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Tenedos

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Tenedos

Tenedos (Greek: Τένεδος, romanizedTénedos; Latin: Tenedus), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of 39.9 km2 (15 sq mi), it is the third-largest Turkish island after Imbros (Gökçeada) and Marmara. In 2022, the district had a population of 3,120 inhabitants. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing. The island has been famous for its grapes, wines and red poppies for centuries. It is a former bishopric and presently a Latin Catholic titular see.

Tenedos is mentioned in both the Iliad and the Aeneid, in the latter as the site where the Greeks hid their fleet near the end of the Trojan War in order to trick the Trojans into believing the war was over and into taking the Trojan Horse within their city walls. Despite its small size, the island was important throughout classical antiquity due to its strategic location at the entrance of the Dardanelles. In the following centuries, the island came under the control of a succession of regional powers, including the Persian Empire, the Delian League, the empire of Alexander the Great, the Attalid kingdom, the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, before passing to the Republic of Venice. As a result of the War of Chioggia (1381) between Genoa and Venice the entire population was evacuated and the town was demolished. The Ottoman Empire established control over the deserted island in 1455. During Ottoman rule, it was resettled by both Greeks and Turks. In 1807, the island was temporarily occupied by the Russians. During this invasion the town was burnt down and many Turkish residents left the island.

Under Greek administration between 1912 and 1923, Tenedos was ceded to Turkey with the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) which ended the Turkish War of Independence following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. The treaty called for a quasi-autonomous administration to accommodate the local Greek population and excluded the Greeks on the two islands of Imbros and Tenedos from the wider population exchanges that took place between Greece and Turkey. Tenedos remained majority Greek until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when many Greeks emigrated because of better opportunities elsewhere. Starting with the second half of the 20th century, there has been immigration from mainland Anatolia, especially Romani from the town of Bayramiç.

The island is known in English as Tenedos (the Greek name). Over the centuries many other names have been used. Documented ancient Greek names for the island are Leukophrys, Calydna, Phoenice and Lyrnessus (Pliny, HN 5,140). The official Turkish name for the island is Bozcaada; the Turkish word "boz" means either a barren land or grey to brown color (sources indicate both of these meanings may have been associated with the island) and "ada" meaning island. The name Tenedos was derived, according to Apollodorus of Athens, from the Greek hero Tenes, who ruled the island at the time of the Trojan War and was killed by Achilles. Apollodorus writes that the island was originally known as Leocophrys until Tenes landed on the island and became the ruler. The island became known as Bozcaada when the Ottoman Empire took the island over. Tenedos remained a common name for the island along with Bozcaada after the Ottoman conquest of the island, often with Greek populations and Turkish populations using different names for the island.

Tenedos is roughly triangular in shape. Its area is 39.9 km2 (15 sq mi). It is the third largest Turkish island after Marmara Island and Imbros (Gökçeada). It is surrounded by small islets, and is situated close to the entrance of the Dardanelles. It is the only rural district (ilçe) of Turkey without any villages, and has only one major settlement, the town center.

Geological evidence suggests that the island broke away from the mainland producing a terrain that is mainly plains in the west with hills in the Northeast, and the highest point is 192 metres (630 ft). The central part of the island is the most amenable to agricultural activities. There is a small pine forest in the Southwestern part of the island.[citation needed] The westernmost part of the island has large sandy areas not suitable for agriculture.

The island has a Mediterranean climate with strong northern winds called etesians.[citation needed] Average temperature is 16 °C (61 °F) and the average annual precipitation is around 500 millimetres (20 in). There are a number of small streams running from north to south at the southwestern part of the island. Freshwater sources though are not enough for the island so water is piped in from the mainland.

Archeological findings indicate that the first human settlement on the island dates back to the Early Bronze Age II (ca. 3000–2700 BC). Archaeological evidence suggests the culture on the island had elements in common with the cultures of northwestern Anatolia and the Cycladic Islands. Most settlement was on the small bays on the east side of the island which formed natural harbours. Settlement archaeological work was done quickly and thus did not find definitive evidence of grape cultivation on the island during this period. However, grape cultivation was common on neighboring islands and the nearby mainland during this time.

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