The castle
The
Frankish conquest of Constantinople in 1204 was a
crucial point in Byzantine history, with major repercussions for all the
territories in the empire. It marked the beginning of the Frankish period on Naxos, leading to its emergence as the capital of the
newly created Duchy of the Aegean. Naxos Castle
was built in the early 13th century by the first Venetian ruler of
the island, Marco Sanudo II, on the site of the ancient acropolis. It is now considered
the most typical example of a fortified medieval settlement in the Cyclades.
The
irregularly shaped wall encloses an area of about 2 hectares. The original enceinte largely
followed the lie of the land, so it was not necessary to create a perimeter
moat or rampart. Of the sixteen towers that reinforced the wall, seven are
still visible. The only one to have survived in its entirety is the Glezos or Crispi Tower
near the main gate known as the Trani Porta, in the northwest of the wall,
which provided the shortest route to the port. The second major gate, also
called the Paraporti, was created in the south-west of the wall at the easiest
point of access to the castle, linking it to the hinterland.
Multiple
repairs to the walls confirm that the monument was subject to constant
modification, a fact reflected in buildings from various eras in the castle interior.
The Venetian period Catholic Cathedral of Naxos was built for the enthronement
of the Latin Archbishop in 1244, when the Diocese of Naxos seceded from Athens and declared its
independence. The church originally had three aisles, a raised central transept
and a dome at the intersection; drastic alterations after 1616 ended in the
current five-aisled plan.
This period saw the construction of the now ruined
central tower, which served as the residence of the Venetian ruler, as well as
the chancellery and the ducal administrative centre, which is now the Catholic
bishop’s palace. These three buildings were laid out in the way typical of a
medieval fortified city centre. The architecturally rich appearance of the
castle was complemented by Panagia (Our Lady) Theoskepasti, the only Orthodox church,
which predates the wall; the former Commercial
School run by the
Salesians, now home to the Naxos
Archaeological Museum;
and the Ursuline convent school complex.
Glossary (1)
transept:
aisle built perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a church; an elongated transverse space formed between the nave and the eastern wall of the temple, in front of the apse.
Information Texts (1)
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.
Bibliography (3)
1. Βαβατσιούλας Ο., Το Κάστρο της Νάξου – Οικοδομική Ιστορία (13ος-20ος αι.), Athens, 2009
2. Μαστορόπουλος, Γ, Η Νάξος: Το Άλλο Κάλλος. Περιηγήσεις σε βυζαντινά μνημεία, Ελληνικές Ομοιογραφικές Εκδόσεις
3. Σαββίδης Γ.Κ., ‘Η Νάξος κατά τα βυζαντινά χρόνια (4ος αι.-1207 μ.Χ.)’ in Νάξος: Αρμενίζοντας στο χρόνο, Athens, 2005
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