English is widely used. Cyprus has a well-developed system of primary and secondary education. Cypriots traditionally have received higher education at Greek, Turkish, or British universities. Growing numbers also are being educated in the United States. Separate institutions of higher education on the island have been developed by both the Turkish and Greek communities.
Cypriot culture is among the oldest in the Mediterranean.
By BC 3700, the island was well inhabited, a crossroads between East and West. The island fell successively under Assyrian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Roman domination. For 800 years, beginning in 364 AD, Cyprus was ruled by Byzantium. After brief possession by Richard the Lion-Hearted, the island came under Frankish control in the late 12th century. It was ceded to the Venetian Republic in 1489 and acquired by the Ottoman Turks in 1571.