Greece-Percy W. Abeyratne (Vice-Consul). Italy-Marquis S. Lepri (Consul de Carrière). Latvia-R. F. S. de Mel (L.), R. H. de Mel (acting). shewn that in the Second Millenium B.C. it must have been an important centre of Aegean civilization. Greek and Phoenician colonies were established at an early date, and from the fusion of foreign and indigenous elements arose a series of quasi independent kingdoms; these were the basis of the political life of the Island under the successive rulers Norway-E. B. Creasy (Colombo), G. Ross-Bell down to Roman times. In the 6th century B.C. it (Vice-Consul) (Galle). Panama-American Consul in charge. Poland J. C. J. van Sanden (Vice-Consul). Siam W. G. Beauchamp. Turkey-Netherlands Consul at Colombo in charge. Maldive Islands-H. I. Husein Hilmy Didi Effendi. (Maldivian Government Representative). CYPRUS. Situation and Topography. The Island of Cyprus is situated in the easternmost basin of the Mediterranean Sea, with Asia Minor to the north and Syria to the east, at distances of 60 and 41 miles respectively. It lies between 34° 33' and 35° 41′ N. latitude, and between 32° 20′ and 34° 35′ E. longitude. Famagusta, with a harbour able to accommodate vessels up to 23 ft. draught, is 295 miles from Egypt, while the port of Larnaca on the southern coast is 258 miles from Port Said, and 1,117 miles from Valletta in Malta. Its area is 3,572 square miles, equal to Kent, Sussex, and Middlesex combined. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, being only exceeded in size by Sicily and Sardinia. Its greatest length from west-south-west to east-north-east, between Cape Drepano and Cape St. Andrea, is about 140 miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south is about 60 miles. The main topographical features of the island are the northern and southern mountain chains, and the great plain of the Mesaoria extending between them across the island from the Bay of Morphou to that of Famagusta. The northern range, called the Carpas Mountains, and, towards their western extremity, the Kyrenia Mountains, forms a continuous chain near the northern shore from Cape St. Andrea to Cape Kormakiti, a distance of about 100 miles. The southern range, which is the more extensive and lofty of the two, occupies the western and southwestern portions of the island, and trending thence eastwards along the south coast, terminates in the isolated peak called Santa Croce (or Stavrovouni), about 12 miles west of Larnaca. The highest summit of this range is Mount Troodos, 6,406 feet above the sea level, and on its south-eastern slopes are the summer quarters of the garrison, of the Governor, and some of the principal officials. The rivers of Cyprus are nearly all mountain torrents, dry in summer. None are navigable. The principal are the Pedias and the Yalias. History and Archæology. The history of Cyprus is too long and eventful to be related here except in the briefest outline. Recent excavations have carried knowledge of prehistoric Cyprus back to the Neolithic Age, when the Island was already widely populated, and have passed under the rule of Egypt, but in 525 B.C. it joined Cambyses in his war against the Egyptians and so was absorbed in the Persian Empire. The whole island, with the exception of the Phoenician town of Amathos, took part in the Ionian revolt in 502 B.C., but the Persians recovered possession in about a year and at the battle of Salamis the fleet of Xerxes included 150 Cypriote ships. At the end of the 5th century the famous Evagoras of Salamis established his supremacy over the whole island and raised it for a brief period to a position of practical independence, but after his death it again came under the control of Persia. After the battle of the Issus, Cyprus hastened to join Alexander the Great and sent 120 ships to assist him in the siege of Tyre. At the division of Alexander's Empire, the possession of Cyprus was disputed by Syria and Egypt, but it eventually passed to the latter. In 58 B.C. it became a Roman province and was for a time joined to Cilicia, during which period it was administered by Cicero. Presented by Antony to Cleopatra, it reverted to Rome on her death, and remained a Roman province until the division of the Empire, when it was assigned to the Eastern Emperor. Its proximity to Syria exposed it to the assaults of the Saracens, and it changed hands more than It once between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D. was finally recovered for Byzantium by Nicephorus Phocas in 965, and remained attached to the Eastern Empire until 1184. In that year its Governor, Isaac Comnenus, revolted and declared himself Emperor of Cyprus. Isaac maintained his independence until 1191, when Cyprus was conquered by Richard I. of England in revenge for the ill-treatment of the crews of some English ships which had been wrecked on the island. Richard sold the island first to the Order of the Temple and later, when the Templars found the task of government beyond their powers, to Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem. Cyprus was ruled by the Lusignan dynasty from 1192 until 1489, but during that period the Genoese Republic exercised suzerainty over part of the kingdom, from 1373 until 1464, by holding possession of the principal port of Famagusta. From 1489 until 1571 Cyprus belonged to the Republic of Venice. In the latter year the Turks conquered the island, and retained possession of it until its cession to England in 1878 for administrative purposes. On the outbreak of war with Turkey in 1914 the island was annexed to the British Crown by Order in Council of the 5th of November, 1914. By Article 20 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey signed at Lausanne on 24th July, 1923, Turkey recognised the annexation. a On the 1st of May, 1925, by Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, the island was formally elevated to the status of a Colony and the High Commissioner assumed the title of Governor. Historical Monuments and Museums. Neolithic, Bronze Age, Phoenician, Hellenic, and Roman antiquities have been found in immense quantities all over Cyprus from time immemorial, and scientific explorations on a large scale have been conducted in recent years by Swedish and American Expeditions, and, on a smaller scale, by the Antiquities Department. But it is more the ambition |