Tomasz Kalicki1
Jani Konstantinovski Puntos2
Cyryl Konstantinovski Puntos3
1Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Department of Geomorphology and Geoarchaeology, Poland
2Independent scientist. Poland
3Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Doctoral School in the Social Sciences; Institute of Geography and Spatial Management. Poland
DOI:
UDC: [55+9](393.7-13)
Published: August 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keywords: Cyprus, Kolosi, Middle Ages, Geography, History
Abstract:
Spatial analysis utilized GIS tools, old maps and historical data, as well as paleogeographic data from a salt lake on the Akrotiri peninsula. Cyprus was home to one of the oldest civilizations in Europe, reaching its greatest glory between 1291 and 1374. After the fall of Acre (1291) to the Mamluks, rapid economic development occurred, and the island played a crucial role in Levantine trade. The Medieval economic boom was based on the cultivation and processing of sugarcane – a period known as the “Frankish Sugar Age”. The cultivation of cane and the production of sugar by the Knights of St. John and the Venetians are associated with the Castle of Kollosi and the settlement at Episkopi. The castle held strategic importance in the administration of southern Cyprus. The Knights of St. John constructed an irrigation system for the sugarcane fields, as well as an aqueduct and pipelines to bring water from the Kouris River for use by the watermill and sugar refinery. However, the amount of available water was variable and determined by climatic changes (drought) at the beginning of the Little Ice Age and the lowering of groundwater levels associated with the sea level drop. However, the most significant and devastating impacts were caused by human factors – warfare with the Genoese and Mamluks, the suppression of the Templar Order, and the involvement of the Hospitaller Order on the island of Rhodes. This negatively impacted the economy of the study area and the entire Kingdom of Cyprus, as well as its geopolitical position in this part of the Mediterranean.
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