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History of Zakynthos
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History of Zakynthos
Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος, Zante in Italian) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Today, Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and its only municipality. It covers an area of 405.55 km2 (156.6 sq mi) and its coastline is roughly 123 km (76 mi) in length. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos, is pre-Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. In Greek mythology the island was said to be named after Zakynthos, the son of a legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus.
The history of Zakynthos is long and complex, even by Greek standards. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it has been held by the Kingdom of Naples, the Ottoman Turks, the Republic of Venice, the French, Russians, British, Italians and Germans.
Zakynthos has been inhabited from at least the Paelolithic and later Neolithic Age as some archaeological excavations have proven. The island was important during the Mycenaean period, being mentioned three times on Linear B tablets from Pylos, Messenia. There were also Zakynthian rowers present in the Mycenaean Messenian state. The Mycenaean presence is further attested by the monumental Mycenaean built and tholos tombs that have been excavated on Zakynthos. Most important is the Mycenaean cemetery that was accidentally discovered during road construction in 1971 near the town of Kambi.
The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned Zakynthos in the Iliad and the Odyssey, stating that its first inhabitants were the son of King Dardanos of Arcadia called Zakynthos and his men. Before being renamed Zakynthos, the island was said to have been called Hyrie. Zakynthos was then conquered by King Arkesios of Cephalonia, and then by Odysseus from Ithaca. Zakynthos participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships which, if accurate, describes the geopolitical situation in early Greece at some time between the Late Bronze Age and the eighth century BC. In the Odyssey, Homer mentions 20 nobles from Zakynthos among a total of 108 of Penelope's suitors. The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zakynthos during the First Peloponnesian War sometime between 459 and 446 BC. In 430 BC, the Lacedaemonians (Spartans) made an unsuccessful attack upon Zakynthos. The Zakynthians were then enumerated among the autonomous allies of Athens in the disastrous Sicilian expedition. After the Peloponnesian War, Zakynthos seems to have passed under the supremacy of Sparta because in 374 BC, Timotheus, the Athenian commander, on his return from Corfu, landed some Zakynthian exiles on the island and assisted them in establishing a fortified post. These exiles must have belonged to the anti-Spartan party as the Zakynthian rulers applied for help to the Spartans who sent a fleet of 25 ships to the island;.
Philip V of Macedon seized Zakynthos in the early 3rd century BC when it was a member of the Aetolian League. In 211 BC, the Roman praetor Marcus Valerius Laevinus took the city of Zakynthos with the exception of the citadel. It was afterwards restored to Philip V of Macedon. The Roman general, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, finally conquered Zakynthos in 191 BC for Rome. In the Mithridatic War, it was attacked by Archelaus, the general of Mithridates VI of Pontus, but he was repulsed.
The introduction of Christianity on Zakynthos is said to have occurred when either Saint Mary Magdalene or Saint Berenice visited the island in the 1st century AD on their way to Rome. In 324 AD, Zakynthos was made part of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. As the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western halves and the western half declined, Zakynthos and the rest of the Ionian Islands, now located on the periphery of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, became vulnerable to attacks from barbarian tribes and pirates. In 466 AD, the Vandal King Genseric pillaged Zakynthos and captured 500 Zakynthian members of the local elite. Later the island was used as a naval station during Belisarius' campaign against the Vandals.
The Ionian Islands including Zakynthos remained largely unaffected by the Slavic invasions and settlement of the Greek mainland of the 7th century AD; however, they did suffer raids from Arab pirates in 880 AD and the Pisans in 1099. During the beginning of the Middle Byzantine era, Zakynthos formed a base for the re-establishment of imperial control and the re-Hellenization of the mainland coast with Greek-speaking settlers from southern Italy and Sicily. From the 9th century, Zakynthos was part of the Theme of Cephallenia, a military-civilian province comprising the Ionian Islands.
Following the collapse of Byzantine control in southern Italy in the mid-11th century, the Theme of Cephallenia's importance declined and was subsequently headed by civilian governors. Zakynthos endured attached from the Norman forces of Robert Guiscard in 1084 and Roger II of Sicily in 1147. Corfu and the rest of the Theme except for Lefkada were finally captured by the Normans under William II of Sicily in 1185. Although Corfu was recovered by the Byzantines by 1191, the other islands including Zakynthos remained lost to Byzantium, and formed a County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos under William II's Greek admiral Margaritus of Brindisi.
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History of Zakynthos
Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος, Zante in Italian) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Today, Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and its only municipality. It covers an area of 405.55 km2 (156.6 sq mi) and its coastline is roughly 123 km (76 mi) in length. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos, is pre-Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. In Greek mythology the island was said to be named after Zakynthos, the son of a legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus.
The history of Zakynthos is long and complex, even by Greek standards. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it has been held by the Kingdom of Naples, the Ottoman Turks, the Republic of Venice, the French, Russians, British, Italians and Germans.
Zakynthos has been inhabited from at least the Paelolithic and later Neolithic Age as some archaeological excavations have proven. The island was important during the Mycenaean period, being mentioned three times on Linear B tablets from Pylos, Messenia. There were also Zakynthian rowers present in the Mycenaean Messenian state. The Mycenaean presence is further attested by the monumental Mycenaean built and tholos tombs that have been excavated on Zakynthos. Most important is the Mycenaean cemetery that was accidentally discovered during road construction in 1971 near the town of Kambi.
The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned Zakynthos in the Iliad and the Odyssey, stating that its first inhabitants were the son of King Dardanos of Arcadia called Zakynthos and his men. Before being renamed Zakynthos, the island was said to have been called Hyrie. Zakynthos was then conquered by King Arkesios of Cephalonia, and then by Odysseus from Ithaca. Zakynthos participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships which, if accurate, describes the geopolitical situation in early Greece at some time between the Late Bronze Age and the eighth century BC. In the Odyssey, Homer mentions 20 nobles from Zakynthos among a total of 108 of Penelope's suitors. The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zakynthos during the First Peloponnesian War sometime between 459 and 446 BC. In 430 BC, the Lacedaemonians (Spartans) made an unsuccessful attack upon Zakynthos. The Zakynthians were then enumerated among the autonomous allies of Athens in the disastrous Sicilian expedition. After the Peloponnesian War, Zakynthos seems to have passed under the supremacy of Sparta because in 374 BC, Timotheus, the Athenian commander, on his return from Corfu, landed some Zakynthian exiles on the island and assisted them in establishing a fortified post. These exiles must have belonged to the anti-Spartan party as the Zakynthian rulers applied for help to the Spartans who sent a fleet of 25 ships to the island;.
Philip V of Macedon seized Zakynthos in the early 3rd century BC when it was a member of the Aetolian League. In 211 BC, the Roman praetor Marcus Valerius Laevinus took the city of Zakynthos with the exception of the citadel. It was afterwards restored to Philip V of Macedon. The Roman general, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, finally conquered Zakynthos in 191 BC for Rome. In the Mithridatic War, it was attacked by Archelaus, the general of Mithridates VI of Pontus, but he was repulsed.
The introduction of Christianity on Zakynthos is said to have occurred when either Saint Mary Magdalene or Saint Berenice visited the island in the 1st century AD on their way to Rome. In 324 AD, Zakynthos was made part of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. As the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western halves and the western half declined, Zakynthos and the rest of the Ionian Islands, now located on the periphery of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, became vulnerable to attacks from barbarian tribes and pirates. In 466 AD, the Vandal King Genseric pillaged Zakynthos and captured 500 Zakynthian members of the local elite. Later the island was used as a naval station during Belisarius' campaign against the Vandals.
The Ionian Islands including Zakynthos remained largely unaffected by the Slavic invasions and settlement of the Greek mainland of the 7th century AD; however, they did suffer raids from Arab pirates in 880 AD and the Pisans in 1099. During the beginning of the Middle Byzantine era, Zakynthos formed a base for the re-establishment of imperial control and the re-Hellenization of the mainland coast with Greek-speaking settlers from southern Italy and Sicily. From the 9th century, Zakynthos was part of the Theme of Cephallenia, a military-civilian province comprising the Ionian Islands.
Following the collapse of Byzantine control in southern Italy in the mid-11th century, the Theme of Cephallenia's importance declined and was subsequently headed by civilian governors. Zakynthos endured attached from the Norman forces of Robert Guiscard in 1084 and Roger II of Sicily in 1147. Corfu and the rest of the Theme except for Lefkada were finally captured by the Normans under William II of Sicily in 1185. Although Corfu was recovered by the Byzantines by 1191, the other islands including Zakynthos remained lost to Byzantium, and formed a County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos under William II's Greek admiral Margaritus of Brindisi.
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