History

Cyprus has a rich history of culture and peoples, dating back to the Ancient Greeks.  It has been under the rule of various empires, from the Assyrians, the Ancient Egyptians, the Persians to the British, who made it a protectorate in the late 1800s.  Cyprus was declared independent in 1960, following failed attempts at unification with mainland Greece, but remains divided to this day into the Republic of Cyprus (the southern part of the island) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was claimed by the Turkish in their invasion of 1974.

History

An archipelago of small islands in the Gulf Stream, Bahrain’s history is of a series of truces, agreements and negotiations with its large neighbouring states, as well as of a divided state.  In the 19th century Bahrain was a British protectorate.  The Iranians also laid claim to the archipelago and Iran and Britain continued to dispute the ownership of Bahrain, until a United Nations’ Security Council vote in 1970 determined that the territory would be recognised as a sovereign and independent nation.

History

Algeria forms part of what is known as the Maghreb – the western region of North Africa. Over the centuries it has been ruled by the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Spanish, the Ottoman Empire and latterly the French. After more than a century of rule by France, Algeria gained independence in 1962.1 Today it is a country with approximately 35 million citizens.

History
Modern day Afghanistan came into being in 1747, when local Pashtun tribes united to fight for independence from the Persian Empire.  The 19th and 20th centuries saw Afghanistan under British rule. Afghanistan fought numerous wars against the British during this time, resulting in the signing of the Rawalpindi Agreement in 1919, which recognised the independence of Afghanistan as a nation.