House of Ibelin
The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most important families in the kingdom, holding various high offices and with extensive holdings in the Holy Land and Cyprus; the family disappeared after the fall of the Kingdom of Cyprus in the 15th century. The family took their name from the castle of Ibelin, built in 1141 by King Fulk I and entrusted to Barisan, the founder of the family. Ibelin was the crusader's name for the Arab city of Yibna; the castle fell to the Saracens at the end of the 12th century, but by the family had holdings at Beirut and in Cyprus. The Ibelin family rose from humble origins to become one of the most important noble families in the Crusader states of Jerusalem and Cyprus; the family claimed to be descended from the Le Puiset viscounts of Chartres, but this appears to be a fabrication. They were more from Pisa, the name'Barisan' being found in Tuscany and Liguria related to the Azzopardi family.
Its first known member, Barisan of Ibelin, was a knight in service of the Count of Jaffa and in the 1110s became constable of Jaffa. As reward for his capable and loyal service, around 1122 he married Helvis, heiress of the nearby lordship of Ramla. Barisan was given the castle of Ibelin in 1141 by King Fulk as a reward for his loyalty during the revolt of his master Hugh II of Le Puiset, Count of Jaffa, in 1134. Ibelin was part of the County of Jaffa, annexed to the royal domain after Hugh's unsuccessful revolt. Barisan's marriage with Helvis produced Hugh, Barisan and Stephanie; the younger Barisan came to be known as Balian. Along with Ibelin, the family held Ramla, the youngest son Balian received the lordship of Nablus when he married Maria Comnena, the Dowager Queen. Balian was the last to hold these territories as they all fell to Saladin in 1187; the family underwent a remarkable rise in status in only two generations. In the circumstances of the crusader kingdom, this rapid rise, noblesse nouvelle, was not as difficult as it would have been in Europe.
In crusader Palestine and whole families tended to die much sooner and replacements, sang nouveau, were needed. Balian's descendants were among the most powerful nobles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus. Balian's first son John of Ibelin, the "Old Lord of Beirut", was the leader of the opposition to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, when the emperor tried to impose imperial authority over the crusader states; the family regained control of the castle of Ibelin in 1241 in the aftermath of Frederick's Sixth Crusade, when certain territories were returned to the Christians by treaty. John had numerous children including Balian, lord of Beirut; this Balian was married to Eschiva of Montbéliard and was the father of John II of Beirut, who married the daughter of Guy I of la Roche, duke of Athens. John of Arsuf was the father of Balian of Arsuf. Guy the constable was the father of Isabella. Balian of Ibelin's second son Philip was regent of Cyprus while his niece, the widowed Queen Alice, needed help to govern.
With Alice of Montbéliard, Philip was the father of John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa and Ascalon, regent of Jerusalem, author of the Assizes of the Haute Cour of Jerusalem, the most important legal document from the crusader kingdom. John married Maria, sister of Hethum I of Armenia, was the father of James, count of Jaffa and Ascalon and a noted jurist. Several members of the family went to the new kingdom of Cyprus at the beginning of the 13th century. Most of the rest moved there. No members of the Ibelin family seem to have gone to any other country during this period. At this time, some of the Embriaco lords of Gibelet, relatives of the Ibelins took the name of "Ibelin" because of their common maternal descent. Despite the family's modest origins on the paternal side, the Ibelins during the 13th–15th centuries were among the highest nobility in the Kingdom of Cyprus, producing brides for younger sons and brothers of kings. Ibelins lived among the highest circles of Cyprus, married into the royal family, the Lusignans, among such families as Montfort, ducal Brunswick and Gibelet.
They married into other branches of Ibelins. They had loftier ancestors: Maria Comnena was from the Byzantine imperial Comnenus dynasty, was descended from the kings of Georgia, ancient Armenia, Parthia and Syria; when the Kingdom of Cyprus was destroyed in the 15th century, the Ibelins also lost their lands and positions, the family became extinct — the sources, at least, no longer mention them. Descendants of the Ibelins, through the royal Lusignans, include several royal families of modern Europe, since their descendant Anne, Duchess of Savoy, daughter of Janus of Cyprus, for example, the ancestor of the Dukes of Savoy, the La Tremoille princes of Talmond and Taranto, the Longueville family, the princes of Monaco, the electors of Bavaria, the Farnese of Parma, the last Valois kings of France, the Dukes of Lorraine, the Habsburg-Lorraines, the Bourbons of Navarre and France, and, as their progeny all Catholic royalty in recent centuries. Barisan of Ibelin Hugh o
Akapnou
Akapnou is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus, located 3 kilometres east of Eptagoneia. As of 2011, it had a population of 20
Agios Georgios, Limassol
Agios Georgios is a village located in the Limassol District of Cyprus 20 km north of Limassol
Agros, Cyprus
Agros is a village built on the Troödos Mountains, in the region of Pitsilia, in southwest Cyprus, which has built amphitheatrically among high mountains at an altitude of 1100 metres with a population of 1,000. Agros is one of the most interesting villages of the Pitsilia area; the village is located 45 minutes away from the cities of Nicosia and Limassol, 20 minutes from Troödos Square and 80 minutes from the international airports of Larnaca and Paphos. The village of Agros was named after the Monastery of Megalos Agros, built at the spot where the Church of Panayia of Agros is found today. According to tradition 40 monks from Cyzicus of Asia Minor, during the era of Byzantine Iconoclasm abandoned the Monastery of Megalos Agros and arrived in Cyprus carrying the icon of the Holy Mother, they ended up at the area, stayed for a certain period in a cave. They built a new monastery naming it Monastery of Megalos Agros after the name of monastery they left in Minor Asia. In 1692 A. C. death virus spread all over the island causing death to ⅔ of the population.
The survivors moved close to the monastery. So a new village was formed with the name of Agros. In 1894 the monastery was ruined leaving the village a great historical inheritance; the village of Agros was always present to all national fights. The patriotism and strength of the people of Agros were recorded on the pages of the Greek and Cypriot history. Following there is a report on the contribution of the people of Agros to the national fights based on a relevant chapter of the book “Agros, I Eptalofi tis Pitsilias”*. After the tragic events of the 9th of July 1821, the Exarch of the Metropolis of Kiti sought shelter in Agros. In particular, he undertook the managing of the property of the Monastery of Agros. On, the exarch decides to seek shelter in the Monastery of Kykkos, but the Turks search for him at the Monastery of Agros; when the latter find the Monastery closed, they take it out on the tax collector of Agros, Constantinos Kemitzis, who chose not to testify of having known about the exarch.
The Turks, according to Hadjipetris, “crumpled the tax collector in a large chair and threw him down a deep and steep cliff where he was tragically killed”. What was sad is the fact that when the exarch returned to the village, not only did he behave like a tyrant, but he would embezzle the Monastery’s incomes. According to the research of Petros Papapolyviou, cited in the book of Hadjipetris, three men from Agros were volunteers in the Greek-Turkish war. Our evidence is insufficient regarding the participation of the people of Agros in the Balkan Wars. However, we do know that some people from Agros participated in the Balkan wars and in World War I. Additionally, the people of Agros contributed to the wars financially. In particular, according to the data of Papapolyviou’s research, the contribution of Agros was 7 pounds and 13 cents; as we have mentioned, the people of Agros who participated in World War I were the same fourteen who had fought in the Balkan wars. However, it is believed that there had been more people from Agros who took part expatriates who lived in Nicosia, Lemesos or abroad.
Most of them served as mule drivers. The people of Agros who participated in the Balkan wars, as well as in World War II were: Philippos Gregorides Petros Kitromilides Augoustis Savvas Lefteris Kyriakos Konstanti Kalimeras Savvas Avloitos Aristodemos Constantinou Cleanthis Mappourides Sophronis Grousos Cleanthis Savva Sophocles Michaelides Savvas Hadjisavvas Loukaides Kyriacos Sophocles Koufides Neoclis Shipillis On March 25, 1921, the priests, Land Committee and School Committee signed the Unification Referendum because, in the meantime, they had become public servants; the main demand of the referendums was the Unification of Cyprus with Greece. The imposition of custom duties by the British government, in combination with its denial to satisfy the motion for unification and the difficult financial conditions of that period on the island, constituted the basic causes for the Cypriots’ uprising in October 1931. During the uprising, protesters burned down the Government-house and the English responded with shootings.
The first victim of the shootings was Onoufrios Clerides, aged 17, from Agios Theodoros of Agros. Clerides originated from the village, from the family of Nearchos Clerides; the participation of Agros in World War II was massive. Among the people of Agros who participated were Glafkos Clerides, former president of the Republic of Cyprus, Andreas N. Tzionis; the former served as a flight-sergeant in the British Air-force, whereas the latter in the U. S. Army. Moreover, as Hadjipetris remarks, “the father of the former President Mr Ioannis Clerides, his brother Xanthos, as well as the children of Nearchos Clerides and Phoebos Clerides fought in World War II”. Additionally, the following men served in WWII: K. Leonida Varnavas Savvas Stelios Kalli Andreas Athanasi Herodotos Tsaggarides Iacovos Leonida Pheidias Petrou Panayiotis Theodotou Andreas Athanasi Christophoros Zevedaiou Costis Clerides Thrasyvoulos Lemoniatis Andreas Stylianou Stelios Spyrides Christophoros Tillyros Pelopidas Polykarpou Philippos Lemoniatis Georgios Athanasiou Costis Makilas Kitsios N. Tzionis Thomas Theophanous Costis Apeitos Petros Hadjiyiannis Pericles Hadjiyiannis Panayiotis Kattos Andreas Vakanas Athanasis Pissari Georgios Athanasi Melis Stylianides Petros Mathaiou Kyriakos Sophocleous Andreas Agathaggelou K. Leonidas was killed in battle, Varnavas Savva and Stelios Kalli were wounded.
The grave of K. Leonidas i
Agios Ioannis, Limassol
Agios Ioannis is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus, located around 30 km north of Limassol
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world; the Irish Sea lies between Great Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world, it is the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017. The UK is constitutional monarchy; the current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the longest-serving current head of state.
The United Kingdom's capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. Other major urban areas in the UK include Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire conurbations, Greater Glasgow and the Liverpool Built-up Area; the United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh and Belfast, respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers, but such power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution; the nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. The medieval conquest and subsequent annexation of Wales by the Kingdom of England, followed by the union between England and Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are fourteen British Overseas Territories, the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed a quarter of the world's land mass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language and political systems of many of its former colonies; the United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It has a high-income economy and has a high Human Development Index rating, ranking 14th in the world, it was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The UK remains a great power, with considerable economic, military and political influence internationally, it is sixth in military expenditure in the world. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.
It has been a leading member state of the European Union and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization; the 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has been used as a description for the former kingdom of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was "Great Britain"; the Acts of Union 1800 united the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, Scotland and Northern Ireland are widely referred to as countries. The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom; some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom refer to Scotland and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice revealing one's political preferences"; the term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England and Wales in combination. However, it is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole; the term "Britain" is used both as a synonym for Great Britain, as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed, with the BBC preferring to use Britain as shorthand only for Great Britain and the UK Government, while accepting that both terms refer to the United K
Amiantos
Amiantos is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus, located 9 km south-west of Kyperounta. Pano Amiantos is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus, located 7 km southwest of Kyperounta; the village was the site of a large asbestos mine. When the mine closed the enormous workings were left as a blot on the landscape of the Troodos. There is now a project under way for the replanting of the workings which should restore the landscape to its former beauty, if not its former shape
Cyprus
United Kingdom
Argos, Greece
