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Down the centuries, the beauty of the Aegean landscape and the bountiful natural resources on Kos contributed to its emergence as an island with a long history and rich cultural heritage perhaps disproportionate to its small size. The island’s present-day character owes much to the material witnesses of the past: the classical antiquities, the plethora of early Christian monuments and the architecture and urban layout from the Italian occupation.

Lying between Karpathos and Nissiros, Kos is the third largest island in the Dodecanese. The first signs of human presence and activity have been confirmed by archaeological finds from the Neolithic settlement in Aspri Petra cave, and the fortified Early Bronze Age settlement on Serai Hill in the island capital. Burials rich in ceramic grave goods bear witness to the presence of Mycenaeans on the island, backed up by a reference to Kos in the Iliad, in the catalogue of cities that took part in the expedition against Troy. Historic times found Kos participating alongside Cnidos, Halicarnassus and three Rhodian cities in the Doric Hexapolis, a federation of cities settled by the Dorians of the Peloponnese. The island subsequently passed into Persian hands, even taking part in their campaign against Greek cities.

After the Persians were defeated in 478 BC, Kos became part of the Delian League. At that time it would appear that the island capital was Astypalaia, on the site of present-day Kefalos. Excavations at Astypalaia have revealed temples dating to the 5th century BC, dedicated to Demeter, Asclepius and Omonoia, as well as a theatre and a wall. In 366 BC, while under the control of Mausolus, the famed ruler of Caria, the island's oldest villages were settled and new capital was founded at Meropis, on the site of the present-day capital. Despite discord over its political allegiance vis-à-vis the successor kingdoms of Alexander's empire, in Hellenistic times Kos and its large temples (including the panhellenic sanctuary of Asclepius) served as a major religious centre. This was also the heyday of Ancient Alasarna, a settlement on the site of what is now Kardamena.

From its inception in the 2nd century BC, the Roman period on Kos was hallmarked by high taxation, elaborate public works projects and modifications and additions to the ancient temples. Major events in the first Christian centuries include the arrival of the Apostle Paul in to preach Christianity in 57 AD, and a powerful earthquake in 142. In the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305), Kos was incorporated into the Kingdom of Caria (Regio Cariae) and the Province of the Islands (Provincia Insularum).

As Christianity spread in the Aegean, Kos was organized into a diocese relatively early on - sources confirm that bishops Meliphron and Julian took part in the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451) respectively. The beginning of the Early Christian era on Kos can apparently be traced to another powerful earthquake, in 469, which caused severe damage across the island and resulted in many ancient temples being abandoned. The impressive number of basilicas built in the 5th and 6th century is not only indicative of the predominance of Christianity, but also of contemporary wealth and prosperity. To date, eighteen basilicas and settlements have been excavated in three rural areas (Mastichari, Kardamena and Kefalos) and at least sixteen others have been located; in Kos town, excavations have brought to light private buildings with elaborate mosaic floors. Together with the production of marble architectural members and mosaics, small scale installations such as pottery kilns and glass workshops give an indication of the inhabitants’ commercial activities, attesting to the vitality of both town and country. The previously held view that the flourishing Christian era on Kos was brought to an end by an earthquake in 554 is gradually being abandoned, since recent excavation data have revealed that life continued until the mid-7th century, when the Arabs raided the island in 654/655. From the early 5th to the early 7th century Kos suffered raids by the Vandals, Isaurians, Onogurs, Bulgarians and probably the Avar Slavs. The 7th century was marked by assault and plundering by the Persians of Chosroes II and the Arabs of Moab. Very little is known of the period up until the mid-11th century, the so-called "Dark Ages" of systematic Arab raids on the Aegean islands, which resulted in dwindling settlements and a general climate of fear and uncertainty. Existing information notes the administrative integration of Kos into the Theme of Kibyrrhaiotai. Following the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert (1071), and Seljuk and Turkmen raids in Asia Minor, Kos played host to refugees, including Christodoulos Latrenus, the monk who later founded the Monastery of St John the Theologian on Patmos. A chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted the monk two areas “[…] the one known locally as Kastelon, and that called Pilés’ place”,  where Christodoulos founded the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, also known as Monastery of Our Lady of Kastrianon (“the Castle dwellers”), and erected Palaio Pyli Castle on the hill.

In the 12th century the Venetians laid claim to Kos. From 1124 to 1126 the island suffered raids after John II Comnenus refused to grant them privileges in the islands; a chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius III Angelus in 1198 finally ratified Venetian economic privileges in parts of the empire including Kos. After the fall of Constantinople to the Franks in 1204, the Partitio Romaniae assigned Kos to the rule of the Latin emperor, though there is no written record of a Latin diocese being established. The island was briefly recaptured by John Vatatzes in 1224, and then passed back and forth between the Byzantines and the Venetians before coming under the more permanent control of the latter in 1284.

The Knights Hospitaller arrived in Kos between 1306 and1309. Another round of exchanges between the Byzantines, the Venetians and the Hospitallers ended in a lasting victory for the Knights from 1337 onwards. In the 14th century they proceeded to shore up the island’s defences. Among other things they repaired the existing walls at Antimachia and Kos town, and even erected a strong perimeter wall with bastions around Kos Castle, also known as Nerzantzia Castle.

In the first half of the 15th century the island was plagued by attack from the Egyptians (1440 and 1444). From the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II up until the end of the century it was the turn of the Ottomans to launch repeated raids on the island. The most significant assault was in 1457, when a siege on the castle at Antimachia resulted in the countryside being razed and depopulated. A major earthquake in 1493 rounded off the distressing picture of dereliction. Kos was surrendered to the Ottomans under Suleiman the Magnificent three decades later, in 1523, a year after the Knights Hospitaller capitulated on Rhodes. Now subject to poll tax, Kos lost its fertile lands, which were granted to the Ottomans as fiefs or vakufs.


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