BCE A second phase of early migration is thought to have occurred between 8700 and 7000 BCE, with settlements at Akanthou, Mylouthkia, Shillourokambos, and Tenta.Guilaine, J., Briois, F. (2006) Shillourokambos and the Neolithization of Cyprus: Some Reflections. Eurasian Prehistory 4: 172.Briois, F., Guilaine, J. (2013) On the chipped stone assemblages at Klimonas and Shillourokambos and their links with the mainland. Eurasian Prehistory 10(1–2): 177–186. DNA data obtained from three individuals whose fragmentary remains were found in a Neolithic disused and filled-in water well at Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, revealed high Anatolian-related ancestry.I. Lazaridis, S. Alpaslan-Roodenberg, A. Acar, A. Açıkkol, A. Agelarakis, L. Aghikyan, U. Akyüz, D. Andreeva, G. Andrijasevic, D. Antonović, I. Armit, A. Atmaca, P. Avetisyan, A. İ. Aytek, K. Bacvarov, R. Badalyan, S. Bakardzhiev, J. Balen, L. Bejko, R. Bernardos, A. Bertsatos, H. Biber, A. Bilir, M. Bodružić, M. Bonogofsky, C. Bonsall, D. Borić, N. Borovinić, G. Bravo Morante, K. Buttinger, K. Callan, F. Candilio, M. Carić, O. Cheronet, S. Chohadzhiev, M.-E. Chovalopoulou, S. Chryssoulaki, I. Ciobanu, N. Čondić, M. Constantinescu, E. Cristiani, B. J. Culleton, E. Curtis, J. Davis, R. Davtyan, T. I. Demcenco, V. Dergachev, Z. Derin, S. Deskaj, S. Devejyan, V. Djordjević, K. S. Duffett Carlson, L. R. Eccles, N. Elenski, A. Engin, N. Erdoğan, S. Erir-Pazarcı, D. M. Fernandes, M. Ferry, S. Freilich, A. Frînculeasa, M. L. Galaty, B. Gamarra, B. Gasparyan, B. Gaydarska, E. Genç, T. Gültekin, S. Gündüz, T. Hajdu, V. Heyd, S. Hobosyan, N. Hovhannisyan, I. Iliev, L. Iliev, S. Iliev, İ. İvgin, I. Janković, L. Jovanova, P. Karkanas, B. Kavaz-Kındığılı, E. Hilal Kaya, D. Keating, D. Kennett, S. Deniz Kesici, A. Khudaverdyan, K. Kiss, S. Kılıç, P. Klostermann, S. Kostak Boca Negra Valdes, S. Kovačević, M. Krenz-Niedbała, M. Krznarić Škrivanko, R. Kurti, P. Kuzman, A. M. Lawson, C. Lazar, K. Leshtakov, T. E. Levy, I. Liritzis, K. O. Lorentz, S. Łukasik, M. Mah, S. Mallick, K. Mandl, K. Martirosyan-Olshansky, R. Matthews, W. Matthews, K. McSweeney, V. Melikyan, A. Micco, M. Michel, L. Milasinovic, A. Mittnik, J. M. Monge, G. Nekhrizov, R. Nicholls, A. G. Nikitin, V. Nikolov, M. Novak, I. Olalde, J. Oppenheimer, A. Osterholtz, C. Özdemir, K. T. Özdoğan, N. Öztürk, N. Papadimitriou, N. Papakonstantinou, A. Papathanasiou, L. Paraman, E. G. Paskary, N. Patterson, I. Petrakiev, L. Petrosyan, V. Petrova, A. Philippa-Touchais, A. Piliposyan, N. Pocuca Kuzman, H. Potrebica, B. Preda-Bălănică, Z. Premužić, T. D. Price, L. Qiu, S. Radović, K. Raeuf Aziz, P. Rajić Šikanjić, K. Rasheed Raheem, S. Razumov, A. Richardson, J. Roodenberg, R. Ruka, V. Russeva, M. Şahin, A. Şarbak, E. Savaş, C. Schattke, L. Schepartz, T. Selçuk, A. Sevim-Erol, M. Shamoon-Pour, H. M. Shephard, A. Sideris, A. Simalcsik, H. Simonyan, V. Sinika, K. Sirak, G. Sirbu, M. Šlaus, A. Soficaru, B. Söğüt, A. Sołtysiak, Ç. Sönmez-Sözer, M. Stathi, M. Steskal, K. Stewardson, S. Stocker, F. Suata-Alpaslan, A. Suvorov, A. Szécsényi-Nagy, T. Szeniczey, N. Telnov, S. Temov, N. Todorova, U. Tota, G. Touchais, S. Triantaphyllou, A. Türker, M. Ugarković, T. Valchev, F. Veljanovska, Z. Videvski, C. Virag, A. Wagner, S. Walsh, P. Włodarczak, J. N. Workman, A. Yardumian, E. Yarovoy, A. Y. Yavuz, H. Yılmaz, F. Zalzala, A. Zettl, Z. Zhang, R. Çavuşoğlu, N. Rohland, R. Pinhasi, D. Reich (2022) Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia. Science 377, 982–987. Water wells discovered in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old. Remains of an 8-month-old cat buried with a human body were discovered at Shillourokambos. The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, predating ancient Egyptian civilisation and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association. 7000 BCE The Neolithic village of Khirokitia (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is founded.Knapp AB (2013) The archaeology of Cyprus. In: From Earliest Prehistory through the Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6000 BCE The village of Khirokitia is suddenly abandoned for unknown reasons. The island appears to have remained uninhabited for about 1500 years, until the next phase of settlement that gave rise to the Sotira culture.Peltenburg, E. J. (1978) The Sotira Culture: Regional Diversity and Cultural Unity in Late Neolithic Cyprus, Levant 10(1): 55-74. DOI: 10.1179/lev.1978.10.1.55 4600 BCE Second phase of Khirokitia settlement by Pottery Neolithic farmers from Anatolia or the Levant.Bodet, Cédric. (2019). Neolithic Cyprus-An isolated reflection of the mainland. Maritime Archaeology Periodical 10: 70–89 3800 BCE Large earthquake hits Cyprus and heralds the end of the Neolithic culture on the island.Karageorghis V (1982) Cyprus: From the Stone Age to the Romans (Ancient Peoples and Places Series, Vol. 101.) Thames & Hudson, London. 207 p.

36th century BCE Year Date Event 3500 BCE First signs of metalwork on the island marking the beginning of the Chalcolithic period.

37th–26th centuries BCE Year Date Event 3600–2600 BCE Socio-cultural continuity with the previous period and increase of settlements on the island. The chalcolithic population of Cyprus continues to use stone, but now in combination with copper for objects like chisels, hooks and jewellery. Female fertility and cruciform figurines, as well as Red-on-White pottery, predominate.Knox, Daisy. (2012). Making Sense of Figurines in Bronze Age Cyprus: A Comprehensive Analysis of Cypriot Ceramic Figurative Material from EC I - LC IIIA (c.2300BC - c.1100BC).UoM administered thesis: Phd.

25th century BCE Year Date Event 2450 BCE Transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age and emergence of the Philia culture following further migrations from Anatolia. Metallurgy, cattle, donkey and woolly sheep are introduced on the island. A new form of distinctive pottery, Red Polished Ware, and other intrusive elements appear in archaeological data and material culture.Stewart, J.R., Dikaios, P. (1972). "Part 1A". The Swedish Cyprus Expedition:The Stone Age and The Early Bronze Age in Cyprus. IV. Lund. p. 202.Peltenburg, E. (1993). Settlement Discontinuity and Resistance to Complexity in Cyprus, c. 4500–2500 B.C.E. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 292: 9–23.Frankel, D., Webb, J.M. and Eslick, C. (1996) Anatolia and Cyprus in the Third Millennium BCE. A speculative model of interaction. In G. Bunnens (ed.) Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Near East, pp.37-50. Melbourne: Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Melbourne. Abr- Nahrain Supplementary Series Vol. 5.Peltenburg, E. J. (1996). From Isolation to State Formation in Cyprus, c. 3500-1500 B.C. In: V. Karageorghis / D. Michaelides (eds), The Development of the Cypriot Economy. From the Pre-historic Period to the Present Day. Nicosia. pp. 17-44.Webb, J.M. and Frankel, D. 1999: Characterising the Philia facies. Material culture, chronology and the origin of the Bronze Age in Cyprus. American Journal of Archaeology 103, 3–43.Frankel, D. 2000. Migration and ethnicity in prehistoric Cyprus: Technology as habitus. European Journal of Archaeology, 3(2), 167-187. doi:10.1179/eja.2000.3.2.167Frankel, D. & J.M. Webb 2006: Marki Alonia. An Early and Middle Bronze Age Settlement in Cyprus. Excavations 1995–2000 (SIMA 123:2), SävedalenBachhuber, C. (2015) The Anatolian Context of Philia Material Culture in Cyprus. In A. Knapp & P. Van Dommelen (Eds.), The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean (pp. 139-156). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHO9781139028387.012

23rd–17th centuries BCE Year Date Event 2250–1700 BCE Continuity with Philia characterised mostly by peaceful development. Bidirectional trading contacts with Minoan Crete and the Levant develop.Karageorghis, V. (2012). Detecting Cypro-Minoan relations in the Bronze Age. British School at Athens Studies 20: 7–10. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23541197Zeman-Wiśniewska, Katarzyna. (2020). Re-evaluation of Contacts between Cyprus and Crete from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. ELECTRUM, 2020, Volume 27, p. 11-32, pa. 2020. ISSN 2084-3909. Available at: <https://www.ejournals.eu/electrum/2020/Volume-27/art/17770/>. Date accessed: 16 pa. 2020 doi:https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.20.001.12791.

16th century BCE Year Date Event 1600 BCE Exploitation of copper, urbanization and foundation of Enkomi, the first industrial centre in Cyprus.Murray, A. S. (1900). "Excavations at Enkomi". In Murray, A. S.; Smith, A. H.; Walters H. B. (eds.). Excavations in Cyprus. London: British Museum.Peltenburg, E. J. (1999). "From isolation to state formation in Cyprus: ca. 3500–1500 BC". In Karageorghis, Vassos; Michalides D. (eds.). The development of the Cypriot economy from the prehistoric period to the present day. Nikosia. pp. 17–43. Trading contacts between Cyprus and Egypt suggested by Egyptian artefacts from the Hyksos period found in Cyprus.Karageorghis, V. (1995). Relations between Cyprus and Egypt Second Intermediate Period and XVIIIth Dynasty. Ägypten Und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 5: 73–79. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43498658 1550 BCE Literacy is introduced on the island with the Cypro-Minoan syllabary, first attested in Enkomi.Dikaios, P. 1969a: Enkomi. Excavations 1948–1958. Volume I, MainzDikaios, P. 1971: Enkomi. Excavations 1948–1958. Volume II, Mainz du Plat Taylor, J. 1952: A Late Bronze Age settlement at Apliki, Cyprus, Antiquaries Journal 32, 133–167Chadwick, John (1987). Linear B and related Scripts. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Destruction of the Hyksos Kingdom by Ahmose I leads to a breakdown of political and economic bonds between Cyprus and Hyksos. An incomplete weathered cartouche dating to the early XVIIIth Dynasty of Egypt found in Cyprus may be indicative of a new era of connections with the outside world.

15th century BCE Year Date Event 1446 BCE Thutmose III extends his influence over Cyprus under the name of "Isy" or "Irs" (probably referring to Alasiya), which is reported offering minerals and timber as a tribute to the Pharaoh.