Our Origins

A widely debated topic surrounding the people of Lurucina are the ancestorial roots. Some have made claims that they were Christian Greeks who converted to save tax, whilst others believe they were Venetians who converted to save themselves from discrimination from both Greeks and Turks. Additional claims suggested origins from Ottoman Turks. Despite all claims, there has been no historical evidence to back them up. The claims produced though sound plausible are often curated on wishful thinking, political ideology and sometimes prejudice. 

The people of Lurucina in spite of identifying themselves as Turkish Cypriots by ethnicity, did also speak fluent Greek, which earned them a name Linobambaki (cotton wooleys) – this was used in a derogatory manner and simply implies they identified as Muslims to save tax or Christians to avoid National Service. Some historians made numerous references to the Linobambaki but they often went on what the general belief was, rather than make any effort to research each claim on its merits. Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots mocked and taunted the people of Lurucina in equal measure. It was derogatory insinuations that cemented a bond and determination to prevail and succeed in keeping the unique diverse culture on a positive footing. With a lack of research done, often never beyond the family trees, the history has been left to a few simple footnotes of passing phrases like “The Stronghold of the Linobamki” [1] and so on. There are other important centres of the island like Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagusta etc, so to research a village which had been the target of ridicule from many sides of the ethnic makeup of Cyprus would have not been necessary. 

After a 6 year intensive research based on orginal archive documents, a new perspective emerged. Firstly, the vast majority of ethnic Turks of the village did serve for years in the military, and using the 1831 and 1879 census documents, it is clear that nicknames were considered to reveal our past Latin or Greek origins and were common in family identification. In the 1831 census, only one or two nicknames exist on record; one is “Coban” (Shepard) and the other “Topal” (the lame) [2]. The vast majority of nicknames seems be among the last 4-5 generations with them decreasing in occurrence. On closer inspection there are some records of Muslim Turks marrying Christian women and converting to the Orthodox faith. In spite of the countless debates of conversions to Islam from the Christian faith, not a single person born between the period 1750 to present had been found to convert from Christianity to Islam. Considering there have been at least 8000 people recorded on the village family trees, it is an interesting claim to say the least.

Arguments suggest that if there were conversions, they took place immediately after the Ottoman Conquest of 1571 – though evidence to this theory has shown to be flimsy. In the first Ottoman census of 1572, there were 27 Cizye (Christian households) [4] but by 1643, this increased to 41 [5]. 

With a clear period of falling population count in Cyprus, how was there a 50% increase in the population of Luricina; The 1879 census which documents the population from 1796-1879, revels some details about the ethnic composition of the region. It identified individuals as Bosnian, Albanian and Arab. This suggests that these individuals likely had origins in these groups as it was unlike officials would register them without some basis of their heritage. Additionally, most family trees researched seem to begin around the 1750s to early 1800s, whilst the Orthodox Christian population shows a more consistent and continuous presence, with clear records from the 1572, 1643 and 1831 census. The 1700s were marked by turmoil and economic devastation, leading to a dramatic decrease in the island’s total population. The Christian population also declined during this period. However, the records indicate that the Muslim-Turkish element appeared more recently. By the 1831 census, there were 104 Muslim males across the 39 households, compared to 25 Christian males. This discovery highlights a significant demographic change, suggesting a more recent establishment of a Muslim population on the island, possibly linked to migration or other social factors.

Some of the largest family trees of our village namely the Arabic‘Kırlangıc’ (Şiliono), İbrahım Mustafa ‘Garaoli’, and Hasan Hüseyin Topal (or Çoban ) turned out to be Sipahi.[6] Sipahi refers to all freeborn Ottoman Turkish mounted troops and tribal horsemen in the Ottoman army. The word was used almost synonymously with cavalry. The Sipahis formed two distinct types of cavalry: feudal-like, provincial timarli and the paid regular Kapikulu Sipahi.[7] The Ottoman people had rights to the land but the Sipahi a unique kind of military aristocracy and cavalry portion of the military, also lived on the land with the farmers and collected tax revenues, usually, to subsidise the costs of training and equipping the small army, dedicated to serving the sultan. Many Muslim families settled in Lurucina around the same time. One possible reason is that local Christians or Latins joined a rebellion, and after it was put down, the Sultan rewarded loyal Sipahi cavalrymen with land. Historians might know more about these events, but they haven’t studied individual families in detail. To understand the role of the Sipahi, we can look at independent sources, as they were cavalry soldiers in the Ottoman Empire.

The following is from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

“Sipahi, occasionally spelled spahi, was a feudal cavalryman of the Ottoman Empire whose status resembled that of the mediaeval European knight. The sipahi (from Persian for “cavalryman”) was holder of a fief (timar; Turkish: tımar) granted directly by the Ottoman sultan and was entitled to all of the income from it in return for military service. The peasants on the land were subsequently attached to the land and became serfs. The sipahis provided the bulk of the Ottoman army until about the mid-16th century. From then on they were gradually supplanted by the Janissaries, an elite corps composed of infantrymen paid regular salaries by the sultanate. In part, this change resulted from the increased use of firearms, which made cavalry less important, and from the need to maintain a regular standing army. The sipahis were completely discredited during the War of Greek independence (1821–32), and the timar system was officially abolished in 1831 by Sultan Mahmud II as part of his program to create a modern Western-style army.”

The Military Architecture describes them as Sipahi and was the Turkish equivalent of the European armoured knights. These troops were largely accustomed to fighting on horseback and their strength lay in their mobility as mounted archers. Their light weapons and armour were designed for hit-and-run tactics.

Since Kapikulu Sipahi were a cavalry regiment it was well known within the Ottoman military circles that they considered themselves a more superior stock of soldiers than Janissaries, who were sons of Christian peasants from the Balkans (Rumelia), and were basically slaves bound by various laws of the devşirme.

Whereas the Sipahi (both Tımarlı and Kapıkulu) were almost exclusively chosen amongst ethnic Turkic landowners, who made great strides of efforts to gain respect within the Ottoman Empire and their political reputation depended on the mistakes of the Janissary. 

The information provided shows without doubt powerful evidence that the main families in Lurucina were from a strong ruling class of cavalry families stationed in Lurucina during a period of immense turmoil for the Ottomans, and most importantly, these families were from Turkic or Arabic Muslim background (the T.C Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri. Book TŞR.KB.d.00040. Pages 45 ve 46). In fact the 1833 land ownership (Başbakanlık Osmanlı arşivlerinin ML.VRD.TMT.d.16152 numaralı defterinin 49-52. Sayfaları. Luricina köyü. 1833 yılı. Prime ministerial Ottoman Archives Book number ML.VRD.TMT.d.16152. Pages 49-52.) also confirms that these wealthy families were large landowners. Many of these families each owned large tracts of land, for example, 3 members of the Ibrahim ‘Garaoli’ owned 289 donums of land plus many olive trees and animals and 3 members of The Mehmet Kadri family owned 239 donums plus an enormous number of animals and trees. Their status as Sipahi and high military positions were not easily won, but there is no doubt they were not rewarded for their services to the empire. We already knew the Mehmet Katri family were of powerful military stock. They were the largest land owners in Lurucina and the name ‘Kadri’ was not the real family name but was given to Mehmet Ismail ‘Kadri’ who belonged to the order of the Qadiriyyah, where it had originated from. More information about this family can be sought after in “The History of the Kavaz Family”.

The myth that the Muslims of Lurucina originally converted to reduce their tax burden seems to be completely discredited whilst the other myth they switched to Christianity when their national service came up seems to be as flimsy. Despite being believable stories, they do not have any hold beside any historic evidence or facts. The Ottoman records for the period 1786 to 1879 show an enormous number of men who completed their national service. [10] In addition most of the lakabs/Nicknames seem to belong to the generations born from the mid 1800’s to the period just before 1974. 

In the past individuals have pointed out the fact that the people of Lurucina almost spoke exclusively in the Greek language as proof of their origins, but the main families and their status have shown they they belonged to the Muslim sect as recent as 1831. On closer inspection, the marriages between these families is further evidence that they inter-married due to their high class status. The marriage of Ayse Yusuf ‘Siliono’ with Mehmet Kavaz. (from the Kadri family), Serife Ibrahim ‘Garaoli’ with Hasan Yusuf ‘Arap’ are just two examples that families married due to status and large ownership of land. Depiste this, we all know that our grandparents, born in the late 1800s to these family groups, could hardly speak Turkish. They forgot their original language and switched to Greek. This phenomenon, more common than people think, is wrongfully used to justify the excuse that the people of Lurucina used to speak exclusively in Greek to prove their origins.