Cypriot History and Politics

Cyprus from Prehistory to Independence

36 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Cyprus from Prehistory to Independence now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 36 questions

  1. Which prehistoric settlement in Cyprus, with round stone houses, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List?
  2. Which Greek philosopher, the founder of Stoicism, was born in the ancient Cypriot city of Kition?
  3. Which people founded a trading colony at Kition on the south-east coast of Cyprus in the first millennium BC?
  4. For which resource was ancient Cyprus most famous in the Bronze Age?
  5. Which important ancient Cypriot city-kingdom lay on the east coast, about 6 kilometres north of modern Famagusta?
  6. In 58 BC Rome took control of Cyprus from the Ptolemies. What was Cyprus's status afterwards?
  7. Which two missionaries visited Cyprus together, according to the New Testament Acts of the Apostles?
  8. At the Council of Ephesus in 431, what was decided about the Church of Cyprus?
  9. Which empire ruled Cyprus after the division of the Roman Empire in the late fourth century?
  10. In 688 the Byzantine Empire and the Arab caliphate agreed a new arrangement for Cyprus. What was it?
  11. Which English king captured Cyprus in 1191 on his way to the Third Crusade?
  12. Which family established the Kingdom of Cyprus in 1192 after Richard I sold the island?
  13. Which queen of Cyprus gave up the island to Venice in 1489?
  14. Which Venetian walled port on the east coast fell to the Ottomans after a siege that ended in 1571?
  15. Which Shakespeare play is set in Cyprus, and is linked with a tower in Famagusta?
  16. How many years did the Ottoman Empire rule Cyprus, from the conquest of 1571 to the British takeover of administration in 1878?
  17. The Ottomans allowed the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus to take on a wider role. What was he treated as?
  18. Archbishop Kyprianos was executed by the Ottoman authorities in 1821. What event elsewhere led to that crackdown?
  19. Under which agreement of 1878 did the Ottoman Empire allow Britain to administer Cyprus?
  20. In which year did Britain annex Cyprus after the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of Germany?
  21. In which year did Cyprus become a British Crown Colony?
  22. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne dealt with Cyprus. What did Turkey do about the island?
  23. What happened in Nicosia in October 1931?
  24. What does the Greek word 'enosis' mean in the history of Cyprus?
  25. Which Turkish Cypriot slogan called for the partition of the island in the 1950s?
  26. On what date in 1955 did the EOKA campaign against British rule begin?
  27. Which Archbishop was exiled by the British to the Seychelles in 1956?
  28. The Zurich and London Agreements of 1959 created the framework for independence. Which three countries became guarantor powers?
  29. On what date did Cyprus become an independent republic in 1960?
  30. Which Turkish Cypriot politician served as the first Vice-President of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960?
  31. Under the 1960 constitution, in what ratio were public service posts shared between Greek and Turkish Cypriots?
  32. Which United Nations mission was set up by Security Council Resolution 186 of March 1964 and still works in the buffer zone?
  33. In December 1963 violence broke out between the two communities. What happened in the following months?
  34. Which Cypriot-born apostle is regarded as the founder of the Church of Cyprus and has his tomb near ancient Salamis?
  35. Which king of Salamis ruled in the early fourth century BC, united most of the island and fought against Persian control?
  36. A stela found at Kition in 1845 records the victory of which king over the kings of Cyprus?

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