Cypryjska Ziemia Obiecana. Plany stworzenia żydowskiego państwa na Cyprze (XVI wiek)

Łukasz Burkiewicz

doi:10.56583/sz.1273

Published : 2022-12-31

Vol. 12 (2022)

The Cypriot Promised Land. Plans of Creating a Jewish State in Cyprus (16th Century)

Łukasz Burkiewicz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56583/sz.1273

Abstract

Jews appeared in Cyprus as early as in the Ptolemaic period (4th century BC). Later, with Rome’s support of the Jewish migration to the island, they became a substantial minority in Cyprus, especially during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Jews took such a liking to the cosmopolitan nature of the island that in the 16th century they started formulating far-reaching plans to make the island a Jewish state. These plans coincided with the persecution of Jews that swept through Western Europe from the late 15th century onward (especially in Spain, Portugal, and Italy). The author of the plans to create an enclave for the Jewish community in Cyprus was a Portuguese banker Joseph Miques or Nasi (1524–1579), commonly known as the Great Jew. In order to carry out his plans, he convinced the Ottoman Sultan Selim II to seize Cyprus, which had belonged to the Republic of Venice since 1489. At that time Jews actively supported the Turks in their campaign against the Venetians. The Ottomans captured Famagusta in 1571 and were welcomed by Jews as liberators from the Venetians, even though at that time nothing remained of the plans to create a Jewish state on the island. The story of these plans is not only a fascinating, albeit little-known, episode in Jewish history but also an interesting example of the rivalry between the Turks and the Republic of Venice in the early modern period.

Keywords:

Cyprus, Jews, Joseph Nasi, Ottoman Empire, Venice

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Burkiewicz, Łukasz. (2022). The Cypriot Promised Land. Plans of Creating a Jewish State in Cyprus (16th Century). Jewish Studies. Almanac, 12, 11–26. https://doi.org/10.56583/sz.1273

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