Thessaloniki - Mystras: "Constantine XI Palaiologos"
On October 31st 1448 Emperor
John VIII died without an heir. His brother Constantine, who was then despot of
Mystra, ascended the throne. Legend has it that he was crowned emperor in the
capital of the despotate, in January 1449, but we can be sure that two months
later he travelled to Constantinople, where he was given a triumphant welcome. Constantine rose to the
throne at an absolutely critical time for the empire. Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Byzantium, had already been
under Ottoman rule for twenty years, after falling to forces under Murad II,
while the greater part of Macedonia
was in Turkish hands by the late 14th century. The only free state in the southern Balkans was the
Despotate of Mystras.
As a
despot Constantine
had showed great skill. By 1444 he had succeeded in rebuilding the Examilion
Wall at Corinth
and in recapturing Athens
and Thebes. The
following year his forces marched into Central Greece
and he himself reached Mount
Pindos, where Albanian
and Vlach populations joined forces with him. He made several attempts to curb
the power of the Venetians, who held Argos
and Nafplion on the east coast of the Peloponnese,
and Koroni and Methoni on the west. However, in November 1446 Murad II’s
cannons destroyed Examilion and his troops devastated the northern Peloponnese as far as Killini. Constantine and his
brother Thomas managed to escape with a handful of their troops, while the
Turks withdrew not long afterwards.
After
the fall of Constantinople the Ottomans
experienced great difficulty in advancing into the Peloponnese.
It was only in 1460 that Demetrius Palaeologus was forced to surrender Mystras,
and other cities put up fierce resistance. The residents of Monemvasia sought
the protection of Pope Pius the Second, finally surrendering the city to the
Venetians late in 1463. Since they did not wish to engage in war with Venice, the Ottomans did
not launch attacks against Methoni and Koroni, which only fell into their hands
in 1500, followed by Nafplion forty years later.
Glossary (0)
Information Texts (5)
The castle:
The
castle of Mystras
or Myzithra was
founded in
1249 by
the Frankish
Prince
William II
de Villehardouin.
It lies on the top of a
mound in the foothills of Mt. Taygetus,
a few miles to the north-west
of Lacedaemon, as Sparta
was known
in the Byzantine era.
The hill is
naturally
fortified; it is completely inaccessible from the south and
southeast,
as the rock
rises almost
vertically
to
an incredible height.
However,
the view of the
Eurotas river
valley
is
not
blocked
by
anything
to
the north, east and
south -
the
site is
crucial
to controlling
the area. The
name Mystras
is
probably derived
from
some
landowner
in the area
whose surname
or profession
was
Myzithras (a
cheese maker).The
Franks
built
a strong
castle
for the
effective control
of
the south
Peloponnese.
However,
in order to free
William after the
Battle
of
Pelagonia
in
1259, three years later they were forced to surrender
the fortresses
of Monemvasia,
Mani and Mystras
to the Byzantines.Over the
next
few
years,
the security provided
by the
hill
prompted the
people of Lacedaemon
and
the surrounding
villages to settle on
the hillside
below
the castle.
There
they built houses,
using
marble
and
other
building
material from the
ruins
of ancient
Sparta
and their former
properties.
The Diocese of Lacedaemon
moved
its headquarters
to Mystras in
1264, followed in 1289 by the annually elected general at the head of the military
in the Morea. The cathedral
dedicated
to Agios
Demetrios
was built
in the
last third
of the 13th
century,
possibly
by Bishop
Eugene,
and was renovated
by Nicephorus
Moschopoulos
from Constantinople. Outstanding figures in
Mystras must have included Daniel
and
chancellor
Pachomius, who founded
Agioi Theodoroi (before 1296) and Aphentiko (1310), the two successive
catholica
at Vrontochi
Monastery. From
1308 onwards the annually elected commander was replaced by a permanently appointed
official.In
1348 Mystras became capital of the Despotate of the Morea, first governed by Manuel
Cantcuzenus (1348-1380), second son of Emperor John VI. Manuel wedded Princess Isabella,
the daughter of Guy de Lusignan, King of Armenia Minor. To Greeks she is better
known as Isabeau, from a widely read fictional biography. In around 1350 Manuel
founded the Monastery of the Zoodochos Christos (the Life-giving Christ), which
has been identified as the present day church of Agia Sophia.
Isabella appears to have founded Peribleptos Monastery at about the same time.In
1383 the command of Mystras passed from the Cantacuzenus family to the
Palaeologus family, which then held the throne in Constantinople.
Theodore I Palaeologus, son of Emperor John V, put a stop to the separatist
aspirations of Demetrios, last of the Cantacuzeni. The administration of
Mystras always depended on the delicate balance between enemies and friends. On
the one hand, the city’s inhabitants had high morale and a strong sense of
national consciousness, as a result of years of war and forced cohabitation
with the Franks, Venetians and Albanians, who had begun to arrive in the
Peloponnese in waves from the 13th century onwards, as well as with Jews, who had
settled on the outskirts of the city. The inhabitants reacted vigorously when
Theodore attempted to lease Mystras to the Knights Hospitaller in 1402, thus cancelling
the settlement. On the other hand, there were continuous conflicts between the
rulers and the population over high taxation and other burdens. In 1423 the
Ottomans pillaged the Peloponnese, but in
1429, after the successes of Theodore II Palaeologus and the new emperor John
VIII, a new Despotate was created with Glarentza as its capital, followed in
1430 by a third based at Kalavryta. It was then, in this period of final
triumph, that the monasteries of the Annunciation and Pantanassa were built at Mystras. However, of
the three Palaeologus brothers who laid claim to rule of the Morea and even of
Constantinople itself - Theodore, Thomas and Constantine - only the latter
remained in Mystras until 1449. He then left for the capital to ascend the
throne, without having been officially crowned. After 1453 the Ottomans had the
upper hand in the Peloponnese, and it was only
a matter of time before they conquered the last Byzantine strongholds. In 1460
Demetrios Palaeologus surrendered Mystras to Mehmet II, when threatened by his
mighty army, while Thomas left to Italy from Patras.Mystras
was
a
large
city
for
its time,
and
the
heart
of the Peloponnese
for close on
two
centuries.
Major
figures
of the time
walked
its narrow
streets -
laymen
and clergy who
determined not
only the
fate
of the city,
but possibly
also that of Europe.
The most famous of all was the
philosopher
Georgius
Gemistus
Plethon,
who held high
government office.
Indeed, at the
synod on the Union of the Churches, it was
Plethon
who
led to the revival of
interest in
classical
culture
in
Florence.
In 1464,
during the unsuccessful
Venetian siege
of Mystras,
Lord Sigismondo
Malatesta
managed to
enter the city
and
loot
the corpse
of
Plethon, which
he deposited
alongside
those of
other
wise men
at
his court
in
Rimini.
The city:
Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine
Empire, was built on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the
triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn,
the Bosporus and the Sea
of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade
routes linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople
in 330 AD as a city to rival Rome
in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of
space and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new
strong walls that protected Constantinople
until the end of the Byzantine Empire.
The
city was laid out after Rome.
A main road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden
Gate. On this road was the Forum, a circular plaza with a statue
of Constantine
mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings. Theodosius I and Arcadius later
built more forums decorated with their own statues.
Following
the Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople
with magnificent edifices, palaces, baths and public buildings. This time also
saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom), the church which served
as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period.
During
the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced
major problems that threw it into disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in
674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural disasters (a powerful,
destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited building
activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on
strengthening the city's fortifications.
With
the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the
9th to the 11th century, Constantinople became
the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were
Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as
Jews, Armenians, Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia. Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with
an emphasis on establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing
homes, orphanages and schools. Higher education flourished, thanks to the care
of the state and the emergence of important scholars. This renaissance lasted
until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor management set
in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the borders.
The
Crusaders left Constantinople entirely
unscathed when first passing through, but in the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the
Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those inhabitants they
did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael
VIII Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved
unable to restore the city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it
was, the empire was incapable of checking the advance of the Ottomans, and in
1453 Constantinople finally fell into their
hands.
The fall signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual
tradition remained significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions
of Crete and the Peloponnese,
as well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
The city:
Around
the
top
of the Thermaic
Gulf
there were
several small ancient
towns
with intense
commercial
activity, which further expanded after
the destruction
of Olynthus
by Philip
in 348
BC. According
to Strabo,
King Cassander founded a new city
in 316 BC, naming it Thessaloniki
after his wife, sister to Alexander the Great. The few traces of Hellenistic
buildings
identified
to date
- an important
administrative
building complex in Governing House
Square, and the east
part of the
wall -
indicate that from
the outset the
city
was
intended
to
be a major
political and
military centre.
Thessaloniki’s geographic
location at a key point on Macedonia’s
land and sea routes was an important factor in its growth down the centuries.
From the mid 2nd century BC onwards it was the most important
military and trading post on the Via Egnatia, which crossed the Balkan Peninsula from Durres to Byzantium (later Constantinople). Its port also began
to flourish, lying as it did at the end
of the road
leading from the
Danube
to
the Aegean. The city thus became the crossroads
of the major trading routes heading East-West and North-South in the Roman Empire.
Christian
history in Thessaloniki
began with the arrival
of
Paul
the Apostle,
who
preached
in
the city’s synagogue
in
51
or early
52
AD,
though archaeological traces are thin
on the ground until three
centuries later. The 1st century
saw the foundation of the Roman forum, along with several public buildings such
as the library, the gymnasium and the Gallery of Figurines, which may have
belonged to the imperial bath complex. In 298-299 Caesar Galerius moved
his headquarters from Sirmium in Panonnia to Thessaloniki, adorning it with new
monumental buildings such as the palace, the hippodrome, the
theatre-stadium and the Rotonda, which was originally a temple modelled
after the Pantheon in Rome. The famous Arch of Galerius, a dedicatory
tetrapylon known locally as the Kamara, was erected at this time, decorated
with scenes from Galerius’s victories against the Persians. In 322 Constantine
the Great built the port at the southwest end of the shore.
Thessaloniki became an important
ecclesiastical
centre from
the
late 4th century onwards. In 380, while staying in the
city with his court in preparation for a campaign against the Goths, Emperor
Theodosius I was baptized by Bishop Acholius (or Ascholios) and issued a
decree forbidding
sacrifices
throughout the
empire. Around
the same time, the
bishop
of
the city
was
promoted to
archbishop
and vicar (representative)
of the Pope
of Rome,
with
jurisdiction
over
the entire prefecture of East Illyria. The
Christian churches built over the next two centuries changed the city, as they
were the tallest buildings and most important landmarks in the new town plan
developed on either side of the imperial road (the Via Regia), along the axis
of what is now Egnatia Street.
The Episcopal Church was a large five-nave basilica, possibly dedicated
to Agios Markos; the Church
of Agios Demetrios became
the city’s major pilgrimage shrine. The large public buildings of the past either
fell into gradual decline and were abandoned (such as the forum, which became a
quarry for rocks and clay), or changed function (such as the Rotonda,
which was converted into a Christian church).
Excavations
in the city’s historic centre have brought to light numerous early Christian
buildings, the majority of which are houses. Most are urban villas in the
city’s north and east section, with a spacious vaulted banquet room
(triclinium) and a peristyle surrounded by rooms, baths, storage areas or cisterns.
The cemeteries outside the city walls contained graves of all types, from pit
graves to cist graves and tiled versions etc. Most important of all are the
vaulted tombs, with fresco decorations in the interior.
From
the late 6th
century
Thessaloniki
was
repeatedly
raided by the
Avaro- Slavs and suffered earthquakes which destroyed many buildings. Combined with a general decline in the state
economy, the raids and earthquakes altered living conditions in the city. This
change can be
traced in the construction of smaller, humbler houses with one or
at most two rooms, erected on the ruins of old buildings. Descriptions of the
houses
preserved in
legal documents
of the Mount Athos monasteries
provide an idea
of life
in the city;
workshops and houses stood cheek by jowl, around shared courtyards with ovens
and wells. House walls often incorporated earlier ruins and were constructed of
various materials - some were of plaster coated wooden boards. Small churches
and chapels were founded in the neighbourhoods on monastery-owned land. The
Archbishop of
Thessaloniki
came
under the
Patriarchate
of
Constantinople
and the new Cathedral of Agia Sophia was built in the late 8th century,
decorated with mosaics sponsored by the emperor. The establishment of the Theme
of Thessaloniki in the early 9th century offered security to the
inhabitants and
stability
in the region.
The markets
filled with
goods
and the number
of visitors grew.
The
city
was
proud of its scholar Bishop
Leo the Mathematician and of two
brothers:
Constantine, who
became a monk
named
Cyril,
and
Methodius.
In 863
they travelled
to
Moravia, where
they created
the
Old Slavonic alphabet
and translated
the Bible,
the Divine Liturgy and
important
canonical
texts
into the
language of the newly converted Slavs. Over the next centuries
many more chapels and churches were built, such as Agios Euthymios, next
to Agios Demetrios, and Panagia
Chalkeon (1028).
After
Thessaloniki
fell to the Saracens in 904, the next wave of destruction occurred when the
city was wrested by the Normans
in 1185. The Crusaders made it the capital of the Frankish kingdom from 1204 to
1224. From then onwards Thessaloniki
frequently changed hands between Greek rulers who laid claim to the imperial
throne, until 1246, when it was annexed to the Empire of Nicaea along with the
rest of Macedonia.
In 1303 Irene-Yolanda
of Montferrat,
second wife
of
Andronicus II,
came to the city
and remained there until her death
in 1317, while in 1320 Emperor
Michael IX died
in the city.
Important monuments of Paleologan art and architecture still survive from the
first third of the 14th century, such as the churches of Agioi Apostoloi, Agia
Aikaterini, Agios Panteleimon, Agios Nikolaos Orfanos and the Taxiarches
(Archangels). Art production continued over the subsequent turbulent decades,
though on various scales: the Church of Christ the Saviour, built after 1340,
is the smallest church in the city, while that dedicated to the Prophet Elijah,
built after 1360, is one of the largest. Several vacant plots within the city
walls were turned into vegetable gardens or cemeteries.
During
the
conflict
between
Andronicus
II
and
his grandson
Andronicus
III,
the Serbs and
Ottomans
became involved
in the internal
affairs of the
empire
as allies
for
one or other
party
vying for the
throne,
drawing
ever closer
to Thessaloniki
and its
surroundings. From 1342 until 1349 the city
was tormented by discord between the Zealots and the Hesychasts. In 1387,
following a four-year siege, the city was surrendered to the Ottomans. In 1403
it returned to Byzantine rule under Manuel II. In 1412 and 1416 it was besieged
by Musa, one of the aspiring successors of Sultan Bayezid. Fearing a new
conquest by the Ottomans, in 1423 Andronicus Palaeologus handed the city over
to the Venetians, on conditions that were never honoured. Thessaloniki finally fell to the Ottomans in
1430.
The city:
Corinth remained a thriving city in Late Antiquity, on
account of its strategic location and the commercial activity in its two
seaports, Kechrees and Lechaion. Earthquakes in
365 and
375 dealt the city a serious
blow,
as did Gothic
raids in 395/6.
City space was confined within the newly built Late Roman or Early Byzantine
walls, parts of which still survive in places in the village
of Ancient
Corinth.
Though
previously linked by walls to Acrocorinth, the city now
lost
this connection.
The
significance of
the ancient
forum
seems
to have diminished,
and archaeological
evidence
points
to the domestic
activities
and small
industries of a poor neighbourhood.
The Early Byzantine
period (especially the 5th and 6th century) saw the building of numerous large
Christian basilicas with substantial sculpture decoration in Corinth and its
environs, such those at Kraneion to the east, Kodratos to the north and Skoutela to the northeast, and
those at Lechaion and Kechrees. Cemeteries dating to the 6th and 7th
century have been excavated in areas outside the walls, at the Asclepeion and
the basilicas at Kodratos and Kraneion. The city’s recovery
in this period
seems to
have been stalled by
the great famine of
542,
which affected demographics,
and a
devastating
earthquake
in 525 mentioned by
Procopius.
The building
of the Hexamilion wall was of particular importance in protecting both the city
and the entire Peloponnese. The wall ran the
length of the isthmus, from the shores of the Saronic Gulf
to the Gulf of Corinth, rendering it one of
the largest fortification projects. The wall was originally built by Emperor
Theodosius II (408-451), and rebuilt by Justinian between 548 and 560 in the
wake of devastating earthquakes in the first half of the 6th century.
Over the
following centuries there are signs of activity around
the
basilicas
outside
the walls; from the
late 6th to the 8th century the Roman forum
was used as a burial ground.Excavation finds from the basilicas at
Kraneion,
Kodratos
and
a small
basilica
at
Acrocorinth
reveal
signs of
habitation
in
the 7th
century.
Similar
activity
has also been detected
at
Diabatiki
near
Lechaion.
In particular, building
remains and other finds from the Kraneion area show that
it was inhabited
in the
mid and
late-Byzantine
periods.
After the
empire was reformed in the late 8th century, we know that Corinth became the
capital of the Theme of the Peloponnese, and the seat of a general. As an
archdiocesal see it must have had a large cathedral. Despite the lack of
excavation data, a large number of sculptures dating from the 9th to the late
12th-early 13th century indicate the existence of churches already known from
sources, such as those dedicated to Agioi Theodoroi and Christ the Saviour, and
the Latin-rite monastery of St. Nicholas. There are some remains of the small
basilica erected on the site of the Roman "bema" where Paul preached;
excavations have also identified churches at the Peirini spring and to the
south of the museum. Added to these are the church of Agios
Ioannis (St. John the Theologian), which survived until 1937,
and the now ruined church of Agia Paraskevi, etc.
As Corinth’s
location favoured the development of trade, the city probably became an
important centre in the Middle Byzantine period. Coins and treasures dating from
this period attest to economic growth in the city. In the late 11th century
the Venetians used Corinth
to gather local products such as silks and olive oil, while in 1165-1171 Vitale
Voltani, a representative of Romano Raimano, monopolized the Corinthian olive
oil market on Venice’s behalf. The city was also famed for its trade in
currants, derived from the renowned local variety of grape. Archaeological
evidence shows that in the late 11th century various buildings encroached on
the open space of the Roman forum.Though building phases are unclear, these included
shops, housing and bath complexes, monasteries and a number of workshops. There
is firm archaeological evidence of workshops for ceramics, glass, gold and
brass. Silk has not been found, despite clear textual references to
installations for processing and dyeing it.
In 1147 Corinth was raided by a
fleet sent by Roger II of Sicily.
The city retained its commanding presence nonetheless; Roger’s geographer
al-Idrisi describes it as large and prosperous, while in the late 12th century
Choniates mentions the two ports of Lechaino and Kechrees, and the bustling
commercial activity below Acrocorinthos castle. Excavation evidence indicates
that the city must have been fortified with towers and a perimeter wall when
the Franks arrived in the 13th century. Trading activity flourished despite the
change in administration. The remains of a contemporary neighbourhood to the west
of the Roman forum indicate that large numbers of clay vessels were imported
from Apulia and Veneto.Corinth
fell into decline following Catalan raids in 1312, an earthquake in about 1320
and the great plague of 1348. According to a description by Niccolò da Martoni,
in 1395 there were only a few dozen houses within Acrocorinthos, while the
lower city stood in ruins.
The city:
Legend
has it that the city of Nafplio
was founded by Nauplius, son of Poseidon and Amymone, daughter of King Danaus
of Argos. His
son was the hero Palamedes, who gave his name to the high rocky mound to the
southeast. The city was founded on a small peninsula 85m high, 900m long and roughly
400m wide. In modern times it was named Akronafplia in replacement of its
Turkish name (Iç Kale).
It was accessible only from the north, via the neck of Arvanitia, a spit of
land created by silting. From the start, the city served as the port of Argos and always lay in its shadow and
under its influence.Nothing is known of Nafplio’s history in Early Byzantine times. However, the
city was probably populated by people from the surrounding areas on account of Slavic
raids in the late 6th century. In the early 10th century
the people of Nafplio laid claim to the reliquary of Bishop Peter from the city
of Argos, which
still honours him as its patron saint. Later in the same century Saint Nicon
the Repenter passed through Nafplio while on his mission to the Peloponnese. In 1032, Nicephorus Karantinos, patrician
and general of Nafplio, defeated the Arabs in a sea battle. By the 12th century
the city had emerged as a place with an important role: testimony from the Arab
geographer al-Idrisi is supplemented by references to the region’s monastic
centres in the constituent documents of Areia Monastery, compiled by Bishop Leo
of Argos and
Nafplio, and by the fact that the diocese was upgraded to an archdiocese in
1189. At the same time, Leo Sgouros, son of a powerful local family, became
ruler of Argos
and Corinth,
before besieging Athens
and conquering Larissa in Thessaly. The Franks
of the Fourth Crusade drove him to suicide at the end of the siege of
Acrocorinth, and then laid siege to Nafplio. Five years later the city
surrendered to Geoffroi de Villehardouin, who ceded it to Otto de la Roche, Duke
of Athens, in 1212.In the
Byzantine period the late classical citadel enclosing the west part of the
Akronafplia peninsula was reinforced on the west, north and east sides. To the
south, the mound was so steep and inaccessible that it had no need of
fortification. Only a few structural remains of the Byzantine city inside the walls
have been brought to light. The small three-nave church excavated in the south
part of the castle was probably dedicated to Agios Theodoros the Commander, as
indicated by a steatite representation of the saint, which is a unique example
of a Byzantine miniature. To the north, the sea reached the edge of the rock
and it is assumed that on this side, which was partially hidden and sheltered
from the winds, a small seaport facility would have been built. Over time a
number of workshops, shops and humble dwellings were built there.In the
Frankish period (1212-1389), an intermediate wall was built to divide the castle
into two unequal parts, a larger one to the west and a smaller one to the east,
towards the neck of Arvanitia. The west section, known in sources as the Romeiko
(Greek) castle was virtually isolated, since communication with the outside was
only possible via the east castle, where the Franks founded their military and
administrative buildings. The east gate, the main entrance to the Frankish
castle, was protected by two round towers on the corners. After the dramatic
events of the 14th century between the Franks and the Byzantines in
the Peloponnese, in 1389 Marie d'Enghien, last
heir of Nafplio, sold the castle to the Serene Republic.In the
first period of Venetian rule, development of the port and an economic boom led
to population growth. This spiralled in 1500, when the Serene Republic ruled
that residents who had remained in the city for over seven years could obtain
citizenship. A drainage program involving wooden poles and beach embankments was
carried out in order to meet the new demands, resulting in reclaimed land and a
pier. Thus Akronafplia became a citadel, and the new land to the north the
lower city. It then became necessary to carry out infrastructure projects and
build new fortifications. On the one hand, the city's water supply was secured
using a duct to bring drinking water from the ancient Kanathos spring, next to Areia
Monastery, while brick sewers carried waste water to the sea. On the other, the
lower city was enclosed by strong walls that hugged the new coastline. In 1470
the Venetians built the Castello di Toro, a third castle for greater
protection, to the east of the two earlier ones on the citadel. Designed by
Antonio Gambello, it was built according to the latest specifications (with a
sloping scarp, a horizontal cornice and circular low bastions), so as withstand
the new siege techniques imposed by the use of gunpowder and cannon. In the
same period fortifications were built on Bourtzi, the small island off the
city’s seafront.After the
end of the Venetian-Turkish War, Nafplio and Monemvasia were ceded to the
Ottomans. In the first Ottoman period (1540-1686), Nafplio was divided into
five districts, with the Ottoman population residing mainly in Akronafplia and
its foothills and the Greeks in the rest of the lower city. The homes depicted
in old engravings are all built up the hillside, with projecting wooden sun
rooms on the upper floor. Fountains, the seraglio of the Pasha of Morea (Mora
Valesi) and the mosques in the city market (e.g. the present day Trianon) were
all built in this period.In 1686
the city was retaken by the Venetians, who initiated a major building and
fortification project that lasted until 1714. Commander in chief Francesco
Morosini turned Akronafplia into a military citadel. Work on the Palamidi fortifications
began in 1690, when the walls of Akronafplia and the lower city were completed
and reinforced with ramparts, bastions (Grimani Bastion), the imposing Land Gate,
which was protected by a moat, and the great cistern in the north-west corner
of the lower city. To facilitate communication with the lower city, Provedditor
Agostino Sagredo built a new gate on the north side of the citadel. Some of the
most important buildings were erected at this time, such as the Armoury (1713),
which now houses the Archaeological
Museum.
Although Nafplio was designed to be impregnable, in 1715 it was seized by the
Ottomans, who turned it into a typical Muslim city, complete with baroque
buildings, mosques and seminaries, fountains and baths. The city fell to Greek
revolutionaries on 30
November 1822, and became the first capital of the newly
established Greek
Kingdom.
Bibliography (2)
1. Runciman St., Μυστράς. Βυζαντινή πρωτεύουσα της Πελοποννήσου, Καρδαμίτσα, Athens, 1986
2. Nicol, D. M, The Immortal Emperor. The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1992
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