TRNC-controlled areas of the Larnaca District of the Republic of Cyprus are administered as part of Nicosia District, while western parts of the Nicosia District under de facto TRNC control are administered as part of the new Güzelyurt and Lefke Districts.[1]
History
Under Lusignan rule, at least the latter part and then during the Venetian period, the Kingdom of Cyprus was divided into eleven provinces called in French contrées and in Italian contrade. The area around Nicosia was the province of Vicomté (literally the domain of a Viscount). It covered the eastern half of the present District of Nicosia, what would later become the Nahiehs of Dagh and Deyirmenlik (orange on map). The western half of the present district formed the province of Pendaïa (Pendagia). One significant difference in the borders was that Vicomté extended closer to the sea, encroaching upon the Pentadaktylos foothills in the present Kyrenia District.[2]
Nicosia District 1878 - 1881 Nahiehs of Lefka and Morphou in green. Nahiehs of Dagh and Kythrea/Deyirmenlik in orange
Under Ottoman Turkish rule, Nicosia was one of the six cazas into which the island was divided. The Caza of Nicosia, also known as the Caza of Deyirmenlik, was divided into two nahiehs - Dagh (Orini) and Deyirmenlik (Kythrea).[3] The caza was headed by a Kaimakan. When the British took control of Cyprus in 1878, these administrative units were retained. A British officer styled a Commissioner (later District Officer) was appointed for the caza of Nicosia, while the Turkish Kaimakan was initially retained with certain of his functions.[4][5]
The Nahiehs of Lefka and Morphou
were previously in the Caza of Kyrenia.[3] But by 1881, the
Nahiehs of the Caza of Nicosia were:[6]
Lefka
Morphou
Dagh
Deyirmenlik
The town of Nicosia, previously separate, came under the Nahieh of Deyirmenlik (Greek: Kythrea) in the British period.
Population
The population of Nicosia Caza or District in 1881 was as follows:[6]
Nahieh
Population 1881
Morphou
11306
Kythrea
24043
Dagh
10446
Lefka
10505
TOTAL
56300
At the most recent census the population of the district was as follows:[7][8]
Thus, the population of Nicosia District has increased eight-fold since 1881.
Settlements
According to Statistical Codes of Municipalities, Communities and Quarters of Cyprus per the Statistical Service of Cyprus (2015), Nicosia District has 12 municipalities and 162 communities.[9] Municipalities are written with bold.
^KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı [TRNC 2011 Population and Housing Census] (PDF), TRNC State Planning Organization, 6 August 2013
^L’ Ile de Chypre. Sa Situation Presente et ses Souvenirs du Moyen Age, by Louis de Mas Latrie, pub. Firmin-Didot et Cie, Paris. 1879; map and pp. 148-151
^ abHistory of Cyprus, by George Hill, Cambridge University Press, 1952, vol IV, p.7
^Our Home in Cyprus, by Mrs. Scott-Stevenson, publ. Chapman and Hall Ltd, London, 1880; p. 73
^Report by Her Majesty's High Commissioner for the Year 1879, Accounts and papers. Great Britain. Parliament. Session 1880. publ. by House of Commons, London, 2006
^ abCensus of Cyprus 1881, pr. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1884
.svg)
