The early history of this famous island is imperfectly known. It was certainly colonized at a remote period by the neighboring Phenicians, who established the wor ship of Ashtaroth (called by the Greeks Astarte, and by them identified with their own Aphrodite), for which worship—better known as that of Venus, to whom a temple was built—the island was long celebrated. The Greeks settled there soon after the Pheni cian colonization; and it is probable that the former soon obtained political supremacy, while the latter held influence over the manners and customs, arts, and religious rites, which were wholly different from those in Crete, Rhodes, or other /Egean islands. The first known fact in the history of Cyprus, is its conquest by the Egyptian king Amasis in the 6th c. B.C. In 525 B.C., however, there was a revolt against Egyptian and an acceptance of Persian rule, the island thenceforth becoming a tributary province of the Persian empire. As a proof of the island's great prosperity about this time, it is noted that Cyprus contributed not less than 150 ships to the Persian fleet under Xerxes. Evagoras, king of Salamis, succeeded in extending his authority over a great part of the island, 887 B.C., and became independent of Persia, but under his son the Persian rule was again enforced. After the battle of Issus, when Alexander advanced in Phe nicia, all the cities of Cyprus declared in his favor, and sent ships to assist him in the siege of Tyre. During this period, though the island was subject to Persia, the several cities enjoyed the privilege of local self-government. Their institutions, however, pre sented one marked difference from those of other Greek cities. They were governed by kings, of whom there were not less than nine in the island. The cities which were the seats of those petty monarchies were: Salamis, Citium, Amathus, Curium, Paphos, .Barium, Soli, Kerynea, and Lapathus. Idalium and Golgos, names celebrated in the history of the worship of Venus, appear to have been merely sanctiones or holy places. After the death of Alexander, the possession of this island, so important for its seemingly inexhaustible forests (it is now quite bare of trees), became an object of contention among his successors. After varying fortunes, it passed into the hands of Ptolemy of Egypt. But in 306 B.C. a great effort to recover it was made by Demetrius, son of Antigonus, who reduced the whole island and laid siege to the city of Salamis. The effort of Ptolemy, who came with a great fleet to raise the siege, gave rise to one of the most memorable naval battles of antiquity, in which the Egyptians were utterly defeated, and Salamis, with all the island, passed into the power of Demetrius. But Ptolemy recovered the island in 295 B.C., and thenceforth it continued to be one of the most valuable possessions of Egypt. More than once this island decided the sovereignty of the Nilo kingdom. Finally, the aggressive Romans fixed their eyes on Cyprus; the tribune Clodius proposed its seizure in violation of all right or decency; and Cato was the reluctant instrument for consummating the outrage. About half a century before
the beginning of the Christian era, there ensued a period of stagnation in which little is heard of the island. Cyprus is noticed in Acts iv., 36, where it is mentioned as the native place of Barnabas; and in Acts xi., 19-20, it appears prominently in connection with the earliest spreading of Christianity. When Paul was sent with Barnabas from Antioch on his first missionary journey, this island was the scene of their first labors. The most remarkable event in the history of Cyprus while it was under the Roman empire was a great revolt of Jews, who bad established themselves there in large num bers, in which revolt the Jews, 117 A.D., are said to have destroyed not less than 240,000 of the other inhabitants. After the division of the Roman empire, Cyprus passed under the Byzantine emperors. In 646 the Arabs became masters and destroyed the city of Salamis. Two years later, the Greeks recovered sway; but in 802, it was again conquered by Haoun-el-Raschid, who was soon compelled to relinquish it to the Byzantine rulers. In 1184, Isaac Comnenus made Cyprus an independent sovereignty. In 1195, Richard of England ejected Comnenus and put Guy de Lusignan in possession as compensation for the loss of Jerusalem, of which Guy had been appointed king. For three centuries, Cyprus had a succession of petty kings, who introduced the feudal system and other European institutions. After many attempts to secure control, the Venetian republic came into full possession of the island in 1487, and held the rule for about 80 years. In 1570, Selim II., sultan of Turkey, invaded Cyprus with 60.000 men, quickly subdued the country districts, took the capital (Nicosia) after a siege, and murdered 20,000 of its inhabitants. Famagosta held out for a year and then made a capitulation, which was of course immediately violated by the 3loslem butchers, who slowly tortured to death the governor of the city. From that period, Cyprus has been a part of the Turk ish empire. Two events only have disturbed the stagnation of that blighting rule; an insurrection in 1764, which was quickly suppressed, and a massacre of the Greek popu lation in 1823. Under the Koran and the Crescent an island that should be the most enterprising, prosperous, and'productive in all the east, is one of the most impoverished and worthless. See ARCHiEOLOGY.
CYR, Sr., the name of several places in France, the most important of which is St. C., in the department of Seine-et-Oise, about 3 m. w. of Versailles. Pop. '72, 1695. The village owes its origin to an educational institution for the daughters of nobles of fourth descent on the father's founded here in 1686 by Louis XIV., on the sug gestion of Madame de Maintenon, 'There were about 250 pupils, for whom RacinG wrote his tragedies of Esther and Atlict/ie. Madame de Maintenon died here, and was buried iu the choir of the church. The institution was suppressed at the revolution. The buildings were at first converted into a military hospital, and in 1803 into a tary school by Napoleon for the education of some 300 officers, about 140 of whom leave annually.