AN OUTLINE OF CYPRIOT HISTORY:

Cyprus has had many names, but most authorities agree that the current name comes from the word, "copper".  An alternative theory suggests that 'Cyprus' comes from the Greek work 'kypros' which means "henna".  The island's strategic location has resulted in repeated invasions that have created a unique way of life and culture to the island. Cyprus has been colonised by Phoenicians, Achaeans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, ottoman Turks and the British across the millennia.

Prehistoric and Ancient Periods in Cyprus History:

8500 B.C.E. - The begining of Cypriot history when the first settlements are believed to been made on the island.
1600 B.C.E. - The island was populated by the Mycenaean civilization.
1500 B.C.E. - Thutmose III of Egypt invaded Cyprus.
1200-1100 B.C.E. - Re-colonisation by Mycenaean Greeks who brought their language, culture, and advanced technology.  It is from this time that Cyprus has been primarily Greek in culture, language and population.
16th century B.C.E. - Amasis of Egypt re-conquered Cyprus.  Soon after, it fell under the rule of the Persians.  The island's population was boosted by the arrival of Greeks from Ionia (western Anatolia).  This was the beginning of the island's close ties to the area.
499 B.C.E. - The Ionian Greeks rebelled against the Persians but, the revolt failed.
356-323 B.C.E. - Alexander the Great liberated the island from Persia.  Cyprus was then ruled from Alexandria, in Egypt.
58-57 B.C.E. - Cyprus was annexed by Rome

Post Christian Cypriot History:

45 C.E. - The Apostles Paul and Barnabas arrived at Salamis (modern Famagusta).  They then went to Paphos/Baf where they converted the Roman Governor, Sergius Paulus, to Christianity.  Cyprus became the first country in the world to be governed by a Christian.
395 - The Roman Empire is partitioned, and Cyprus became part of the Eastern/Byzantine Empire.
646-654 - The Arabs invaded the island.  Cyprus negotiated a relatively secure independence, but had to pay annual tribute to the Ummayad Caliphate.
1191 - A period of rule by the independent Emperor (Isaac Comnenus) ended when Cyprus was captured by King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) during the third Crusade.
1192 - Guy of Lusignan purchased the island from Richard.  The French Lusignan dynasty then ruled the island for 300 years.
1489 - After the death of the last Lusignan Queen, Catharine,  Cyprus was ceded to Venice.
1570 - The island was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.  The island's leading churchmen were executed and some 20,000 Christians escaped from the island.

British Rule:

1878 - The 'Cyprus Convention' saw Britain assume a 'Protectorate' in return for British support for the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War.  The island became a strategic naval outpost for the British Empire, strengthening its influence over the Eastern Mediterranean and the  Suez Canal.
1914 - Cyprus was formally annexed by the United Kingdom in the run-up to the First World War.  Cypriots were now British subjects.  In 1925, the island became a Crown Colony.
1940-1950s - The Greek community held referenda supporting the union of the island with Greece.
1955-1959 - Pro-union Greek Cypriots founded EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), a military resistance organisation that fought for the Enosis (the unification of Cyprus with Greece).  Many attacks against the British, by EOKA, took place in this period.  In 1958, the Turkish Cypriots founded the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) in reaction to EOKA.  The creation of many autonomous Turkish bodies (like Nicosia's Turkish Municipality) date from this period.

Independence and Division of the Cypriot Republic:

1960 - Cyprus got independence from the UK. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities were given balanced political rights under the new constitution and, Greece, Turkey and the UK became guarantor powers under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.  The first President was the Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios III, and his Vice President was the leading Turkish Cypriot politician, Dr Fazil Küçük.  In the early 1960s, Makarios and Küçük pursued a non-aligned foreign policy, cultivating good relations with Britain, Greece and Turkey.
1963 - The government of Cyprus collapsed as a result of the constant inability of the two communities to reach a political consensus.  Occasional fighting broke out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.  Many Turkish Cypriots living in rural areas retreated to the British Base Areas for protection.
1963-1974 - The Turkish Cypriot enclaves were blockaded and embargoed by the Greek Cypriot authorities.  There were numerous clashes between the two groups.
1974 -  Elements of the Cypriot National Guard backed a military coup sponsored by the military junta in Greece.  The president of Cyprus Makarios was replaced by the EOKA member Nikos Giorgiades Sampson, and Bishop Gennadios as head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The aim of the coup was Enosis.  Makarios narrowly escaped death and was evacuated to Malta by the British.  In response to the coup, Turkey sent troops into Cyprus, saying it was a necessary intervention, under the Treaty of Guarantee, to protect the Turkish Cypriot populace.  Turkish troops subsequently gained control of 37% of the island.  Over 200,000 Cypriots were dsiplaced, with Greek Cypriots forced to flee from the Turkish-controlled north, and Turkish Cypriots fleeing the south.  Soon after the Turkish invasion, the coup collapsed and Makarios returned to power, accepting a bi-zonal federation as the form of a future state, but he rejected any solution, "involving transfer of populations and amounting to the partition of Cyprus".
1975 - The Turkish Federated State of North Cyprus was declared with Rauf Denktas as leader (he was also the first president of the TRNC).  UN Forces took up positions in the buffer zone between the two sides.  From the start, the Turkish Cypriots have wanted tore- unite with the south as part of a federal Cyprus, this was demonstrated in the huge majority in support of the Annan Plan referendum in 2004.  However, the South rejected the plan and subsequent negotiations have failed.