In 1878, the Ottoman sultan assigned the island of Cyprus to the Brits. In return Great Britain promised to not challenge Turkish possessions in the Middle East. Thus Cyprus changed hands. The Brits introduced the Cypriote pound divided into 20 shillings. 1 shilling equaled 9 piaster. In 1955, Cyprus decimalized its currency. The Cypriote pound was now divided into 1000 mils. Later, the mils were replaced by cents, of which there were 100 to a pound.