8 May 2025 - Monemvasia

A rest day after 2 taxing voyages. This was forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures of 32c, so we set of early for the trip to the old town. But even before that, I was taken to the Port Police on the back of one of the restaurateur's motorbike. As said yesterday, everyone goes out of their way to help. It was a bit precarious on the unmade parts of the road, so I was glad to walk back, with our paperwork all processed.

The old town is located on a tied island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. Monemvasia is connected to the rest of the mainland by a tombolo 400 metres (1,300 ft) in length.[2]

In 1890, a small part of the natural tombolo was cut to create an artificial bridge for ships and boats. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, up to 300 m (980 ft) wide and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long.

Founded in the sixth century, and thus one of the oldest continually-inhabited fortified towns in Europe, the town is the site of a once-powerful medieval fortress, and was at one point one of the most important commercial centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. The town's walls and many Byzantine churches remain as testaments to the town's history.

The new town is overlooked by a huge rock, which has a medieval town and a fortress.

Pausanias visited Epidaurus Limera and said that opposite the city there was a promontory which he referred to as the "extremity of Minos", which has been identified as Monemvasia. Strabo—a century earlier—mentions it as "Minoan fortress". The toponym "Minoa" indicates the existence of a port in antiquity, traces of which have been discovered underwater. However, it is not known if there was a significant settlement on the island. It is possible that a settlement was established there in the 4th century, around the time when the capital of the Roman Empire moved from Rome to Constantinople, which resulted in changes in maritime trade routes. Epidaurus Limera itself was abandoned in the 4th century.

Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century, from the relocation of the inhabitants of Ancient Sparta, which was then known as Lacedaemon. Sparta, unlike other cities that were abandoned, continued to be inhabited until the 6th century AD, despite earthquakes, Goth raids in 395 under Alaric I and Vandals in 468 under Gaiseric, and the plague epidemic of 541-543.[9] According to the later Chronicle of Monemvasia, the city was abandoned after a Slav raid in 587-588, during the reign of Maurice. The Chronicle reports that its inhabitants left Sparta in panic and fortified themselves under the leadership of their bishop in Monemvasia while others settled in the passes of the region, while mentioning that many other cities of the Peloponnese were also abandoned in this way. However, archaeological findings do not generally concur with this view, and place the foundation of Monemvasia a few decades earlier, during the reign of Justinian. The first level of the basilica church of Christ Elkomenos in the centre of the lower town dates from that time.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, the city authorities proceeded not only to move the population of Sparta, establishing Monemvasia, but also to reorganize the settlements of southeastern Laconia. The reorganization included settlement in the mountain passes of Parnon and the migration from Gytheion. The Chronicle of Monemvasia states that part of the population relocated as far away as Sicily. Because the rebuilding, moving, and settling of the population at the new location must have been completed several years later, it is likely that the two cities coexisted for some time. Along with the inhabitants, the seat of the diocese of Lacedaemonia was also moved, although it kept its old name.

Unlike other settlements in the Peloponnese region that saw their decline from the 7th century onwards—a period known as the Dark Ages—Monemvasia developed into a commercial and cultural centre due to its location on important sea routes, such as the one that connected it to Sicily. A bronze coin minted in Sicily of Philippikos Bardanes was found in the lower town. The oldest known mention of Monemvasia dates from the third decade of the 8th century, and is made by the pilgrim Vilibaldos, who traveled from the Sicilian Holy Land with a stopover in Monemvasia. Monemvasia is also mentioned by Theophanes the Confessor, who describes the arrival of the plague in Byzantium in 746-747.

Monemvasia's key position on the sea route to the eastern Mediterranean made it the target of pirate raids in the following centuries, along with raids by Western rulers. Arab raids began in the 9th century and after their settlement in Crete, after which the raids multiplied. One such raid is mentioned in the so-called Psychophile Narratives of bishop Pavlos Monemvasias, which were written in the 10th century and survive only in an Arabic translation. In one of them, it is mentioned that the Arabs attacked the fortress of Vukolo, which has been identified as Monemvasia.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, Monemvasia experienced significant economic growth. During that period, the settlement spread around the island (not only on its main side), and important monuments were rebuilt, such as the church of Hagia Sophia (originally dedicated to Panagia Hodegetria) in the upper town and the church of Elkomenos Christos, which was reconstructed during that period, possibly due to the placement of the image of Christ Elkomenos in the temple. At the time of the Komnenians, Monemvasia had evolved into a guardian of the western entrance to the Aegean. In 1147 ships of the Sicilian king Roger II tried to capture it without success and were forced to withdraw with heavy losses. The archon of Monemvasia during the attack Theodoros Mavrosomis then settled in the imperial court and after the Battle of Myriokephalos, he was put in charge of the left wing of the army and was then given the position of mediator.

The Latin Empire, a 13th-century crusader state, unsuccessfully besieged Monemvasia in 1222. Then, in 1252, after a three-year siege, the Frankish prince of Achaia, William of Villehardouin, occupied Monemvasia. The inhabitants of Monemvasia who did not wish to remain under Latin occupation left for Bithynia, which acquired many of the same commercial privileges as Monemvasia. Monemvasia itself retained the privileges it had, with the only obligation being maintenance of the ships, and became the seat of a Latin bishop. Its loss was a serious blow to the emperor of Nicaea, Michael VIII Palaiologos, as it overturned his plans for the recovery of the lands that had fallen to the Franks.

When William was captured by the Byzantines at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 and refused to cede his possessions in the Peloponnese in exchange for his release, Michael held him prisoner until 1262, when he agreed to surrender to the Byzantines the castles of Monemvasia, Mystras, Grand Magne, and Geraki.

In 1354, control over the Despotate of Morea was usurped by Manuel Kantakouzinos, who remained in power until 1380. The administration of Monemvasia was given to Ioannis Kantakouzinos, who rebelled after learning that after Manuel's death, Theodore Palaiologos would be appointed. Theodore tried to approach Monemvasia but was driven away and fled to Venetian-occupied Koroni to ask for help in exchange for the territory of Monemvasia, but the Monemvasians repudiated the rebels. In 1394, Theodore was captured by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and, in order to free himself, asked for the surrender of Monemvasia. Theodore managed to escape and with the help of Venice recaptured Monemvasia from the Ottomans in July 1394. The result of all these events was that the city's population decreased and commercial traffic was effectively brought to a halt.

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, unrest prevailed in the Despotate, which at the time had two despots, Thomas Palaiologos and Demetrios Palaiologos, who disagreed about the future of the despotate. Dimitrios surrendered Monemvasia in May 1460 to Mehmed II, but he withdrew without besieging it. Then, following the advice of Thomas, the inhabitants offered the city to Pope Pius II on September 12, 1460, who accepted.

In 1460 Sultan Mehmed II arrived in Corinth, proceeded to Laconia, capturing the fortresses of Achaia and Ilia, and in July 1461, Salmenikos, the last castle of the Greek despot, was surrendered. Thus, apart from the Venetian possessions of the Peloponnese and Monemvasia, which had been granted with the consent of the Despot of Morea Thomas Palaiologos to Pope Pius II, the Ottoman conquest of this critical region for Byzantium was complete. By the end of 1463, Monemvasia had fallen to the Venetians. After the end of the First Ottoman-Venetian War (1463–1479), part of the lands in the territory of Monemvasia came under the possession of the Ottomans, affecting the island's agricultural production and trade. Venice's possessions around Monemvasia became more limited after the Second Ottoman-Venetian War (1499–1503).

Hayreddin Barbarossa began in 1537 attempts to capture Nafplio and Monemvasia, the two remaining Venetian possessions in the Peloponnese. In the peace treaty, Sultan Suleiman II requested as compensation for the damages suffered by the fleet the concession of islands he has conquered along with Nafplio and Monemvasia, and despite the Venetians' reactions, the treaty was signed on October 2, 1540, and the two cities surrendered to the Turks. Most of its inhabitants then abandoned it and took refuge in the nearest Venetian-occupied islands, mainly in Corfu and Crete.

During the Ottoman times, the upper town was abandoned. Monemvasia itself became known as Menexe (Μενεξέ), Menefse (Μενεφσέ), or Benefse (Μπενεφσέ) in Greek and Menekşe in Turkish (all meaning 'violet'). It was administratively included in the Eyalet of the Morea. In the census of 1573-1574, it was mentioned that the town had a garrison of 104 men and paid 28,665 akçes in taxes, 6,000 of which came from the commercial traffic in its port. Due to information that there was a small garrison in Monemvasia, Jean Parisot de La Valette, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta decided to capture it in order to obtain a base in the Aegean. At the end of September 1564, he sent galleys but as the old unguarded path leading to the upper town could not be located, they withdrew. This path was sealed by the Ottomans sometime later with a wall. In 1583 there were 320 non-Muslim families and 191 residents without a family.

During the Cretan War (1645–1669), attempts were made by Venice to capture Monemvasia, which served as a base for the Ottoman army. The first attempt was made in August 1653, in which the Venetians managed to capture a fort outside the lower town, but abandoned the attempt as attacks on the lower town failed. The second attempt was made in July 1655, with the Venetians proceeding to blockade Monemvasia, but as the Ottomans sent reinforcements, they eventually withdrew. Subsequently, the Ottomans strengthened the defense of the island, and granted its inhabitants the possibility to build a church with a dome, as a reward for not ceding the city to the Venetians.

In 1684, the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War began, during which Francesco Morosini occupied the entire Peloponnese, with the exception of Monemvasia, which resisted. Morosini besieged it again in 1687, bombarding it, but the Turkish defenders refused to surrender and he withdrew. Many Turks who fled from the rest of Moria took refuge in the city. In 1688 he proposed to build a fortress opposite Monemvasia. Finally in July 1689 the construction of two forts began and the siege began again, but it was again unsuccessful and at the end of September it was withdrawn. At the end of the following spring the siege was resumed, led by Girolamo Corner and despite setbacks, the city surrendered and Corner entered on 12 August 1690.

The recovery of the Peloponnese from the Venetians also resulted in the resettlement of residents in Monemvasia, which was designated as the capital of the department of Laconia. The city had suffered significant damage and began a program of reconstruction. Its population in 1700 had reached 1,622 inhabitants, almost double the count of ten years prior.

In 1715, the Ottoman Empire army attacked the Peloponnese, in the context of the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718). The Ottoman fleet arrived at Monemvasia on 3 August 1715, demanding the city's surrender. The city's council of war asked for a 20-day extension to learn the intentions of the Venetian fleet, which was granted. The fleet did not approach Monemvasia and the city finally surrendered on September 7, 1715. Some of the inhabitants were sold as slaves as part of the surrender treaty. Others fled to other Venetian-occupied areas. After the Ottoman recovery, Monemvasia remained under the jurisdiction of Kapudan Pasha. The area experienced a relative commercial and economic boom and a Greek school was established. Some Venetians returned to the city, as did former Turkish residents.

During the Orlov revolt (1770), the Metropolitan of Monemvasia, Anthimos the Lesvios, armed a body of Monemvasians and blocked the Ottomans in the fortress, but when the besiegers were attacked by the Albanians, they dispersed and many were captured or killed and the city was looted. After the revolt, the area was abandoned by a large part of its population.