Le Cose del Regno di Cipro

An important manuscript containing information on the island of Cyprus just before the Turkish conquest. The ownership inscription indicates that the original manuscript was purchased in Aleppo from the son of the Bey who had acquired it during the Turkish conquest of Cyprus in 1570. The attribution to Georgios Boustronios is incorrect, since Boustronios died in the early 16th century. However, the text itself seems to be an abridgement of Florio Boustronios’s chronicle of Cyprus, which begins with the ancient history of the island, continues with a description of the reigns of Evagoras and Nikoklis, ending with the abdication of Caterina Cornaro in 1489, with a final brief paragraph on the Venetian administration of the island. The manuscript itself contains no corrections and may be a copy of an earlier text.

The Ioannou manuscript is of particular value for the details it provides on the Venetian administration from 1489 to 1570. This includes an account of the civil and religious divisions of the island, how the various villages (Casali) on the island were administered, with details of each village, its population, and the productions of each. The feudal baronies are listed, all 235 of them, with the profit of each barony. On the verso of leaf 25, the profit of the barony of the 'Real Camera' is dated to 1562. In addition, all the monasteries on the island are listed, together with the number of monks and priests.

[Begins:] Dovendo adonche eccelentissimo S. mio trattar le cose del Regno di Cipro mi

pareria superfluo farne mentione di quelle cose che particolarmente sono state trattate per gli antichi auttori inanti l’advenimento de Christo imperoche et del sito et grandezza del isola delle terre antiche maritime et mediteranee de nove Re dalli quali fu retta un tempo...