A History of Cyprus

Sir George Francis Hill (1867–1948), was perhaps best known as a numismatist, although his scholarly interests and accomplishments included a range of time periods and subjects. A classicist by training, Hill built his career at the British Museum's department of coins and medals. In his forty-three years there he produced volumes on coins of antiquity; Greek history and art; coins, heraldry, and iconography of medieval and Renaissance Italy; and treasure troves. In 1931 Hill became the Museum's director and principal librarian, the first archaeologist to hold this post. His four-volume History of Cyprus (1940–52) ranged from Cyprus's earliest years to the twentieth century, and became the standard text on the subject. It is a valuable resource for scholars of the country, of antiquity and of the Mediterranean world. Volume 4 (1571–1948) reviews Ottoman rule, and and evaluates the then contemporary British presence in Cyprus.

List of plates; Preface; Editor's foreword; Documents and publications referred to; Part I. The Ottoman Province: 1. The Ottoman organization; 2. Western relations in the seventeenth century; 3. Kapudan Pasha and Grand Vezir (1571–1785); 4. Ascendancy of Dragoman and Bishops (1785–1821); 5. Abortive reforms (1821–1856); 6. Last days of Turkish rule (1856–1878); 7. The British occupation (1878); 8. The church under the Turks (1571-1878); Part II. Cyprus under British Rule: 9. Status of the island; 10. Constitutional questions; 11. Finance: taxation; 12. Finance: the tribute; 13. Enosis; 14. The church under the British; 15. Antiquities; 16. Strategic considerations; Appendices; Index.

This in-depth history, published between 1940 and 1952, filled a void in scholarship on the Mediterranean. Each volume provides maps, photographs, and illustrations that complement the larger historical image of Cyprus that Hill presents. Together, his volumes explore and analyze a rich, complex, and at times controversial legacy.