[PIO] Release of publications of the Centre for Scientific Investigations

The Scientific Research Centre of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth announces the release of the following publications:

1.Theoharis Stavrides (ed.), Ottoman Documents from the Archives of the Venetian Consulate of Cyprus 1765-1797, Series: Texts and Studies in the History of Cyprus XCII, Nicosia 2023, Dimensions, 19 x 28 cm., ISBN 978-9963-0-8171-4, Printer, "Lychnia Printers Ltd," Price, €28.00.

This book, containing a total of 158 Ottoman documents, is part of the Archivio del Consolato Veneto a Cipro series, which is housed in the collection of the State Archives of Venice. It is the second volume of Ottoman documents in this series published by the CCI, the first one having been published in 2016. Each document is originally quoted in Turkish, but in Latin rather than Arabic characters, followed by a full English translation. In some cases notes in Italian follow the Ottoman documents and are also translated into English. In the volume, after listing the abstracts, an extensive introduction of about 80 pages is given, divided into three main sections, which refer to the relevant documents in the book but place the topics under discussion in a broader geographical and chronological context. The first discusses the institution of the Venetian consulate in Larnaca, with a chronological approach from 1588 when it was established until 1797, when the Venetian consulate in Larnaca ceased to exist due to the abolition of the Venetian state by Napoleon and its subsequent incorporation into the Austrian Empire. Also examined are the relations between the Venetian consulate and the local Ottoman authorities, as well as the activities of the Venetian representatives of the consulate in Limassol. Their presence there suggests the commercial importance of this city, which had the main port of Cyprus after that of Larnaca and where a new bourgeoisie was beginning to develop. In the second, the relationship between the Venetians and local society is discussed in detail, with emphasis on issues of taxation and inheritance and the functioning of the courts. It also describes Venetian perceptions of capitulations, i.e. the commercial privileges acquired by Venetians and other European consuls in Cyprus and elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire, usually in the form of lower tariffs. Another aspect of Venetian-Ottoman relations that is dealt with concerns Ottoman complaints about smuggling, crime and other related matters involving Venetian subjects and persons under Venetian protection, as well as various other matters such as the arrival and departure of Venetian ships, credit provided by the Venetians to borrowers and the services of Venetian physicians. The repair of Venetian ships at Famagusta, shipwrecks and the compensation that had to be paid in such cases to the owners of the ships and merchants for damage or loss of their goods, a very contentious issue in several such cases, is also discussed in this section. The third section discusses the administration of Cyprus, with emphasis on movements against the Ottoman authority by local agades and tax collectors. A list of all the documents with a summary of each document, a glossary of the main Ottoman terms appearing in the documents, a bibliography and an index are provided at the end of the papers. The whole publication is an important and useful contribution to the history of Cyprus during the period of Ottoman rule, especially since the Ottoman documents in the Venetian archives have not been studied and analysed to the same extent as their Italian counterparts.

2.Marina Tymviou (ed.), The Foundation of the Centre for Scientific Research: The Founders and its first Directors, volumes A and B. Series: Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research LXV, Nicosia 2023, Dimensions, 17 x 24 cm, ISBN:978-9963-0-8174-5, Publisher, RPM Lithographica Ltd, Price, €26,00.

This book presents the history of the Centre for Scientific Research, the oldest department of the Ministry of Education, which this year celebrates 60 years of existence since the "Law on the Centre for Scientific Research" was enacted in 1964 by the Hellenic Community Assembly. The volume contains articles by various authors on the founders and the first three directors of the SSC, thus covering the first 30 years or so of its history. The first part of the book recounts the work of the Hellenic Community Assembly in education and culture in the early years of Independence. It also presents the relevant legislation for the establishment of the CEC, as well as the minutes of various meetings of the Greek Community Assembly between 1960 and 1962, when all the preparatory work that resulted in the establishment of the CEC took place. It was decided from the outset that four departments would operate at the CEC: History, Archaeology, Ethnography-Laography and Linguistics. In the second part of the book, the contribution to the establishment and operation of the CEC by Konstantinos Spyridakis, the first Minister of Education of the Republic of Cyprus, and the people who subsequently ran the newly established institution is recounted. The first of them, Georgios Papacharalambous, took over the management of the CEC as director after his retirement as director of the Pancyprian Gymnasium, and it was during his time that the collection of folklore and linguistic material began, which was subsequently incorporated into the Folklore Archive of the CEC. It is also noted that he was among the founding members of the Society of Cypriot Studies. Theodoros Papadopoulos, as the first appointed Director of the CBC between 1964-1981, started the publishing programme of the CBC, focusing on Cyprus Studies, by integrating the publications of the CBC, The publishing activities of the Centre for Cyprus History were divided into three series, the 'Sources and Studies of Cyprus History', the 'Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research' and the 'Yearbook of the Centre for Scientific Research'. It was also during his time that the first permanent researchers of the Centre were appointed, while cooperation with external collaborators, both Cypriots and foreigners, for the implementation of long-term and specialised research projects began. With the retirement of Theodoros Papadopoulos in 1981, Kostas Kyrris took over the management of the JRC in 1982 for five years, during which time new members of the permanent research staff were appointed and the publishing work of the JRC continued. In addition to the articles, speeches and eulogies for Constantine Spyridakis and the first directors of the CEC, the book contains a wealth of photographic material, as well as two articles on Cypriot ecclesiastical manuscripts. Through this book, the history and work of the CEC is presented not only through time, but also with emphasis on the individuals who played a key role in the initial establishment and subsequent operation of an institution that to this day has a rich publishing output to show and provides a valuable service to the science of cyprology.

3.SvetlanaBliznyuk, The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Italian maritime republics 13th - 15th century, Series: Sources and Studies of Cyprus History XCIII, Nicosia 2023, Dimensions, 19x 28 cm, ISBN 978-9963-0-8172-1, Printing House, "LychniaPrintersLtd," Price, €21.00.

This book is a translation of the monograph of the same name published in Moscow in 2016. It focuses on the relations developed between the Lusignan kingdom in Cyprus, founded in 1192 as a result of the conquest of Cyprus by King Richard I of England and passed under Venetian rule in 1489, and Venice and Genoa, the most powerful Italian maritime republics in the Mediterranean. This work, divided into five chapters, takes a chronological approach to the whole subject, as its title suggests. In the description and analysis of the sources that preface the book, the author stresses not only the importance of Western and Byzantine sources but also that of Russian sources, especially Russian medieval chronicles, which as a Russian scholar she was able to make use of, without underestimating the usefulness of documents of various kinds for the study of almost all aspects of the economic and social history of medieval Cyprus. The first chapter describes and analyses the role played by the Cypriot kingdom in the Crusader movement from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth. It highlights the fact that during the reigns of kings Henry II (1285-1324), Hugh IV (1324-1359) and Peter I (1359-1369), Cyprus' contribution to the Crusader campaigns and the wars against the Muslims in general culminated, despite the loss in 1291 of the last western possessions in the Holy Land. This was largely due to the policies of these kings, who combined their participation in the Crusader movement with the promotion of Cypriot commercial interests. The decline of Cyprus' participation in the Crusader campaigns in the second half of the fourteenth century and in the fifteenth century, due to the defeats suffered by the Cypriot kingdom in the wars with Genoa (1373-1374) and with the Mamluks (1424-1426), resulting in its economic decline and military weakening, so that it could not take an active part in the western campaigns against the growing Ottoman power, are also described in detail. The second and third chapters of the book describe the relations between Cyprus and Genoa before the Genoese invasion of 1373, which resulted in the defeat of the Cypriot kingdom and the loss of Famagusta, the largest Cypriot port, as well as the history of Famagusta under Genoese rule, which lasted 90 years. This is the largest part of the book. In chapter four the author describes the relations between Venice and Cyprus, showing the ever-increasing economic and social penetration of the Venetians into the Cypriot kingdom, which ultimately resulted in the annexation of Cyprus to Venetian territory and its transformation into an economic colony and military outpost of Venice in the eastern Mediterranean. The final chapter of the book discusses Renaissance trends in the culture of the Cypriot kingdom and education in Cyprus from the 13th to the 16th centuries, with an emphasis on the influence of the Venetians towards the end of this period, since several Cypriots studied at the University of Padua, a city that came under Venetian rule in 1405, while Renaissance poetry arrived in Cyprus and influenced domestic literature during the period of Venetian rule. The book is embellished at the end with a series of maps, colour and black and white photographs, making it a pioneering contribution to the study of the Cypriot Middle Ages.

4. Kalliopi Protopapa, Reprint of Customs of traditional marriage in Cyprus, Series: Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research XLV, Nicosia 2005, Dimensions, 17 x 24 cm, ISBN:9963-0-8090-1, Publisher, "S.LEIVADIOS LTD", Price, €26,00.

The present edition is a reprint of the first edition of 2005, which was awarded a prize by the Academy of Athens. The publication uses material from many testimonies of people from all over Cyprus, included in the Folklore Archive [1960-1970] and the Centre's Oral Tradition Archive [1990-2008].

Volume A includes material from premarriage to marriage and Volume B from marriage to anti-marriage. The proxenia follow the speeches and mappings, which took place either at home or in the church, when they exchanged the marks - handkerchiefs. The dowry was necessary. The woman provided the clothing and household utensils. For real estate, different customs prevailed from region to region. In the first group, mainly in the lowlands, the man gave the real estate, livestock and agricultural tools. In the second group, the woman gives the real estate because the man is absent from the house, either because he is a craftsman moving from village to village or because he sells his products in different villages. In the mixed system both families share the same burden equally.

Before the wedding they have to wash the hair for the bed and the bride's dowry by holding a wedding cloth in front of the procession. They would also bake breads for the wedding tables, offerings for the church or special buns for the wedding call, which was done in various ways. At the same time, they would decorate the paste or manasha in the room where the husband and wife would sit. The cross and the black snake - the patron saint of the house - were the basic elements of the passover. All phases of the wedding were accompanied by music. In the first phase the violinist gives the command for each action, while in the second phase his role is advisory. Crowns used to be made either with olive branches or vines. An important old custom was to go with the priest and violins, salute the olive tree and after dancing around the tree, cut branches for the wreaths. The dressing and girding of the bride and groom is a whole ritual. This was a way of declaring the end of the virginal life. Isaiah's dance continues a pre-Christian tradition, when the bride was turned three times around the hearth of the house and fruits and small coins were thrown to them. At various stages, wine was poured from a collodion decorated with a decorated bun. In some areas they took to the church two cloths with the wine and pretzels to treat the people after the sacrament. When the newlyweds passed by, the housewives would go out into the street, smoke them and roast them with merrecha.

Many customs are connected with the entry of the newlyweds into their house. Interesting customs on the Monday of the wedding, when they masquerade for a laugh. The dances have a ritual or symbolic character. The custom of the apple tree in the province of Kyrenia is important. The book is complemented by an Appendix with informants and researchers, glossary and bibliography

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