Editing Cyprus in the Middle Ages (section)

==Arab conquest and Arab–Byzantine condominium==
In 649 AD the [[Arabs]] made the first attack on the island under the leadership of [[Muawiyah I]]. They conquered the capital Salamis - Constantia after a brief siege, but drafted a treaty with the local rulers. In the course of this expedition a relative of [[Muhammad]], Umm-Haram, fell from her mule near the Salt Lake at [[Larnaca]] and was killed. She was buried at that spot and the [[Hala Sultan Tekke]] was built there in [[Ottoman Cyprus|Ottoman times]].<ref>Nadvi (2000), pg. 522</ref> Under [[Abu'l-Awar]], the Arabs returned in 650 and installed a garrison of 12,000 on part of the island, where they remained until 680.

[[File:Atlas Van der Hagen-KW1049B13 007-CYPRVS INSVLA.jpeg|thumb|The middle age depiction of Cyprus island, where 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit under Mu'awiya conquered]]
After [[Uthman ibn al-Affan]] became caliph after Umar's death, Mu'awiya requested that the caliph allow him to build a navy to attack Cyprus, as Mu'awiya reasoned that Cyprus had become a satellite island of Byzantine forces which could threaten the caliphate on the western banks of Palestine.<ref name="[[Ali al-Sallabi|Ali Sallabi]]" /> 'Ubadah, along with veteran companions of Muhammad such as Miqdad Ibn al-Aswad, [[Abu Dharr al-Ghifari|Abu Dhar GhiFari]], [[Shadad ibn Aus|Shadaad ibn Aws]], Khalid bin Zayd al-Ansari, and [[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari]], all participated in building the caliphate's first Naval armada, led by Mu'awiya.<ref name="Legenda 4 Umara">{{cite book |last1=Indra |first1=Gunawan |title=Legenda 4 Umara Besar |publisher=Elex Media Komputindo |isbn=978-602-02-3477-9 |page=280 |date=2014-03-13 }}</ref><ref name="Ibn Hajjar, Tahdhib, V, III ff">{{cite book |last1=Rex |first1=Smith |title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 14: The Conquest of Iran A.D. 641-643/A.H. 21-23 |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-4384-2039-4 |page=164 |publisher=State University of New York Press }}</ref> Before he joined Mu'awiya's project to build first naval forces of the caliphate, 'Ubadah joined forces with Muslim general, [[Abdallah ibn Qais|Abd Allah ibn Qays]]. Together with Mu'awiya, they built the first caliphate armada with permission from ibn al-Affan. Abu Dharr mentioned that Miqdad ibn Amr al-Aswad participated in this project.<ref name="Humphrey">{{cite book |last1=Humphrey |first1=R. Stephen |author2=Muhammad Tabari |editor1-last=Humphrey |editor1-first=Stephen |title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 15: The Crisis of the Early Caliphate: The Reign of 'Uthman A.D. 644-656/A.H. 24-35 |publisher=SUNY press |isbn=978-0-7914-0154-5 |page=285 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oALIyvjV0fEC&pg=PA25|date=January 1990 }}</ref> Shortly later, Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah departed from [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and headed to [[Cyprus]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |author=Al Ghazali |title=Muawiyah – Sebuah Biografi Awal |date=2015 |publisher=PTS Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd |isbn=978-967-411-446-6 |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uT_DCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT65 |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> According to [[al-Baladhuri]] and [[Khalifa ibn Khayyat]], Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah led the attack and were accompanied by their wives Katwa bint Qaraza ibn Abd Amr of the Qurayshite [[Banu Nawfal]] and Umm Haram.<ref name="Sahih al-Bukhari 2788">[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]: [https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2788 2788]</ref> Umm Haram died in an accident during the campaign.<ref name="[[Ali al-Sallabi|Ali Sallabi]]" /> The Muslim forces accepted Cyprus' surrender under the condition that they refrain from hostility to the Muslims, inform the caliphate of any Byzantine movements, pay 7,200 dinars annually for ''Jizya'', and never reveal information to outsiders regarding the caliphate's military operations.<ref name="[[Ali al-Sallabi|Ali Sallabi]]" />

Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah forces pacified almost every Byzantine garrison. This is evidenced by two Greek inscriptions in the Cypriot village of Solois that note those two offensives.{{sfn|Lynch|2016|p=539}} The entire island of Cyprus surrendered after their capital, [[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]], was surrounded and besieged.<ref name="[[Ali al-Sallabi|Ali Sallabi]]" /> At least 50 military operations occurred in Cyprus between this first campaign in 648 until the last one in 650.<ref name="[[Ali al-Sallabi|Ali Sallabi]]">{{cite book |last1=Sallabi |first1=Ali Muhammad |title=Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan |date=2007 |publisher=مكتبة العصيرية |isbn=978-9953-34-717-2 |page=654 |edition=original |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0YDzQEACAAJ |access-date=3 February 2020|author1-link=Ali al-Sallabi }}</ref>

In 688, the emperor [[Justinian II]] and the [[caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] reached an unprecedented agreement. The Arabs evacuated the island, and for the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the [[Caliphate]] and the Byzantines as a [[condominium (international law)|condominium]], despite the [[Byzantine–Arab Wars|nearly constant warfare]] between the two parties on the mainland. The collected taxes were divided among the Arabs and the emperor.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Zavagno |first=L. |date=2013 |title=Two hegemonies, one island: Cyprus as a "Middle Ground" between the Byzantines and the Arabs (650–850 A.D.) |journal=Reti Medievali Rivista |url= https://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist243/winter_2017/resources/Two%20hegemonies,%20one%20island.pdf}}</ref>

Under [[Basil I the Macedonian]] (r. 867–886) Byzantine troops recaptured Cyprus, which was established as a [[Theme (Byzantine district)|theme]], but after seven years the island reverted to the previous [[status quo]]. Once again, in 911, the Cypriots helped a Byzantine fleet under admiral [[Himerios (admiral)|Himerios]], and in retaliation the Arabs under [[Damian of Tarsus]] ravaged the island for four months and carried off many captives. The isolation of Cyprus from the rest of the Greek-speaking world assisted the formation of a separate [[Cypriot Greek|Cypriot dialect]]. This period of Arab influence lasted until the 10th century.