The island

Glossary (7)

Paleo-Christian (early Christian) era: in Byzantine history, the period that typically starts in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his newly-founded city of Constantinople, and ends with the death of Justinian in 565.
basilica: type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
aisles or naves: corridors formed inside a church between the colonnades of basilicas. Their number varies from three to nine, with the central one wider and taller.
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.
wall paintings or murals: Painted scenes on a wall or ceiling surface.
mosaic: patterns or images composed of small, colored tesserae. Mosaic decoration can be applied to all the surfaces of a building: floor, walls or ceiling.
catholicon: the main church of a monastery. As a rule it was the most imposing one, located in the center of the courtyard

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The island: 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.
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 palace of the Grand Magister: The Grand Master's Palace (Castello and Palazzo) is beyond doubt the most emblematic work of Gothic architecture in Greece, and a symbol of the medieval town of Rhodes. A building of imposing dimensions, it dominates the highest point on the north-western side of the castle, where the Street of the Knights ends. It was built in the ancient citadel, on the site of the ancient temple dedicated to the sun god Helios. The palace was first founded at the same time as the Byzantine walls, which became necessary because of repeated Arab-Persian raids from the mid-7th century on. The Knights of St. John erected the Castello in the 14th century to house the city’s military and administrative centre. Under Ottoman rule, from 1522 onwards, the palace functioned as a prison and was left to fall into decay. It was almost entirely demolished by an explosion in an adjacent gunpowder magazine in 1865, and owes its present form to extensive restoration projects carried out by the Italians in the 1930's. It is a tower-shaped rectangular building (approx. 80 x 75m) with a large paved courtyard (approx. 50 x 40m) surrounded by galleries. One of the palace’s most distinctive features is the main gate to the south, flanked by two tall, strong round towers. The ground floor had auxiliary rooms, while the four wings of the first floor had over eighty or more rooms, as well as halls decorated with mosaics and frescoes. The most impressive rooms are the central council room, the refectory and the chapel dedicated to St. Catherine. Since 1993 the Medieval Museum of Rhodes has been housed in seven halls in the south-west wing of the Palace of the Grand Masters. The permanent exhibition, entitled "Rhodes from Early Christian Times to the Ottoman Conquest (1522)", is divided into seven rooms on the following subjects: (a) Introduction, from Ancient to Christian Ideology; (b) Economy; (c) Social Life; (d) Defence and Administration; (e) Intellectual Life; (f and g) Worship and Art.
Alexius I Comnenus: Emperor of Byzantium from 1081 to 1118, founder of the Comnenian dynasty. Son of John Comnenus and Anna Dalassene, he was originally a general in the imperial army. Using this position he led a revolt supported by the army and the aristocracy, which ended in the capture of Constantinople and his ascension to the imperial throne on 1 April 1081. The empire Alexius inherited was at a very critical juncture: the aristocracy were in revolt, the Seljuks had taken over much of Asia Minor and the capital and the Danubian provinces were under attack. The raids continued at greater or lesser intensity over several years. To address these difficulties, Alexius turned to the West, and signed peace treaties with the Venetians and the Germans. With regard to domestic affairs, he attempted to reform and revitalize the economy and trade so as to stop deflation of the Byzantine currency, and overhauled the administration. The first Crusade took place during his reign. Alexius exercised diplomacy in dealing with the waves of crusaders, providing them with vessels to cross over to Asia Minor. After extensive negotiations, the crusader leaders agreed to hand back any lands they might capture that had previously belonged to the Byzantine Empire. However, Alexius failed to prevent them capture Antioch and Jerusalem. He died in 1118.

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