A BRIEF HISTORY OF NICOSIA
A CAPITAL CITY
Nicosia has been the capital of Cyprus since the seventh century and has a rich diverse history that dates back nearly five thousand years. The first settlement Ledra had a strategic location at the centre of the island on the fertile plain of Mesaoria. This made it a focal point for numerous civilizations throughout the ages. Ledra became Lefkosia and then Nicosia and the city itself has been a significant centre for trade, culture, and politics since its inception.
THE BRONZE AGE
The settlement of Ledra was thought to have become permanent during the Bronze Age. Its construction took place by the river Pedeios. Today, the remains of the original Ledra are located in the Ayia Paraskevi hill area, southeast of today’s city. Ledra later became one of the twelve kingdoms of ancient Cyprus, formed by the Achaeans after the end of the Trojan War. At this time, Ledra was far less important than other coastal city-states, such as Kourion and Paphos, because of its mainly farming community that did not trade goods.
THE ROMANS
Cyprus eventually became a Roman province fifty or so years before the advent of Christianity and their administration would last on the island for the next seven centuries. Even though the Romans retained Paphos as their capital city, they recognised Ledra’s strategic importance, and the whole region flourished as a commercial centre of production. The Romans loosely kept in place the twelve kingdoms of Cyprus, but administered them under four administrative regions. Ledra was the capital city of one of these administrative regions. The Romans also constructed a number of significant buildings, which enlarged the old city perimeter. The Romans introduced trade to the region and this not only brought a change of fortunes for the city, but also a change of name. Greek Cypriots at the time were referring to Ledra as Lefkosia, which translates to ‘White Estate’ in Greek. The name is thought to derive from the abundance of white poplar trees that grew profusely along the river Pedeios all the way up to the city. This confused the Latin speaking Romans, so their solution was to simply rename Ledra to Lefkosia.
THE BYZANTINE GREEKS
The Byzantine Greeks took control of the island in the seventh century and they immediately began to use the Lefkosia as their main seat of power. This led to city eventually becoming their capital city. They immediately enlarged it by constructing significant religious and administrative buildings and by the 10th century, Lefkosia had become a bustling hive of activity and a major centre of trade on the island. The economy now mainly consisted of trading agricultural goods, luxury items and metal ware. In the early part of the twelfth century, Cyprus came under the control of a local Byzantine Greek despot ruler named, Isaac Komnenos. The new ruler broke away from the Byzantine Empire and declared himself a self-styled emperor of the island. The now debunked Cyprus loosely held ties with the Byzantine Empire, but it had lost its protection.
RICHARD THE LIONHEART
Byzantine Greek dominion on the island came to an abrupt and violent end in the latter part of the twelfth century, with the arrival of Richard the Lionheart. The Anglo-Norman king of England, on his way to the crusades sought refuge on the island after a storm forced his fleet towards Limassol’s coast. The Lionheart lost ships and much of his army washed up on Limassol’s shores. Komnenos forces welcomed them by plundering the treasure from the wrecked ships and taking a number of crusaders and their remaining ships prisoner. This did not end well for Komnenos however, and the Lionheart after freeing his men and ships ordered his superior forces to take control of the entire island. Komnenos lost a series of battles, and the crusaders eventually captured his banner and ruthlessly hunted down the remnants of his de facto Byzantine Greek army. Komnenos sought refuge in his final stronghold of Lefkosia and after a brief siege; he surrendered the city on condition that it be spared. The Lionheart accepted Komnenos surrender and kept his word and with this, Byzantine Greek rule on the island came to an abrupt end. The Lionheart would go on to spend the rest of the year on the island, celebrating his marriage with Berengaria of Navarre, who was crowned queen consort of England in the Limassol castle before finally embarking on his crusade.
THE ANGLO-NORMANS
The Anglo-Normans rule under Richard the Lionheart was very short and brutal and it is fair to say that they ruled Cyprus with an iron fist. They left a lasting legacy on the island, when they introduced feudalism, making Cyprus a feudal kingdom. Lefkosia took a sharp decline after their exploitation and they plundered all of its wealth. All administration transferred to Limassol and the Anglo-Normans imposed heavy taxes on the general population, to help fund their crusade in the east. Cypriots all over the island often rebelled, but each uprising was met with severe force and was mercilessly crushed. The Greek Cypriot leaders of the rebellions often suffered public executed, but they were quickly replaced and their struggle continued unabated. A year after his conquest, the Lionheart was ready to set off for his crusade. He decided to sell the troublesome, but very profitable island to the Knights Templar and the sale marked the end of the short Anglo-Norman rule on the island.
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
The Knights Templar moved their administrative headquarters east to Kolossi and used the imposing Kolossi castle as their main base of operations. They kept the feudal system in place and this allowed them to continue to enforce extremely high taxes on the populace. Lefkosia’s decline continued under this regime and the open rebellions increased. The Knight Templers however, were not as strong in numbers as their Anglo-Norman counterparts were, and the situation soon became unmanageable for them within the year. After heavy losses, the Knights Templar passed on the island to Guy de Lusignan of the Franks who had just lost the city of Jerusalem to the forces of Saladin. This marked the end of the short reign of the Knights Templar on the island.
THE FRANKS
The latter part of the 12th century saw the Frankish lords of the Lusignan dynasty take control and establish their own kingdom on the island. The Franks continued to rule using feudalism, but with a much fairer tax system and this action halted all Cypriot rebellions almost immediately and secured their rule in Cyprus for the next three centuries. The Franks moved all administrative activity back to Lefkosia and they restored the city as the islands capital. With the arrival of the Franks came the third name change. The French speaking Crusaders pronounced Lefkosia as ‘Nicosie’ and this eventually became Nicosia. Cyprus initially enjoyed remarkable prosperity under Frankish rule, and Nicosia once again became a major trading centre, exporting high quality goods to both Europe and the Middle East. The Catholic Church had replaced the Greek Orthodox Church as the island’s main religion, but Orthodoxy still practiced unopposed. The Building of highly impressive gothic style Latin churches took place and Latin monasteries were installed across the island. Lefkosia saw the construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, which would eventually become the resting place for the Lusignan Cypriot kings.
THE FRANKS SHARP DECLINE
The Franks successful tolerant rule began to splinter during the early part of the 15th century when they saw a sharp decline in their fortunes. Tensions with the Republic of Genoa, who also had a presence on the island, came to a head and their forces went on to sack Nicosia. After the dispute was resolved, the Franks built the city’s first defences, but these efforts proved futile when the Mamluk Sultanate again sacked Lefkosia a few years later and left the city in ruins. The Franks then turned the city into a formidable stronghold and when they rebuilt the city, they constructed a set of impressive fortifications, which included re-enforced walls and a palace. Their building program also included a number of new gothic churches and administrative buildings.
THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE
The Republic of Venice was a very powerful seafaring trading empire that had begun expanding into the eastern Mediterranean. The Venetians also had a presence on the island and they saw Cyprus not only as a trading partner, but also as an ideal military base. When the opportunity for them to take control of the island presented itself, partly because the Franks had no viable air, they took it and became the new rulers of Cyprus in the latter part of the 15th century. Another great empire was rising in the east however, and the Ottomans had developed into a sophisticated militaristic expansionist empire, that had already conquered Greece by this time. The Ottomans had Cyprus firmly in their sights and the Republic of Venice knew this and sought to protect their newly acquired territory at all costs. They set about preparing for the impending confrontation and they undertook an ambitious plan of fortification. The Republic of Venice maintained a heavy military presence on the island and Venetian military architects went about strengthening their capital city’s defences.
THE INFAMOUS STAR SHAPED WALLS
The Venetians demolished the original Frankish walls and replaced them with the walls that we see today. The walls completely surround the old city of Nicosia and were designed at the time, to be more suitable for artillery. The walls have a perimeter of 4.5 km and they incorporate 11 bastions that create the infamous star shapes, and three main gates. Each gate was named after the region that it faces. The Kyrenia gate faces north, the Paphos gate faces west and the Famagusta gate faces east. Today, five bastions are located in the Greek zone, and another five are located in the Turkish zone. The 11th bastion is located in the buffer zone controlled by UN.
THE OTTOMANS
In the latter part of the 16th century, over 60,000 highly skilled Ottoman troops, including cavalry and artillery units, landed unopposed on the coast of Cyprus. In less than three years after the completion of the Venetian walls, the Ottomans seized Nicosia after a drawn out brutal siege. This conflict sets the historical setting for Shakespeare’s Othello, which portrays the story of the play’s title character commanding a Venetian garrison defending Cyprus against the Ottomans. Nearly all of the population of Nicosia perished during the siege, which lasted for 40 days, leaving only 1,000 or so survivors. Ottoman rule would last for the next three centuries and Nicosia became the seat of power for both representatives of each community on the island. The Pasha representing the Ottomans took centre stage, but the Greek Archbishop representing the Greek Cypriots, the Dragoman, who was the official translator and the Qadi who acted as a magistrate also held seats. A Mukhtar was installed in each city, town and village and most of the Latin churches became mosques, including the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia. The re-organisation of the 12 quarters of the city saw the creation of 24 segregated districts. Each district was represented by a mosque or a church, which in turn represented its local community. Nicosia and its economy suffered under Ottoman rule as trade with Europe declined, but the city did benefit from an Ottoman building program, which included the repair of the famous star shaped walls, which were now in a dilapidated state after the siege. The Greek Orthodox Church continued to practice on condition that the clergy collected taxes on behalf of the Ottomans. Greece had always resisted Ottoman rule and this led to severe reprisals in Nicosia, which resulted in Ottoman authorities executing many Greek Cypriots and ecclesiastics.
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The Ottoman Empire granted the British Empire full administration rights over the island in the late 19th century, and Cyprus became a British colony in exchange for Britain’s support during the Russian-Turkish war. Cyprus as a whole began to flourish again under British rule and Nicosia once again became a major centre of trade and commerce. The British extended Nicosia’s borders and villages such as Palouriotissa, Kaimakli and Omorfita, situated on the outskirts of the old city were absorbed and became neighbourhoods of the city we know today. British rule brought modern infrastructure and governance to the city and a whole host of administrative buildings were constructed as part of Nicosia’s modernisation. The British also widened and improved roads and introduced the first proper postal and telegraph office to Nicosia. The first printing press began to operate and the modernisation of Nicosia’s schools and hospital took place. The first hotels began to operate and the first automobiles were imported on a large scale to the island.
THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE
By 1955, the seeds of freedom were firmly sewn into the Cypriot psyche and an armed struggle against British rule began. The Greek Cypriot nationalist military resistance organisation, known as EOKA, led the struggle, and this brought violent protests to the streets of Nicosia. Cyprus became a paradise lost and Nicosia became a city of curfew. The struggle would last for five years until Cyprus gained its freedom and independence.
A NEW REPUBLIC
Nicosia became the capital of the newly established presidential Republic of Cyprus when the island gained its independence in 1960. Joy turned to turmoil however, in 1963 when inter-communal violence broke out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots when a political dispute erupted. This resulted in Turkish Cypriots withdrawing from the government and creating segregated communities all over the island. The division of Nicosia into Greek and Turkish sectors took place and this was further compounded when further troubles again broke out a year later.
THE TURKISH INVASION
A coup d’état precipitated the invasion of the island by Turkish forces in the summer of 1974. The invasion led to the subsequent occupation of 37% of the island, and the permanent division of Nicosia. Savage fighting took place at the Nicosia International Airport, which today lies abandoned in the buffer zone and at the Ledra Palace hotel, which today acts as part the United Nations headquarters on the island. The division of the city became permanent after hostilities ended and today this remains a stark reminder of the ongoing political stalemate between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
NICOSIA TODAY
Nicosia today remains as the only divided capital city in the world. The infamous green Line, which got its name from the colour of the pen used to draw it on a map, marks a United Nations buffer zone that separates the city into the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north. The initial separation that occurred in 1963 has become a permanent militarised border since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus 11 years later. Greek and Turkish sentries stand just metres apart on either side of the border. In 2003, the Ledra Palace crossing, opened for the very first time, through the Green Line since the invasion of 1974. In 2016, Nicosia became the only capital city in the world with two time zones, after the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus abolished standard time and synchronised their time zone with mainland Turkey. The following year, due to criticism from the Turkish Cypriots, this policy was reversed and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus time zone reverted back to match the rest of Europe. As well as its legislative and administrative functions, Nicosia has also established itself as the island’s financial capital and acts as the islands main international centre of business. The city continues to evolve as a modern metropolis while preserving its rich cultural heritage and it is a modern dynamic city that has a vibrant, diverse culture with trade; industry and tourism driving its economy. The city’s historical sites attract visitors from all over the world, offering a glimpse into its multifaceted past. In 2018, Nicosia was the 32nd richest city in the world in relative purchasing power.
