Roman (Byzantine) Cyprus poissible?

some back story: i once had a timeline in which the Byzantines were trashed very hard by the mongols, losing pretty much everything except Cyprus, so that's where the Emperor (and his family) fled to.

is it possible that they woud still be around today, despite numerous hardships that they would no doubt endure (including vassalization), or would they be quickly conquered, and the entire culture is destroyed?

Sumary: is it too ASB or is it possible?
 
Well, Cyprus used to be well-forested, which could have been used to construct vessels, and also has lots of copper deposits. Unfortunately the Byzantines would be interested in Steel, not copper, but it's hardly a horrid place to end up.

It's also got mountains to use for defense, and there are only a few easy landing points. However, it is also very close to the rest of the Near East, it's actually possible to see the mainland from the Cypriot mountains. So it depends on the quality of the navy defending it, the fortresses defending it, and how well it can be supplied. The latter to me seems the largest problem, in the event that Cyprus becomes the last bastion of the Eastern Roman Empire it's almost certain that the entirety of Asia would be hostile to them.

Having said that, this isn't everything; the Knights of St John were able to hold out against an Ottoman army on Malta that outnumbered it greatly, despite it being mostly cut off from friendly states. And Malta much more inhospitable than Cyprus.

But the key thing is, if anything manages to penetrate the defences of Constantinople then it seems to me that nothing the Byzantines could construct on Cyprus would be just as vulnerable.

It's not impossible, it just seems very unlikely.
 
Well, Cyprus used to be well-forested, which could have been used to construct vessels, and also has lots of copper deposits. Unfortunately the Byzantines would be interested in Steel, not copper, but it's hardly a horrid place to end up.

interesting. i always thought that the Island was short on resources, including water. it gives them a fair chance of defense against larger powers.

It's also got mountains to use for defense, and there are only a few easy landing points. However, it is also very close to the rest of the Near East, it's actually possible to see the mainland from the Cypriot mountains. So it depends on the quality of the navy defending it, the fortresses defending it, and how well it can be supplied. The latter to me seems the largest problem, in the event that Cyprus becomes the last bastion of the Eastern Roman Empire it's almost certain that the entirety of Asia would be hostile to them.

so basically, Byzantium, if it can maintain a good sized navy, expertly use the terrain for defense, and have a good supply it shoudl be able to repulse at least one major attack from Anatolia. not sure about the other locations.

i would imagine that since the ERE was effectively rendered harmless, the nations of Europe, Africa, and Asia would be somewhat kinder to them. except the mongols, of course.

But the key thing is, if anything manages to penetrate the defences of Constantinople then it seems to me that nothing the Byzantines could construct on Cyprus would be just as vulnerable.

i'm thinking that the mongols would be spent, after taking and effectively wiping Constantinople off the map, and wouldent be able to take Cyprus for some time.
 
IIRC later crusader kingdoms basically had Cyprus as their power-house, so I imagine it has enough of an economy to do well enough in late-medieval to early-modern times. I don't know how it would be for manpower tho...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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