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الفتح العثماني لقبرص

الفتح العثماني لقبرص

c. August 1571 CE · Rabi' II 979 AH

Cyprus

The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, 1570–71 — a hundred thousand men reduced Famagusta by famine after every siege engine failed; the island surrendered Rabi' II 979/August 1571, Anatolian settlers followed, and the Orthodox welcomed the end of Venetian Catholic persecution 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Gunpowder Empires
Region
Anatolia
Review
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In time

156015701580 c.
The Gunpowder Empires

Overview

al-Sallabi says that the Ottomans landed on Cyprus with an overwhelming force and advanced into the island without difficulty. The fortified Famagusta resisted them until it surrendered in Rabi' al-Akhir 979 AH (August 1571 CE). 1

The siege

The Ottoman force reached a hundred thousand fighters, and they used the known means of siege, from sapping to laying mines, and these had no effect on the garrison. al-Sallabi holds that hunger was what settled the matter. 1

After the conquest

The Ottoman state moved a large number of the people of Anatolia to the island, and their descendants are still there. al-Sallabi says that the Orthodox Cypriots welcomed the Ottoman rule, which, in his description, saved them from the Catholic persecution practised by Venice. 1

Connections

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Occurred at
Cyprus

People and things also explored

The First Raid on Cyprus· The Second Raid on Cyprus· Cyprus

Sources

  1. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001), p. 279-280
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “الفتح العثماني لقبرص”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/conquest-of-cyprus-979/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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The First Raid on Cyprus

In al-Baladhuri from al-Waqidi and others: Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan led the first sea raid on Cyprus — the Muslims had never before sailed the Byzantine sea; he had asked Umar's leave to raid by sea and was refused, and when Uthman took office he wrote asking leave for Cyprus, noting its nearness and ease; Uthman wrote back 'you witnessed what Umar replied when you consulted him about the sea', and when year 27 opened Mu'awiya again made light of the crossing, so Uthman wrote 'if you sail, take your wife with you — else do not'; he sailed from Acre with many vessels, carrying his wife Fakhita bint Qaraza the Qurashite, and Ubada ibn al-Samit carried his wife Umm Haram bint Milhan the Ansari — in year 28; when they reached its shore — an island some eighty farsakhs square, it is said — its archon sent seeking terms, its people consenting, and he compounded with them for seven thousand two hundred dinars paid yearly, while the Byzantines compounded with them for the like — so they pay two tributes — stipulating that the Muslims not bar them paying the Byzantines, and the Muslims stipulating that they not be made to fight those who came from beyond them and that they warn the Muslims of Byzantine movements; so when the Muslims sailed they did not trouble them, and Cyprus's people neither aided them nor fought them; on this raid went Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Abu al-Darda', Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Ubada ibn al-Samit, Fadala ibn Ubayd al-Ansari, Umayr ibn Sa'd al-Ansari, Wathila ibn al-Asqa', Abdullah ibn Bishr al-Mazini, Shaddad ibn Aws ibn Thabit — nephew of Hassan ibn Thabit — al-Miqdad, Ka'b al-Ahbar and Jubayr ibn Nufayr al-Hadrami; Umm Haram left the ship and was brought a mount which stumbled and killed her — her grave in Cyprus is called the grave of the righteous woman; Mu'awiya afterwards compounded with them a lasting peace at seven thousand dinars, upon good counsel to the Muslims and warning them of their Byzantine enemy.