Cyprus' location as an Eastern Mediterranean stepping stone has inevitably given it a history far too rich to be encompassed in a page or two. The history set out below only attempts to give a brief overview.

Human presence in Cyprus can be traced back to Neolithic times, coastal settlements having been dated back to 8,000 BC. Copper mining appears to have been important from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2,500 BC) and it may be that the name, Cyprus, derives from its copper deposits, Latin for copper being cyprium æs, 'metal of Cyprus'. During this period there is evidence of contacts with other developing civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the dominant one of the time, the Minoans of Crete. Following the collapse of the Minoan civilization around 1,400 BC, the next major outside influence in Cyprus was that of the Mycenaeans from their homeland in the Greek Peloponnese. It was during this period that Cyprus became associated with the goddess Aphrodite, although archaeological evidence indicates that the gods of many different civilizations were worshipped, reflecting Cyprus' importance, both as a source of copper and as a crossroads in marine traffic.

Following the Hellenic pattern, the beginning of the first millennium BC saw the establishment of city states in Cyprus. From about 800 BC, increasing Phoenician influence is seen in Cyprus including the rededication of shrines to Astarte, the eastern equivalent of Aphrodite. The rise of the Assyrian Empire saw their influence dominant in Cyprus with Cypriot kings between 708 and 669 BC paying regular tribute. The 6th Century BC saw a brief period of Egyptian rule, followed by rule by the Persians under King Cyrus. Their harsh rule, however, led to a revolt by the Cypriot city states under the leadership of one Onesilos of Salamis. The revolt was not successful, however, and the Persians, allowed their allies, the Phoenicians, to place their kings on a number of the city states' thrones.

At the start of the 5th Century BC, Cyprus was fully embroiled in the struggle between the Athens led forces of Greece and the Persian Empire. Although the Greeks sent military expeditions to Cyprus and achieved some victories, the distance involved prevented those victories becoming permanent. When Alexander the Great burst on the scene Cyprus became part of his Empire but following his death in 323 BC Cyprus became the battleground of his successors. The eventual outcome was victory in Cyprus for Ptolemy, leading to Cyprus for the next two and a half centuries, becoming a province of Ptolemaic Egypt.

The growing strength of Rome incorporated Cyprus into its empire in 58 BC, although the island was to briefly revert back to Egyptian rule twice in the following 25 years. It was during the Roman Era that Christianity came to Cyprus, being evangelised by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, the latter being a native of Salamis. Barnabas is believed to have been martyred in the major Jewish rebellion that swept across the Middle East, and resulted in a decree expelling all the Jews from Cyprus. In 284 the Roman Empire was split into two portions; Cyprus was placed in the eastern portion and the island was administered from Antioch in Syria. Christianity continued to flourish in Cyprus, being eventually recognised as the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine in 323.

Cyprus was now part of the Byzantine Empire, centred upon Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, and its Church was to become part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The rise of Islam in the 7th Century brought sea raiders from the Arab Caliphate who occupied parts of the island. An Arab-Byzantium treaty resulted in the demilitarisation of the island save for the naval bases of each side, the acceptance of Islamic settlers and taxes being paid in equal amount to the Caliphate and the Byzantine Emperor. This arrangement lasted some 300 years until ended by the Byzantine Emperor in 963, who expelled all Islamic colonists save for those who converted to Christianity.

Cyprus enjoyed a period of peace for the next two centuries under Byzantine rule until the schism between the Catholic and the Orthodox churches in 1054 fostered antagonism between East and West. Shortly afterwards the Seljuk Turks captured Jerusalem, causing the first crusade in 1095. Although that Crusade, which recaptured Jerusalem, and the second Crusade bypassed Cyprus the local Byzantine governor of Cyprus took advantage of the chaos to declare Cyprus independent of Byzantium in 1184.

In 1191, a small fleet carrying the sister and fiancée of Richard the Lion Heart anchored off Limassol. The ruler of Cyprus unsuccessfully attempted to capture the women as hostages and King Richard, on his way to the third crusade landed and defeated the local forces. Having no wish to hold Cyprus he sold it to the Knights Templar. The Knights imposed high taxes on Cyprus to recoup their investment causing the Cypriots to rebel. The Knights promptly returned Cyprus to King Richard who swiftly resold it to Guy de Lusignan, the last King of Jerusalem who had fled that city following its capture by Saladin in 1187. Thereafter the Lusignan dynasty styled themselves Kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem.

Under the Lusignans Cyprus acquired wealth far out of proportion to its size. A papal edict banned direct trade between the Christian and Islamic worlds and Famagusta became the centre of East-West trade and prospered. The rulers were, of course, Catholics while that of the majority of their subjects stayed true to the Orthodox faith, the Orthodox bishops being made subordinate to the Catholic hierarchy. The wealth of Cyprus caused rivalry between the two great Mediterranean sea powers of the day, Genoa and Venice with Venice emerging the winner, ruling Cyprus through a military governor from 1473. This rivalry took place against a growing Ottoman threat which was recognised by the Venetians who rebuilt the fortifications of Kyrenia, Nicosia and Famagusta, much of which can be seen today.

With all the near coasts in Ottoman hands it was inevitable that Cyprus would also fall, the final citadel, Famagusta, surrendering in 1571. Ironically, in the light of modern developments, the arrival of Ottoman Turkish rule and the expulsion of the Catholic ruling class improved the lot of the Orthodox Church, its head being officially recognised as leader of the Christian population. There was more than religious tolerance to this, however, as the Ottomans also involved the Church in the Empire's administrative apparatus, clerics acting as tax gatherers and officials. Nominally under transient Turkish governors, the Orthodox Church in effect ran the island while Cyprus stagnated as a backwater of the Ottoman Empire punctuated by occasional revolts against excessive taxation.

From the middle of the 19th Century Britain became concerned at Russian expansionism and repeatedly found itself having to support the weak Ottoman Empire in order to exclude Russia from the Mediterranean. This support was recognised by the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1878 wherein the Ottomans ceded occupation and administrative rights in Cyprus to Britain' though not sovereignty – in return for British guarantees to protect the Ottoman Empire against Russian advances. Following Turkey's entry into World War I, opposing Britain, Britain formally annexed Cyprus although it did not officially become a British Crown Colony until 1925, following the Treaty of Lausanne between republican Turkey and the victorious allied powers.

Cyprus had not been immune to the rise of Pan-Hellenism and during British colonial rule segments of the Greek population increasingly demanded enosis, union with Greece which was opposed by the Turkish population. Thrown into this mix were British fears of renewed Russian expansionism, the hammer and sickle having replaced the imperial eagle. The result was the prolonged campaign by EOKA during the 1950s and the eventual independence of Cyprus on 16 August 1960 whereby Britain retained Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus and a complicated constitution, guaranteed by Britain, Greece and Turkey, attempted to weld the two Cypriot communities into an independent nation while safeguarding the rights of the Turkish minority.

The compromise constitution failed to satisfy extremists in either community and acts of violence continued culminating in an eruption of violence over the 1963 Christmas period. British troops from the Sovereign Base Areas, at the Cypriot president's request, helped quell the violence in Nicosia and barriers were set up to separate the two communities, which became known as The Green Line after a British officer's crayon mark on the map. In February 1964 a UN resolution set up UNIFCP (UN Forces in Cyprus) to monitor the cease fire that had been agreed, although violence continued with some 600 deaths in the six months following December 1963.

With the constitution effectively dead, sporadic violence continued over the next 10 years, with the two communities increasingly withdrawing into their own enclaves scattered across the island. In April 1967 Greece was taken over by a military junta. Becoming increasingly unpopular at home and seeking a diversion, in 1974 the Greek military regime sponsored a coup in Cyprus by EOKA-B, a resurrected EOKA. Backed by Greek military officers within the Cyprus National Guard, the coup initially succeeded, although the attempt to kill the Cypriot president was foiled when he was rescued and spirited out of the country by British forces. Five days after the coup, however, Turkey intervened as a guarantor power and landed troops by sea and air in order to protect the Turkish community. Fighting lasted a matter of days before the Turkish Army stopped, having overwhelmed the Greek and Greek Cypriot forces. Their final positions effectively partitioned the island into a Greek Republic in the South and a Turkish one in the North. In the following months mass exchanges of population took place under UN protection.

Since 1974 the Greek Republic in the South has been internationally recognised as the Cypriot Government, the government in the North being only recognised internationally by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Periodically the two sides talk but to date no agreement has been reached. With the EUs decision to admit the Republic of Cyprus there is added urgency to reach an agreement acceptable to both parties.