A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

Collected and Compiled by Charlie Kyriacou

The following is a 28-page historical chronology of Greek history and is intended as a tool for quick

historical reference for both the novice and student of Greek culture. It is hoped that by using this tool it

will whet the interest to research further into Greece's rich cultural heritage. I am neither a historian nor

an academician and my interest in Greek history is in connection with Greek folk dance and folklore. It

was compiled for purposes of my own research of Greek culture without any other goals in mind; there

are eras with more detail than others due to my interest in that period. The reference material from which

I drew all my information is included at the end of the chronology. With these caveats in mind, peruse

the document at your leisure. For those with questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me at

ChKyriacou@aol.com

Many of you have made inquiries concerning different aspects of Greek history and culture. I thought I'd

share them with others and link the research I had done on the subjects to items in the chronology.

Thank you everyone for your questions. Keep them coming!

TOP LEVEL CHRONOLOGY

3000 to 1400BC Minoan Crete

1600 to 1100BC Mycenean Greeks; Bronze Age

1100 to 800BC Pre-classic period; Iron Age"Dark Ages"/Dorian Invasion

800 to 500BC Classical period

1100BC to 700AD Hellenic Civilization

284AD to 1453AD Byzantine Civilization

1453 to 1821 Ottoman Rule

1821 to 1945 Building of Greek nation

1920 to 1922 Graeco-Turkish War

1922 to 1945 Absorption of Asia Minor Refugees, World Depression the German

Occupation

1945 to 1950 Greek Civil War

1967 to 1974 Coup of Colonels; Military Junta

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1974 to present Republic of Greece

DETAILED CHRONOLOGY:

70,000 BC Human habitation in Greece

6218+-150 BC Neolithic site at Nea Nikomedheia in Macedonia

5520+-70 BC Drakhmani(Elateia) site in Central Greece

4480 BC Neolithic A site near Sesklo in southern Thessaly

3000 to 1400BC Minoan Crete

2500 BC Early Helladic II on the Mainland

2500 BC First human settlements on Cyclades

1900 BC

Transition from Early to Middle Helladic phase of Bronze Age. Change of

population on Continental Greece, 'Minyan' pottery, Greek-speakers

1600 to 1550 BC

Beginning of Late Helladic and Late Minoan Age; mainlanders adopted

many elements of Minoan civilization

1600 to 1100 BC Mycenean Civilization

1480 to 1450 BC Cultural differentiation between Knossos and the rest of Crete

1480 to 1450 BC Occupation of Knossos by Myceneans

1400 BC Destruction of Knossos

1480/50 to 1400 BC

Late Minoan II style is confined to Knossos. Since the discovery that the

language of the Knossos tablets inscribed in the 'Linear B' script is Greek, it

has been inferred that it was the product of an occupation of Knossos by

Greek-speaking invaders.

1400 BC Earliest inscriptions of Linear B

1400 BC Knossos documents in language earlier than Homeric Greek.

1400 to 1100 BC Late Helladic phase III(Mycenean Age)

1300 BC Troy VI wrecked probably by earthquake

1260 BC Fall of Troy VIIa

1200

All mainland palace-fortresses sacked except acropolis of Athens, Mycenae

alone re-occupied

1200

Last examples of 'Linear B' found 1200 Pylos documents in language earlier

than Homeric Greek.

1200 to 1100

Cyprus sacked for second time; two migrations (12001150) of Mycenean

refugees to Cyprus

1200 to 750 Post-Mycenean 'Dark Ages', Iron Age, Dorian Invasion

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1184 Fall of Troy; believed by some Hellenistic scholars

1100 Destruction of Mycenae, Iolkos Miletus

800 to 700

Composition of Iliad and Odyssey and the adoption of the alphabet by the

Greeks from the Phoenicians

776BC to 393AD Olympic Games

750 First examples of inscriptions in Hellenic Greek alphabet

750-650

Hoplite phalanx adopted by cities of southern Greece. Previously fighting

was carried out by a relatively few warriors with a shield, sword and spear

with no armor and were not organized in a phalanx. Hoplites had defensive

armor and fought in close formation, phalanx, a series of rows.

750 to 550 First period of Hellenic colonization(Marsellies, Asia Minor, Black Sea)

736 to 716 First Messinian war(Peloponese)

734 Naxus, first colony in Sicily established by Chalcis of Euboea

733 Sicilian colony of Syracuse established by Corinth

c.700

Hesoid, epic poet, wrote Theogony, 1022 lines on of the origins of the Gods,

and Works and Days , 828 lines of friendly advice for the working man

668

Pheidon, tyrant of Argos, expelled the presiding officers at the games in

Olympia and presided himself at the competition.

658 to 628 Tyrant Cypselus rules Corinth

657 Byzantium(later Constantinople) founded by sailors from Megara

632

Monarchy in Athens replaced by the Council of Areopagus, wealthy

aristocrats, and an annual board of nine archons, elected officials by the

Council of Areopagus. Outgoing archons became members of the Council of

Areopagus and kept the archons in check. Sparta had council of 30 called

gerousia, including two kings. Its 28 non-royal members had to be at least 60

years old, were chosen by acclamation in the public assembly and held office

for the rest of their lives. Sparta also had another group of executive officers,

the five ephors, elected annually by public acclamation

632

Cylon, Olympic victor who married daughter of the tyrant of Megara, and

friends seize the acropolis; Athenians besieged him; Cylon fled, his friends

were promised their lives if they gave up; nine archons killed them.

628 to 588 Tyrant Periander rules Corinth

621

Dracon establishes Athenian laws; Solon rewrote all laws except laws on

homicide.

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

ca. 600

Tyrant Cleisthenes ruled Sicyon. Invited suitors to compete for his daughter,

Agariste. Tested suitors for a year; two finalists were Hippocleides and

Megacles from Athens. Preferred the former until, at the feast at the end of

the year Hippocleides danced Attic and Laconian dances on a table then

stood on his head on the table and danced with his legs in the air.

595 to 590 First Sacred War concerning the Delphic sanctuary

594 Solon, eponymous archon of Athens, founder of Athenian democracy

590/580 to 560/550 Sparta fights war with Tegea resulting in alliance

588 to 585 Tyrant Psammetichus, PerianderΉs nephew and successor, rules Corinth

585 Thales of Miletus predicts solar eclipse

582

Pythian games established in Delphi and Isthmian games established in

Corinth

581 to 497 Pythagoras of Samos, mathematician and religious leader; lived in Sicily

580 to 570

Solon reforms Athenian constitution and the laws. 1) Athens did not establish

colonies in the sixth century, land was overtilled, farmers forced to borrow

from rich using their person as security; when could not pay loans, were

"enslaved," forced to till landowners land for five-sixth return to landowner.

People revolted and Solon banned loans by personal security. 2) standardized

weights, measures and minted coins 3) Replaced birth with wealth as the

qualification for political office. Before Solon, board of nine archons, elective

officials, ruled Athens. Solon divided Athenian citizens into four property

classes which established each classΉs political privileges and established the

Council of 400, 100 member from each of the four Athenian heriditary tribes,

along with the nine archons to administer the state. Archons, members of top

property class, chosen by lot out of candidates previously chosen by tribes.

Council of 400 acted as steering group for business to be brought up at

assembly. Members of top three tribes could bear arms if they had weapons.

All four classes included in Athenian assembly and as a juror. 4) committed

to writing customary laws 5) created law courts

575

A sixth century inscription implies that Hios had a 'democratic' council of 50

member council from each tribes and an aristocratic council

573 Nemean games established at Cleonae between Sicyon and Argos

570 First coins minted by Athens

561 Peisistratus first attempt at tyranny in Athens that lasted four years

556

Peisistratus second failed attempt to take over Athens that lasted a few

months

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549 to 546

Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, conquers Medes, Lydia and Greek city-states

in Asia Minor

546 to 527

Peisistratus takes over Athens with private wealth, foreign support and widebased

Athenian support; rules as "benevolent" tyrant in Athens

546 to 479 Persian Wars

546

Spartans gains leadership over most of Peloponese; formed the

Peloponnesean League

540

Persians overcome Greek cities in Asia Minor which pay tribute and a tyrant

supported by the Persians to control the city.

528 to 510 Peisistratus sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, ruled Athens

520 to 480 King Cleomenes, one of the two kings of Sparta

518 to 438 Pindar, greatest lyric poet

514

Hipparchus, brother of the tyrant Hippias, assassinated by Harmodius and

Aristogeiton

513 Darius and Persian army invade Europe in Thrace but not Greek peninsula

510

Hippias deposed by Spartans and Alcmaeonidae clan. Athens becomes part of

Peloponesean League. Hippias receives Persian asylum

508 to 506

Isagoras and Spartans under Cleomenes demand Cleisthenes and 700 families

of Alcmaeonidae exile. Try to dissolve Council of Areopagus, are deposed by

Athenians; Cleisthenes takes power. Athens attempts alliance with

Artaphernes, satrap of Lydia

508 to 500

Cleisthenes, democratic reforms, from wealth-based to region-based.

Followed lead of other cities who were casting off traditional political

systems in reorganizing voting districts such as Sicyon, Corinth and Miletus.

1) Divided Athenian citizens in ten groups called 'tribes', not heriditary but by

region. Fifty from each 'tribe' constituted the Council of 500, appointed

annually, which voted to recommend actions to the assembly. 2) Established

system of ostracism to check potential of tyrannies; assembly wrote name of

most feared politician; had to get minimum of 600 votes; politician with most

votes was exiled for 10 years.

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

500

Fifth Century Greek Philosophers:

Heraclitus(540-475)

Parmenides(539-469)

Anaxagoras(500-438)

Empedocles(490-430)

Leucippus(b. 480)

Democritus(460-360)

Socrates(460-399)

Zeno of Eleo(b. 450)

Antisthenes(440-370)

Aristippus(435-358)

Plato(427-367)

499

Artaphernes, Persian satrap, demands Athens restore Hippias as tyrant.

Athens alliance with Persia ceases.

499 to 494 Ionian(Asia Minor) revolt against Persians

498 Athenians Ertrians join Ionian revolt, capture and sack Sardis

496 to 406 Sophocles, leading tragic playwright

494 Miletus sacked by Persians

493 Themistocles an archon of Athens

490

Greece invaded by the Persians under Darius. Hippias guided invading navy

to Marathon where Peisistratus, his father, landed in 546. Defeated at the

Battle of Marathon by Athenians led by Miltiades.

488

First ostracism in Athens. Aristotle says it was authored by Cleisthenes.

Person receiving 6000 votes sent into exile for 10 years, but his property was

not confiscated and could return after 10 years with full rights.

484 to 420 Herodotus, first historian(Persian Wars)

483

Themistocles persuades Athenians to build ships to with silver discovered at

Laureum. Gave reason war against Aegina, but really to defend against

possible Persian invasion

481

Hellenic League founded to defend against Persians. Both Athens Sparta

members

480

Second Persian invasion under Xerxes. Battle of Thermopylae, King

Leonidas leads 300 Spartans could not hold pass against Persians. Persians

invade Athens and destroy temples on Acropolis

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

480

Battle of Salamis. After Thermopylae, Persians march south capturing and

burning Athens. In the Bay of Salamis, Themistocles(who had ships built in

483 for this purpose) amasses armada of Greek ships; with "Greek fire" ships

ram into big Persian vessels, setting them afire and winning the battle.

479

After defeat at Salamis, Xerxes returns and Mardonius leads Persian troops to

conquer central Greece. Persian general Mardonius attempts to gain alliance

with Athens. When it fails, sacks Attica. Athens doesn't get support from

Sparta quickly and threatens to ally with Persians. Spartan Pausanias and

Athenians defeat Mardonius at Platea

478

Pausanias, Spartan regent, leads Hellenic League fleet, capturing Cyprus

Byzantium from Persians. Founding of Delian League dominated by Athens

470s Themistocles ostracized for Medism, lived in Argos, then fled to Persia

460s

Cimon, commanded operations at Eion, Skyros Thasos, was most powerful

man in Athens. Cimon favored Sparta over Persians

469 to 399

Socrates, called the "moral" philosopher, born in Athens, the son of a sculptor

and a midwife; Plato was his student

465 Artaxerxes becomes Persian king, gives Themistocles asylum

464 Earthquake at Sparta and revolt of Messenia

463 Thasos seceded from Delian League and is captured by Athens

462

Ephialtes, opponent of Cimon, reforms Athenian courts - Several popular

courts, jury of 500 over 30 years of age. Each case was brought before an

archon that gave a preliminary hearing. Procedures for hearing complaints

against retiring magistrates from archons to courts.

462 Athenians Cimon ostracized and Ephilates murdered

462

Sparta appeals for help with the Messinian Revolt from Athens. Cimon leads

Athenian force to Messiia but is spurned by Spartans

461 to 429

The "Golden Age of Pericles." Pericles , born 490, passed proposal

introducing pay for jurors. Pericles preferred to make peace with Persians and

oppose Spartans

460 to 446

1st Peloponessean War due to rejection of aid to Sparta in 462 and alliance

with Thessaly, Megara Argos, at war with Sparta. Indecisive outcome.

460 to 454

Athens and allies send fleet of 200 to conquer Egypt from Persians. Expelled

in 454. Greatest disaster for Delian League

460 to 451 War between Argos Sparta

457

Pericles commands Athens at battle of Tanagra against Sparta , first direct

battle. Spartan victory at Tanagra, Athenian victories at Boetia Aegina

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

454

Transfer of Delian League treasury to Athens. Disaffection of League allies

from 454 to 450. Miletus revolts

451 Five year truce between Athens Sparta

450

Cimon leads 200 ships against Persians in Egypt and Cyprus. Cimon dies in

battle, no further large scale battles between Delian League and Persians.

"Peace of Callias?"

450 to 400 Thucydides, historian of Peloponesean Wars

447 to 433 Parthenon built

446

1st Peloponessean War ends. Thirty Years Peace. Parties swore to abide

peacefully for 30 years.

444 Ostracism between Thucydides Pericles . Former ostracized.

443 to 428 Pericles hold office of general

440s Samos Byzantium Revolt from Delian League suppressed by Pericles

438 Statue of Athene Parthenos created by Phidias set up in Parthenon

437

Prosecution of Phidias by enemies of Pericles . First accused of stealing gold

from statue of Athena, then of impiety for putting likeness of himself and

Pericles on Athena's Shield.

431 to 404

Great Peleponnesean War,(431 to 421 called Archimadamian War) though

friendship between Spartan King Archidamus and Pericles

431 to 425

Attica inhabitants moved from countryside to within Athens walls because of

war

430

Plague in Athens; second Attic invasion. Pericles deposed from office of

general, tried, fined and reappointed.

429 Peloponeseans siege Plataea; death of Pericles

428 to 348 Plato , born in Athens or Aegina to aristocratic family

421

Peace of Nicias to last for 50 years. Alcibiades(brought up by Pericles as

guardian) opposes peace and lobbys for alliance with Argos

420 Intrigues of Alcibiades in Peloponese leads to alliance of Athens and Argos

418 Sparta defeats Argos and her allies at Mantinea

415 Athenians capture Melos, not part of Delian League, kill men and enslave rest

415

Alcibiades flees from fleet to Sicily after charges of sacrilege brought against

him. Flees to Sparta and urges them to send fleet against Athens in Sicily

414 Athens blockade Syracuse, aided by Spartans, destroy Athenian fleet

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

413

Spartan King Agis invades Attica and inflicts great damage in countryside.

Because of Spartan damage, Athens changed mode of raising revenues from

tribute to 5% tax on goods carried by sea

412

Many islands revolt against Athenian rule. Alcibiades goes to Hios with

Spartans to get islands to revolt against Athens.

411

Peisander, as part of a plan of to recall Alcibiades and to win Persian support

against Sparta , wins assembly support to change constitution.

411

Council of 400 deposed in Athens, replaced by rule of 5000; Alcibiades made

Athenian general

410 Restoration of full democracy in Athens

405 Athenian fleet destroyed at Aegospotami

404

Surrender of Athens, peace with Sparta . Didn't destroy Athens as check of

most powerful allies of Corinth and Thebes

404

Lysander, Spartan general, supports rule of Thirty in Athens. Theramenes,

Dracontides, Critias. Brought about election of Council of 500. Declared

wanted to purify city of "unjust" and turn citizens towards "virtue justice."

Moral vs. constitutional revolt. Killed sycophants then wealthy and took their

property.

403

Athenian revolution reversed. Restoration of democracy and general

amnesty. Critias has Theramenes killed

403 to 399

Commission of lawgivers revise Athenian laws. New constitution holds until

322

400

Cyrus the Younger leads 13,000 Greek mercenaries and 30,000 Persians to

oust his brother Artaxerxes II from the Persian throne; Cyrus dies in battle,

leaving the Greeks, under Xenophon, to get back to Greece

399

Trial and execution of Socrates(b. 470) on charges of impiety and corrupting

the youth

399

Sparta sends forces to Ionia to protect them from Persians and continue raids

until 396

395

Start of Corinthian War. Persians stir up Athens, Argos, Corinth Thebes to

revolt against Spartans

394

Persian fleet defeats Spartans of Cnidus. Begins overthrow of Spartans in

Aegean

393

Conon, ex-Athenian general, working for Persians, restores Athens walls to

defend from Sparta

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

390

Evagoras, tyrant of Salamis in Cyprus, who had contributed to Persian ships

to defeat Sparta , revolts against Persians

388 Plato founds the Academy in Athens, first European university

386

End of Corinthian War. Spartans gave up claim to Greek Ionian cities,

position in Greece became stronger. Dominant until 371

384 to 322 Aristotle , born in Stageira, Macedonia on fringe of Greek world

378

Athens forms Second Sea League against Sparta . Chios, Mytilene,

Byzantium, Rhodes and others. Spartans attack Thebes

376

Theban Athenian fleet defeat Spartan fleet. Athens remains strongest

Aegean power until 322. Thebe rebuild its federation

371 Sparta and Athens make peace. Spartans lose dominance

370

Thebes invades Peloponese in support of Arcadia against Sparta . Athens

aligns with Sparta

367

Aristotle becomes student at Plato's Academy in Athens and remains there

for 20 years until PlatoΉs death in 347BC

367

Plato travelled to Syracuse the first time to instruct the son of the tyrant and

to set up a government as outline in the Republic, one ruled by philosopherkings

365 End of Peloponnesean League

361

Plato travelled to Syracuse the second time to instruct the son of the tyrant

and to set up a government as outline in the Republic, one ruled by

philosopher-kings

360

Perdicas III, ruler of Macedon and Phillip II brother, killed in battle. Phillip

rules as regent for PerdicasΉ son for a few years, then kills his nephew and

rules as King.

357 Phillip II captures Amphipolis from Athens

356

Phillip II captures Potidea and sells citizens into slavery; defeats combined

army in Thrace

352

Phillip of Macedon wins battle in Thessaly; is checked at Thermopylae by

Athenians

356 to 323 Alexander III the Great, born to Phillip II and Epirot queen Olympias

348

Phillip captures Halkidiki, plunders city of Olynthus and sells inhabitants into

slavery

347 Death of Plato

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346

Peace treaty between Athens and Phillip of Macedon; Phillip gains control of

Thermoplylae

345

Phillip undertakes an extensive scheme of internal colonization, transplanting

large bodies of people between the different parts of the kingdom

344 Phillip conquers Illyria

343 Aristotle moves to Macedonia; becomes Alexander's tutor for three years

343

Phillip invades Epirus, overthrows king and installs his brother-in-law

Alexander

342 Phillip returns to Thessaly; reorganizes administration

342 to 339 Philip conquers Aegean coast of Thrace and cities on west coast of Black Sea

340 Philip unsuccessful in siege on Perinthius and Byzantium

338

King Phillip II of Macedon defeats combined Theban Athenian forces at

Chaeronea and unites Greek city-states to the east of Straits of Otranto except

Sparta .

338/337

Phillip calls meeting of Greek city-states to Corinth which set up a permanent

organization, the League of Corinth. Treaty of common peace; the

constitutions in force in member states when they joined the League were

guaranteed; federal action was to check subversion/aggression; federal army

drawn from members by size. Phillip was declared commander of federal

forces, and Synedrion declared war on Persia.

337 Alexander III sent into exile with some of his friends

336

Alexander returns after Phillip II assassinated and acclaimed king; Alexander

probably not involved in father's death

335 Aristotle moves to Athens opens school, Lyceum

334 to 330 Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire

327

Alexander the Great' s army reaches India; army mutinies and refused to

proceed to the Ganges river

June 10, 323

Death of Alexander the Great on army's return journey at Babylon probably

of fever but poison is alleged. Some historians believe that although he was a

brilliant general, he was a cruel and autocratic ruler whose conviction of his

own invincibility led to megalomaniac intentions and pretensions of divinity.

Although he founded many cities, these were for strategic reasons rather than

for the spread of Hellenism; his expedition had a disastrous effect upon the

population and economy of Macedon.

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323

Upon Alexander's death, Perdikkas(killed by officers bribed by Ptolemy in

321) assumes control of Empire and twenty year struggle begins. Other

officers Eumenes(executed 316), Antipater(died 319), Krateros(killed 321),

Lysimachos(Thrace), Ptolemy,(Egypt) Antigonos(Asia Minor) Seleukos

(Persia)

323

Aristotle , on death of Alexander , leaves Athens. Three versions of events: 1)

Exiles himself from Athens on an Aegean island-Mortimer Adler. 2)Tried for

impiety, fled and died in Chalcis, Macedonian stronghold-HWC Davis in

Aristotle's Politics translated by Benjamin Jowett, 1905 first, reprint 1967 3)

in reaction for Macedonian control, charged with , "asevia" went to Chalcis

in Euboea on an estate of his dead mothers, died of an illness.

323 to 30BC Hellenistic Age Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt

322 Death of Aristotle at 63

318

Olympia(Alexander's mother) invades Macedonia with Epirot Army,

executes Phillip III and Kassander, son of Antipater, flees

316 Kassander defeats Olympia's army and executes her

310

Kassander, in consolidating hold of Macedonia, executes Roxanne and

Alexander's son, Alexander IV

307 Library of Alexandria founded by Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals

301 Demetrios, son of Antigonos, conquers most of southern Greece

300 Euclid, geometry in Alexandria

287 to 212 Archimedes of Syracuse, studied in Alexandria

281

Lysimachos and Seleucos armies fight, Seleucid wins and controls all of

Alexander's Empire except Egypt

281-65 Seleucid Empire

264 First Punic(Carthaginian) Wars by Rome over Sicily

218-202 Second Punic(Carthaginian) Wars

197 Romans defeat Macedonian army of Philip V

191 Romans and Macedonians defeat Seleucid army of Antiochos at Thermopylai

153 to 146 Third Punic(Carthaginian) Wars and Romans stormed Carthage

148 Romans conquer Macedonia after abolishing monarchy and years of rebellion

133

Attalos II, descendant of Eumenes, bequeaths Pergamos in western Asia

minor to Rome. Many Romans emigrate to Pergamos

133 Romans begin to conquer Greek city-states

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89 to 88

King Mithriades VI Eupator of Pontos massacres 80,000 Romans in Asia

minor and frees most of southern Greece from Roman rule

87 to 86

Roman general Sulla defeats Mithridates, burns Athens , denudes Greek

shrines and demands reparations for rebellion

49 Caesar and Pompey's armies fight near Thermopylai, Caesar wins

48 Caesar and Cleopatra conceives son, Caesarion

48 Library of Alexandria burned accidentally(by Caesar?)

March 15, 44 BC Caesar assassinated by Cassius and Brutus

42

Caesar's adopted son Octavian and Mark Antony fight and defeat Cassius and

Brutus' forces in Macedonia. Antony takes east and makes Athens his capital.

32 Antony and Cleopatra invade Italy to depose Octavian

30BC

Death of Cleopatra, last Greek queen of Egypt ending 300 years of Greek

Ptolemaic dynasty

31BC to AD14

(Roman Emperor, Augustus). Greek pedants living in Rome were neo-

Atticists. They set out to revive the form of the Attic dialect of the Greek

language, later called koine, that had been current in the fifth and fourth

centuries BC.

20BC

Greacia capta ferum victorem cepit et artes intulit agresti Latio("Greece,

taken captive, captured her savage conqueror and brought the arts to rustic

Latium")-Horace. Roman poet

1 AD Birth of Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph

46 to 120 AD

Plutarch, Greek prose writer, born and lived most of his life at Chaeronea

near Thebes, visited Asia, Egypt and Italy and had powerful friends in Rome;

wrote over 200 books; wrote 50 biographies, 23 comprise pairs of 'parallel

lives'(a Greek compared to a Roman) which contain much historical

information and were a prime source for knowledge of the ancient world in

the medieval and early modern periods

49 to 51 Paul preaches Christianity in Greece

212AD

Emperor Caracalla confers Roman citizenship on all free people who lived in

the Roman Empire

235 to 284 Roman Empire's first breakdown

249 to 251

Decius persecutes Christians not because he despised their religion but

because Christians refused to sacrifice to the gods and the safety of the state

could only be assured by the prayers to the gods

250 to 300 Goths(warlike Germanic tribe) raid and burn Athens, Corinth, Argos

269 Romans slaughter Goths in Bulgaria

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284 to 1453 Byzantine Civilization

284

Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome; institutes reforms that centralize and

introduce uniformity in the administration of the Empire, bring the army

under effective control of the government, restore the financial situation by

stabilizing the currency and, to confirm the whole work, elevate the position

of the Emperor to a divinity(Diocletian claimed descent from Jupiter). The

fostering of Imperial majesty carried through to the East Roman(Byzantine)

Empire. To deal with the lack of a system of Imperial succession which

created great political instability, two emperors (augusti) were established,

one in the East and one in the West and their successors(caesars), the tetrachy

286 Maximian appointed augustus in the west by Diocletian

293

Diocletian appoints Constantiuis and Galerius as caesars in the west and east.

Galerius and a circle of neo-Platonists opposed the Christians

Fourth Cen. St. Symeon the Stylite, first of saints who passed their lives on top of columns

301 to 305

Emperor Diocletian and Galerius issue 4 edicts which severely persecute

Christians by ordering churches destroyed, books burned, priests jailed and

sacrifices to official state gods. Christians were forbidden to assemble and

were placed outside the law and those who refused to sacrifice to the pagan

gods were put to death.

303

Diocletian celebrating his vicennial in Rome, ordered that all the jailed

Christians be forced to sacrifice; jails were so full there was no room for the

criminals

305

Diocletian abdicates throne with hopes that his system of succession that he

established will work

311

Emperor Galerius issues edict shortly before his death tolerating Christian

religion throughout the empire and allowing reconstruction of the churches;

Galerius believed his fatal illness to be the vengeance of the Christian God

311

By this time their are four emperors, Licinius, Maximin, Constantine(born in

Naissius or Nish in present day Serbia) and Maxentius which results in civil

war

312

Constantine, on his way to Rome with his army to do battle for control of the

western empire is said to have seen the sign of the cross over the sun and the

message "In This Sign Conquer." Constantine considers his victory

confirmation of his vision

313

Edict of Milan in which the East and West Roman Emperors, Constantine I

and Licinius, lift ban on Christianity

323 Constantine defeats Licinius and becomes sole Emperor of the Roman Empire

324- to 330 Building of Constantinople

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324 to 337

Emperor Constantine I sole ruler of the Roman Empire. In keeping with the

system of making the Emperor a divinity started by Diocletian, Constantine is

the representative of God and earth and becomes head of Christian church

325

First Ecumenical Council held in Nikaia called by Constantine to resolve

dispute of Alexandrian priest Arius and his Bishop on the nature of the

divinity of Christ; Arianism is the belief that Christ was a created being and

thus not fully divine. Constantius, Constantine's son, supported Arius and the

government did not renounce the heresy until 381

May 11, 330

Emperor inaugurates "New Rome," but people preferred to to call it after its

founder Constantinople

337

Constantine baptized a Christian by an Arian bishop on his deathbed.

Succeeded by his three sons, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans I

351

Constantine's sons were quarrelsome and by this time the other two were

dead and Constantius was Emperor.

359

Senate established in Constantinople; did not have the same powers as

Roman Senate; was a semi-constitutional body that expressing the views of

the wealthy and powerful in the Empire

360

Julian, ConstantiusΉ cousin, defeats German invasion and is declared

Emperor by his victorious army, dissatisfied with Constantius. Julian reverted

to paganism which won him the title "Julian the Apostate"

363 Julian dies attempting to invade Persia

363

Army acclaims the general Valentinian as Emperor; prefers to rule in West

and leaves his brother Valens as co-Emperor in East. Valens was unpopular

as an Arian heretic and faced constant revolts

364 to 378 Reign of Emperor Valens

376

Visigoths, pressed from behind by the Huns, given permission by Valens to

cross the Danube and settled within the Empire; beginning of the Barbarian

Invasions

378

Settled barbarians quarrelled with Imperial officials and marched on

Constantinople; ValensΉ dies and army defeated by Goths at Adrianople

380 to 392

Emperor Theodosius I declares Christianity the official state religion and

imposes ban on all non-Christian religions, except Judaism and kindred

religion of the Samaritans. Oracles, Olympic games stopped because

considered pagan. Roman legion war strategy did not work against barbarian

cavalry; Theodosius began practice of faederati, inviting barbarian cavalry to

fight barbarian cavalry led by their prince to fight for the Empire

381 Second Ecumenical Council convoked by Theodosius I in Constantinople

395 Visigoths(western Goths) under Alaric invade Greece

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408 to 450

Reign of Theodosius II; St. Daniel the Stylite lived on top of a column in

Constantinople during Theodosius II reign and was particularly fashionable at

Court

410 Visigoths under Alaric sack Rome

431

Third Ecumenical Council convened in Ephesus; found against Nestorius,

Patriarch of Constantinople, when he attempted to divide the nature of Christ

into two, human and divine

439 Vandals sack Carthage

442 to 450 Huns out of central Asia under Attila attack Greek and Roman cities

451

Fourth Ecumenical Council convened in Chalkedon; condemned Patriarch

Dioscurus of Alexandria for Monophysitism, the belief that Christ is of One

Nature rather than Two Indivisible Natures, human and divine; did not

resolve issue, dominated the EmpireΉs history as a problem for two centuries.

Succession of two Monophysite Emperors(Zeno and Anastasius I) and the

passivity of Justin I provided several decades of conditions favorable to the

spread of Monophysitism in Egypt and Syria.

455 Vandals under Gaiseric sack Rome

400 to 600

Egyptian, Syrian and Armenian Christians translated Bible and liturgy into

their own language and rejected terms in which Orthodoxy was formulated.

(Melchites)

457 Emperor crowned from then onward by Patriarch of Constantinople

476 to 491

Second reign of Zeno; commissioned the Ostrogoth leader Theodoric to

invade Italy and conquer the west

493

Ostrogoths(eastern Goths) under Theodoric the Great take over the Western

Roman Empire

527 to 565

Justinian I, became Roman emperor in Constantinople, aided by wife his

Theodora(an actress and Monophysite) and his Generals Belisarius and the

eunuch Narses, attempted to recover Western Empire from Vandals and

Goths, lost over time to various conquerors; reconquest of the west

accomplished at a high price, the neglect of the Balkans and Asia; ended the

practice of regional governors buying there post and recouping the costs from

taxes

529

Institutes of Hellenic Greek philosophy in Athens closed by Justinian I

because of Hellenism/Christianity conflict

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532

Nika riots resulted from the Blues and the Greens, groups in Constantinople

that had large Circus organizations that competed in the Hippodrome, united

against the Emperor because of heavy taxation and city-rates, which resulted

in the burning of many buildings in Constantinople and opened the way to

Justinian I re-building the city

532 to 537 Construction of Ayia Sophia in Constantinople

533 Justinian's Code published, a re-organization and updating of Roman law

534 General Bellasarius conquers Vandals in North Africa

Dec 27, 537 Inauguration ceremony of Ayia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople

540 Antioch sacked by the Syrian campaign of the Persian monarch Chosroes

540

Bulgars invade Balkan peninsula and ravage Thrace, Macedonia, Illyricum

and press as far south as Corinth

542 Plague decimates the Empire

553

Fifth Ecumenical Council convened in Constantinople; condemned at

Justinian's order the abstruse heresy of the Three Chapters

565 Death of Justinian; his son Justin II becomes Emperor

570 Birth of the Prophet Mohammed(570 to 632), founder of Islam

578

Justin II becomes disabled from the stress of the many barbarians at the

borders of the Empire and adopts Tiberius who becomes Emperor upon his

death

582

Emperor Tiberius dies; practiced tolerance towards the heretics and

concentrated on driving off the Persians in the south and the Avars in the

north; in an attempt to restore public morale he remitted a years' taxation

582 to 602

Reign of Emperor Maurice, Tiberis' son-in-law, pursued his same policies.

Kept Avars at bay and defeated the Persians; but austere economic policies

made him unpopular and the army revolted and killed him.

595

Provoked by the claims of Rome, Patriarch John the Faster takes the title of

Ecumenical(world-wide) Patriarch

7th century

Mardaites, Syrian Monothelites, are moved from Lebanon to the shores of

Asia Minor; where heresy was wide spread in a district, State officials would

forcibly move a population of whole villages to other parts of the Empire

where they would be swamped or, it was rather hoped, converted by their

new neighbors

600 to 700

Slavic invasion of Northern Byzantine regions; Slavs eventually migrated but

did not rule southern Greece. Widespread civil war and open country overrun

by Persians, Arabs as well as Slavs.

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602 to 610

Reign of Phocas, army leader who lead revolt against Emperor Maurice; his

reign was a nightmare of disruptive anarchy and tyranny, foreign invasions

and internal risings.

610 to 641

Reign of Emperor Heraclius, son of Armenian exarch of North Africa; finds

Empire in great danger; Avars, Slavs and Bulgars overrunning the Balkans

and Persians advancing through the eastern provinces; makes Greek the

official language of the Byzantine Empire

615

Persians occupy Egypt, Syria and Palestine; they burn and massacre the

population in Jerusalem, carrying off the Holy Cross and patriarch

623

While campaigning in Azerbajian, Byzantine troops systematically destroyed

the fire temples of the Persian cities, specifically Thebarmes, birthplace of

Zoroaster, in revenge for the Persian desecration of Jerusalem

626

First great siege of Constantinople by the Persians, under Shahen, and the

Avars

628

Heraclius army defeats the Persians; accompanied by feverish religious

passions and hatreds, perhaps the first full-fledged crusade of the Middle Ages

629

The title Basileus first appears as borne by the Emperor, just after the final

Persian defeat, a symbol of the Oriental influence on the court

632

Death of Prophet Mohammed in Mecca, founder of the Islamic religion;

Arabs began to raid empires immediately to the north

632 to 732 Arab conquests Middle East, North Africa, Spain and Southern France

636

Battle of Yarmuk is crushing defeat of Byzantine army by the Arabs; they

occupy Syria and Palestine

638 Arabs take Jerusalem

641

Death of Emperor Heraclius; the Empire is reduced to Asia Minor, the

Balkan coastline, north Africa and Sicily

641 to 668

Reign of Constans II, grandson of Heraclius; the bulk of his reign was

occupied with wars against the Arabs; murdered in Sicily

642 Arabs take Alexandria and burn its famous libraries

648 Arabs occupy Cyprus

668 to 685

Reign of Constantine IV, Pogonatus, son of Constans II; continued to defend

the Empire; allowed the Bulgars to make further in raids into the Empire

669 Arab forces besiege Constantinople

674 to 678 Second siege of Constantinople by the Arabs

670 Arabs begin conquest of Africa

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679

Bulgars, a war-like Hunnish tribe, invade the Empire and settle south of the

Danube

680

Seventh Ecumenical Council convened in Constantinople which condemned

Monophysitism and Monothelitism - Christ is of two wills and two energies

without division, alteration, separation or confusion; an appendix to this

Council, the Synod In Trullo drew up what was to remain the constitution

and rule of the Byzantine Church. Monophysite churches of Armenia, Syria

and Egypt seceded and the bulk were taken over by the Arabs

685

Reign of Justinian II, son of Constantine IV, Pogonatus; was a brilliant

unreliable tyrant with a taste for blood; married a Chazar princess for

diplomatic purposes

695

After ten years of his oppression, Constantinople rose against Justinian II, slit

his nose and banished him to Cherson in the Crimea

697 Carthage falls to the Arabs and they move towards Spain

698 Navy dethrones Leontius, placing Admiral Apsimar on the throne

705

Justinian II escaped from Cherson and returned 10 years later with the help of

the Bulgars to reclaim his throne

711 Philippicus, army general, dethrones Justinian II, putting his family to death

713

Phillippicus, a fervent Monothelite, falls in a palace plot and is succeeded by

a civil servant Artemius who takes the name Anastasius II.

716

Anastasius II becomes unpopular and the revolt of a regiment brought an

obscure and unwilling provincial tax-collector, Theodosius III to the throne.

717

In the face of the Arab menace, the greatest general of the Empire, Leo III,

surnamed the Isaurian, with scarcely any opposition, takes over the

government.

717 to 718 Third siege of Constantinople

726

Leo III(a Syrian by origin) publishes a decree forbidding the worship of icons

and followed it with the general destruction of icons representing Christ and

the saints; his original motive was probably theological, but the movement

soon became politically based as an attack on the Church, and particularly the

monasteries whose growing power was aided by their possession of holy

pictures. The icons were replaced by symbols, such as a cross. Iconoclasm

had a certain success among the soldiers, who were mostly Asiatics, but it

met with passionate resistance, especially in Europe; numerous riots and

risings in Constantinople

726 Patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem Alexandria under Arab rule.

726 to 843 Iconoclastic conflict in East Roman Empire

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739

Leo issues Ecloga, designed to introduce Christian principle into law; deathpenalty

abolished substituted by mutilation, only Christian marriages

recognized, grounds for divorce reduced to four, prohibited degrees of

relationship were raised from four to six, wife had an equal share with her

husband in their joint property and the guardianship of their children.

740

End of Leo III rule; turned back the Arabs, repaired the Empires finances and

developed a system of themes for tighter military administration. His son,

Constantine V, Copronymous succeeded the throne; married a Chazar

princess for diplomatic purposes. Riots broke out in Constantinople due to his

fatherΉs Iconoclastic policy.

740 to 775

Emperor Constantine V, Copronymous(dung-name), nicknamed by his

outraged opponents, vigorously carried out the Iconoclast program by waging

open warfare on the monastic establishments, confiscated properties,

martyred monks, drafted others into the army and forced many to marry nuns.

He also crushed the Bulgars, fought off the Arabs and completed his father's

financial and administrative reforms.

780

Constantine VI(10 years old at accession) reigns under the regency of his

mother, Empress Irene

787

Eighth Ecumenical Council convened in Nikaia by Empress Irene condemns

Iconoclasm and restores image worshipping(temporarily)

797 to 802 Empress Irene blinds her son and becomes sole ruler of the Empire

800 Pope Leo crowns Charlemagne Emperor in the West

802 to 811

Nikephoros I, IreneΉs treasurer, dethrones her. Recolonizes Slav regions but

loses Crete to Arab pirates and had to face a renewal of Bulgar power and

Saracen wars; killed in a battle against the Bulgar prince Krum

811

East Roman government recognized Charlemagne as Emperor of Rome in

return for cessation of pressure on western borders

811 Nikephoros I brother-in-law, Michael I, succeeds him as Emperor

812

Capture of Mesembria by Krum puts "Greek fire" into hands of Bulgars;

chemical substance either thrown like hand grenades which exploded and

caught fire when they hit enemy ships or else whole pots were thrown

through the air by catapults

813

Michael I falls in military revolt by his general Leo V, an Armenian;

Iconoclasm re-introduced as a political, anti-clerical rather than a theological

movement

820

Leo V killed by a soldier Michael, a Phrygian, who became Emperor Michael

II

823 Arabs capture Crete

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829- to 842

Reign of Emperor Theophilus , who succeeds his father Michael II; was a

good administrator and a fervent patron of culture whose reign saw

renaissance of secular learning and artistic magnificence, largely influenced

by the Arabs

842

Upon Theophilus death, his son Michael III rules with his wife Theodora as

regent

843 Empress Theodora reinstates image worship

856

Michael II becomes sole Emperor, known for his extravagance was named

the Drunkard; chose able advisors in his uncle Bardas and a slave-boy named

Basil; Basil causes the death of Bardas and murders Michael to assume the

throne

860 Russian naval raid of Constantinople

867 to 886

Basil I promotes religious and linguistic conversion of Slavs, becoming

Greek-speaking Orthodox Christians. Basil begins the Macedonian Dynasty

(867 to 1057) during which the Empire reaches its zenith. Basil was a capable

general and during his rule the Saracen threat was diminished and southern

Italy was recaptured.

867 to 886 Last pagan enclave, Maniots, converted to Christianity

870

Basil I campaigns to destroy Paulician villages and traitorous Imperial

officer, Chrysocheir, but suffered defeat before Tephrike and would have lost

his life for the valor of an Armenian soldier, Theopylactus the Unbearable,

father of the future emperor Romanus I Lecapenus. The event was so

traumatic for Basil he thenceforth prayed daily in his chapel that he might

live long enough to kill Chrysocheir

885 Mt Athos set aside as a religious retreat by Emperor Basil I

886 to 912

Emperor Leo VI, surnamed the Wise, son of Basil I, accedes to the throne.

He took four wives to produce an heir, which was in violation of Church

canons; he established his son's legitimacy but his marriage was condemned

after his death

894 to 896

Symean of Bulgaria wages first war against East Roman Empire. Actively

pursued introduction of Byzantine literary culture in Bulgaria in local

Slavonic language.

904

Thessalonika sacked by Arab pirates led by Leo of Tripoli from Crete;

carried off into slavery 22,000 inhabitants

912

Leo followed on the throne by his brother, Emperor Alexander, who reigned

jointly with Leo's son, Constantine VII Porphyrogennetus(Born in the Purple

Chamber)

913 to 927 Symean of Bulgaria wages second war against East Roman Empire

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914 to 919

Empress Zoe, ConstantineΉs mother, rules the Empire; the army's defeat by

the Bulgarians causes her downfall

919 to 944

Romanus I, admiral under Empress Zoe, takes over Empire; made peace with

the Bulgarians and his general John Curcuas begins conquests in the East;

crowned three of his sons who in the end dethroned him; St. Luke the Stylite

lived on top of a column in Chalcedon during Romanus I reign

923 to 969 Byzantine Empire push back Arabs

927

East Roman Government recognized Bulgarian Emperor and an autonomous

Patriarch

945 to 959

Reign of Constantine VII, brought to power by the acclaim of the people in

Constantinople

959 to 963

Reign of Romanus II, son of Constantine VII; married Theophano and had

two young sons, Basil II and Constantine VIII

961 Byzantine navy under Nicephorus Phocas wins back Crete from Arabs

963

Reign of Nicephorus II, who married RomanusΉ widow Theophano; Cilicia,

Cyprus and Antioch were recovered

965 Byzantines re-capture Cyprus from the Arabs

969

Re-capture of Antioch from Arabs; Nicephorus murdered by his wife and

cousin John Tzimisces, who took his place

969 to 976

Reign of John I Tzimisces, a capable general who conquered half of Bulgaria,

defeated the Russsian invasion and marched his armies to the outskirts of

Jerusalem and Baghdad

976 to 1025

Reign of Basil II, the Bulgar Slayer; during his reign perhaps the greatest

victory of the Greek Church took place; the conversion of the Kievan Russia

986

Two of the most powerful Anatolian families, Bardas Phocas and Bardas

Sclerus; Basil II ended the civil war with the support of Russian troops; in

return for the support, Basil II married his sister Anna to the Russian Prince

Vladimir on the condition that his people convert to Christianity

989

Conversion of Prince Vladimir of Kiev and beginning of Byzantine culture in

Russia

1014

Emperor Basil II 'Bulgar-slayer' defeats Tsar Samuel at the Struma River,

captures and blinds 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers and sends them back to Samuel

1025 to 1028

Emperor Constantine VIII, Basil's brother, rules; dies leaving three middleaged

daughters, Eudocia, Theodora and Zoe; for the next decades husbands

and proteges of ZoeΉs ruled the Empire

1028 to 1034 Reign of Emperor Romanus III Argyrus, husband of Zoe

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1034 to 1041

Reign of Emperor Michael IV, married by Zoe on death of Romanus; he put

down a serious Bulgarian rebellion but was an epileptic; on his death Zoe

adopted and crowned his nephew, Michael V who tried to overthrow her

1042

After popular rising in Constantinople dethroned Michael V, Zoe and her

sister Theodora are established as sole rulers of the Empire

1042 to 1054

Reign of Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus; sisters Zoe and Theodora

were jealous of each other so Zoe remarried. Did nothing to stop the growing

power of the Church and the aristocracy.

1045

Emperor Constantine IX re-opened the university and founded a Law School

in Constantinople

May 1054

Roman and Eastern Church under the French Pope Leo IX and the Patriarch

Michael Cerularius excommunicate each other. Some of the religious

differences that had evolved during the centuries are 1) the theological issue

of the Procession of the Holy Ghost(Latin Creed states Holy Ghost proceeds

from the Father and the Son, Orthodox Creed states solely from the Father),

centering around the work filioque which the Latins had added to the Creed

as it had been fixed at the Second Oecumenical Council, 2) the use of

leavened(Greek) or unleavened(Latin) bread used during the sacrament, 3)

the Greek practice of epiklesi, the prayer invoking the Holy Ghost at the

consecration of the Host, a prayer omitted by the Latins, 4) primacy of the

Pope over the other Eastern Patriarchs

1054 to 1056 Reign of Empress Theodora on Constantine IX death

1059 to 1067

Reign of Emperor Constantine X Ducas; due to the economy and fear of

military revolts the army was reduced causing disorganization

1067 to 1071 Reign of Romanus IV Diogenes, a representative of the Anatolian generals

1071

Byzantine army was defeated in a decisive battle by Seljuk(not Ottoman)

Turks at Manzikert in Armenia; the Empire never recovered. Loss due to the

fact that the armies were composed largely of mercenaries, and the plots of

Michael Psellus with the Ducas family; the Armenian soldiers, as a result of

religious animosities, deserted en masse on the field of battle, the

premeditated desertion of general Andronicus Ducas, nephew of Constantine

X Ducas and a leading personality in the bureaucratic faction.

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1071 to 1078

Reign of Michael VII Ducas, son of Romanus IV; Andronicus returned to

Constantinople, declared the defeat of the army at Manzikert and the

bureaucratic faction supported the accession of Michael VII; meanwhile the

Turks captured and released Emperor Romanus IV; with two rival emperors,

the Empire was plunged into civil war just when Turkish tribes were entering

the Empire unopposed. During the next ten years the factions bid against each

other for the services of the Turkmen chieftains, handing many towns over to

Turkish garrisons and ensuring the success of the Turkish occupation. The

Turks subsequently overran Asia Minor; they were pastoral and not

agricultural people; cultivation ceased, roads and aqueducts fell into ruin,

Asia Minor declined rapidly into a desert and robbed the Empire of its main

recruiting ground and granary. Michael VII was forced to abdicate throne in

favor of a soldier, Nicephorus III Botaniates

1078 to 1081

Reign of Nicephorus III Botaniates, dethroned by another soldier, Alexius

Comnenus

1080 Seljuks capture Asia Minor cities

1081 to 1118

Reign of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus; saves the Empire by fighting on

every front keeping the Normans, under Robert Guiscard, from the Balkans,

drove back invaders from the north and held the Seljuks at bay. Was able to

use Crusaders for his purposes, but paid a price in opening a new direct trade

route to Syria, procured the help of the Venetian ships with commercial

concessions and devalued the EmpireΉs currency. Because of these

commercial changes, taxation was raised significantly to the point that some

people welcomed the Seljuks

1085

Death of Norman leader Robert Guiscard, providing Empire with badlyneeded

respite from defending western front

1090 to 1091

Patzinaks, allied with Turkish emir of Smyrna, attack Constantinople by land

and sea. In an alliance with the Cumans, Alexius defeats them at Mt.

Levounion(date unknown)

1096

First Crusade roused by the preaching of Pope Urban at the Council of

Clermont; Crusading leaders gathered in Constantinople and swore an oath

agreeing to return lands formerly belonging to the empire which they might

conquer; won back land from the Seljuk Turks, notably Nicaea, then went

south to Palestine

1098

Start of antagonisms between Greeks and Crusaders when Bohemund

claimed Antioch for himself; Crusaders; Bohemund defeated in battle in

western Greece

1118 to 1143

Reign of John II Comnenus, son of Alexius; won more land back from the

Seljuks and withdrew concessions to foreigners

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1143 to 1180

Reign of Manuel I Comnenus, son of John II; relied on Western arms and

ships from the Italian republics, granting more commercial concessions;

Constantinople remained a great factory of the world's luxuries, but her

customs' revenue and overseas trade dwindled

1147 Second Crusade

1147

Norman invaders under Roger II capture Thebes and Corinth and carry off

silk-worms and weavers to Italy, breaking the old Imperial monopoly

1171

Manuel, having concluded alliances with Pisa and Genoa, decided to strike at

Venice by arresting all Venetians in the Empire and confiscating all their

ships and goods, symbolizing the degeneration of the empire's relationship

with the west and between Latins and Greeks in Constantinople.

1176

Disastrous defeat of Manuel I's army at Myriocephalum opens the door for

Seljuk Turks to re-establish themselves in Asia Minor

1183 to 1185

Reign of Andronicus I Comnenus, who had his young cousin Alexius II, son

of Manuel I, murdered so he could accede to the throne. Great massacre of

Italians in Constantinople; all concessions withdrawn. Made many enemies,

was overthrown by riots in Constantinople

1184 to 1204 Collapse of East Roman Empire

1185 to 1195

Reign of Isaac II Angelus; popular uprising overthrow Andronicus I in favor

of Angelus

1185

Normans take Thessaloniki and subject inhabitants to merciless treatment,

partly for revenge of the massacre of Latins in 1183

1190 Third Crusade

1191 Cyprus taken from Byzantines by English King Richard I "Lion Hearts"

1195 to 1203

Reign of Alexius III, who deposed and succeeded his brother Isaac II

Angelus

1197 to 1272

Nicephorus Blemmydes; first of polymath Byzantine scholars; studied

medicine, philosophy, theology, mathematics and astronomy; founded school

whose pupils were Emperor Theodore II and George Acropolites; became a

monk in his later years

1198

King Richard sells Cyprus to Frankish crusaders from previous crusades who

had been ousted from Jerusalem by the Arabs

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1203

Army of Fourth Crusade arrive in Constantinople and restore Isaac II

Angelus, deposed by brother Alexius III in 1195, as Emperor and his son ,

Alexius IV Angelus, co-emperor; Crusaders, once arriving in Venice, were

unable to raise funds for passage to Egypt. Agreed to help Venetians take

Christian city of Zara from the Hungarians; Alexius IV, offered to pay the

debt to the Venetians if the Crusaders would restore his father to the throne in

Constantinople

1204

Fourth Crusade and capture and sack of Constantinople by Venetians and

French and installation of French Emperor, Count Baldwin of Flanders; anti-

Venetian actions of 1171 and 1183 lead to event; a riot broke out which gave

the Crusaders their excuse to capture and sack the city.

1204 to 1222

Reign of Emperor Theodore I Lascaris in Nikaia, established as Empire's

refugee Greek successor-state after fall of Constantinople to West; two others

declared independence, a Comnenus in Trebizond(which lasted until 1461)

and an Angelus in Epirus who acquired Thessaloniki from its Latin lords.

1205 to 1216

Henry becomes second Latin Emperor of Constantinople; Baldwin killed in

war with Bulgarians

1210 to 1645

Venetians occupy Crete; Venetians occupied islands along the coastline and

established colonies and won concessions that captured for her all the Eastern

trade

1217 to 1219

Reign of third Latin Empress Yolande of Constantinople, sister of Henry and

Baldwin

1219 to 1228 Reign of fourth Latin Robert of Constantinople, son of Yolande

1222 to 1254 Reign of John III Ducas Vatatzes in Nikaia, Theodore II's son-in-law

1242 to 1310

George Pachymer, Byzantine scholar; deacon of Church and professor at the

Patriarchal Academy; best known work was Byzantine historiography; main

interest was mathematics and the theory of music

1246 Empire of Thessalonika falls

1254 to 1258

Reign of Theodore II Lascaris in Nikaia, son of John III; student of

Nicephorus Blemmydes, during his reign wrote on philosophy

1259

Reign of Michael VIII Palaiologus, a member of the aristocracy who had

Theodore IIΉs son, John IV, blinded

1260-1310

Maximus Planudes, Byzantine scholar; monk and mathematician that

recommended use of Arabic numerals; wrote a historical geography; rewrote

AesopΉs fables; one of first scholars to translate Latin works into Greek

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1260

Nicephorus Chumnus born in Thessaloniki, Byzantine scholar; wrote on

philosophy, Aristotelian tastes but tempered by overriding sense of apophatic

theology; interested in natural sciences, advocated clarity, simplicity and

brevity in writing

1261

Reconquest of Constantinople by Michael VIII Palaiologos; Genoese had

been his allies who had to be payed by commercial concessions which

reduced the Empire's revenue; could not afford system of tax-free gifts of

land to pay frontier forces so abolished such holdings in Asia and so

weakened his defenses. Refounded University of Constantinople which had

been abeyance in Nikaia; George Acropolites becomes head of University

1270

Theodore Metochites born, Byzantine scholar; became Grand Logothetes in

1320; wrote on every branch of the Outer Learning(non-theological studies

vs. Inner Learning), philosophy(favored Plato ), education, the sciences,

astronomy, his histories show an honest objectivity

1274

At Council of Lyon, Emperor Michael's envoys pledge ecclesiastical union

with the West and acknowledge Papal supremacy; Patriarch and others

oppose. Beginning of many attempts of union between Eastern and Western

Christendom

1282 to 1328

Reign of Andronicus II Paleologus, son of Michael VIII. Enlarged the

University and placed it under the care of the Grand Logothete; professor's

salaries were paid by the state

1295

Birth of Nicephorus Gregora, Byzantine scholar and remarkable polymath;

chief interests were acoustics, astronomy; wrote polemic works on theology,

opposing Palamas, and his great History

1300

Gregory Choniades dies in Constantinople; founded an academy at Trebizond

for the study of astronomy.

1302 to 1388

Catalan Grand Company of Spanish mercenaries hired by Emperor

Andronikos II to fight Seljuk Turks

1305 to 1307

Catalan Grand Company of Spanish mercenaries, hired by Emperor

Andronikos II to fight the Seljuk Turks, turned against Constantinople and

blockaded it for two years and eventually retired to ravage Macedonia and

the Greek mainland

1308

Turks introduced into Europe due to Catalan Grand Company of Spanish

mercenaries

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1320

Birth of Nicholas Cabasilas in Thessaloniki, Byzantine scholar and mystical

humanist; supported Palamas, approved of secular and Classical learning;

pioneer of the term "Hellene" to mean a contemporary Byzantine Greek

rather than its previous meaning of Ancient Greek pagan. His views on

mysticism did not coincide with Palamas; believed that mystical experience

could best be reached by concentration on the Sacrament and that there was

no reason why a mystic should not be a man of the world and that secular

learning would help rather than hinder him.

1321 to 1328

Andronicus II fought his grandson and heir Andronicus III which only ended

when the old Emperor died 1326 Bursa captured by Osman(Ottoman Turks)

1328 to 1341 Reign of Andronicus III Paleologus

1329 Nicaea captured by Ottoman Turks

1331 to 1355

Serbian Empire under Stephen Dusan reaches its zenith; a constant menace to

Constantinople

1336 Meteora established as a monastic Greek Orthodox community

1337 Nicomedia captured by Ottoman Turks

1338 Orkhan, son of Osman, and Ottoman Turks takes Anatolia

1341

Death of Emperor Andronikos IV Paleologus leaving his nine-year-old son

John V Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos as regent

1345 Serbian Czar Stephan Dushan invades Macedonia and Thrace

1346

John VI Kantakuzenos proclaims himself Emperor in Andrianople, starts

civil war with John V and marries his daughter Theodora to Sultan Orkhan to

gain alliance with Ottomans

1346 to 1566 Genoese hold Hios

1347

The Black Death(plague) strikes Constantinople; possibly half the population

of the city and one-third of the Empire was wiped out.

1348 Serbian Czar Stephan Dushan invades Thessaly and Epirus

1340 to 1350 Palamas champions hesychasm(individual worship)

1342 to 1349

Zealot faction controls Thessaloniki, second city of the Empire;uprising

results in massacre of landed aristocracy

1350

War between Venetians and Genoese, Kantakuzenos sided with Venetians

and John V and Ottomans side with Genoese

1351

Council of Eastern Churches endorses doctrine of Energies, Gregory Palamas

view of Hesychism that the Orthodox mystic could perceive GodΉs uncreated

energies, but not God Himself, or His Essence, which is invisible and and

indivisible

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1355 Reign of Andronicus IV Paleologus, son of John V

1355 to 1451

George Gemistus Plethon, Byzantine scholar; saw no difference between

Inner and Outer Learning(theological and non-theological); particularly

disliked apophatic theology and believed that God gave us reason in order

that we should understand everything. Had little use for Roman tradition of

Empire, "We are Hellenes by race and culture." His aim was to save the

Greek world by reforming it along Platonic lines .

1357 Ottoman Turks capture Adrianople and make it their capital

1358 to 1361

Orkhan dies after expanding into Europe; son Murad declares holy war on

Byzantine infidels and takes Adrianople, second city of the Empire after

Constantinople

1371 Battle of Maritsa that put Bulgaria in the hands of Ottoman Turks

1379

Reign of John V Paleologus, father of Andronicus IV; tours Italy vainly

seeking help and was detained as a debtor in Venice

1389 Battle of Kosovo that put Serbia in the hands of the Ottoman Turks

1390

Turks control reaches the Danube and the Emoire held only Constantinople,

Thessalonika and the Peloponese

1390 John V ousted by his grandson John VII Paleologus

1391

Manuel II Palaiologos assumes throne from his father Emperor John V; like

his father toured the West for support, going as far as Paris and London, but

in vain. Reorganizes higher education and moves University to Saint John in

Petrion; knew Latin and insisted on its study at the University.

1393 Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, son of Murad, besieges Constantinople

1395 Ottomans capture Larissa

1396 Army from Western Europe destroyed by Turks at Nicopolis

1397

Ottomans capture Thessaloniki and Athens and besiege Constantinople but

do not win her; proceeding to Peloponese where "thirty thousand Greeks

were removed thence by Bayezid's order, and transported to Asia: and

Turkoman and Tartar colonies were settled in their staid in the classic regions

of Lakonia, Messinia, Achaia, Argolis and Ellis"

1402

Ottomans force of 100,000 under Bayezid are wiped out near Ankara by

Mongols and Tartars out of central Asian under Timur the Lame. Ottoman

holdings abandoned to former holders. It was an opportunity to eject the

Turks from Europe, but the Empire was not strong enough, the Serbs were

traitors and the West would not cooperate.

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1405

Birth of George Scholarius, Byzantine scholar and the Patriarch Gennadius;

trained as a lawyer, became a Judge-General in charge of the University.

Learned Latin and was an admirer of Thomas Aquinas; wrote a number of

philosophical works. Was a delegate to the Council of Florence and

supported union, but on his return to Constantinople began to have doubts.

Seems to have believed that the end of the world was at hand; by Byzantine

calculations the world would be 7000 years old by 1492, a turning point and

certainly the Anti-Christ was at the gates. Therefore, it was more important to

keep the Faith pure than preserve the worldly Empire, which he was

instrumental in doing when he worked out a constitution with the Sultan that

preserved the entity of the Greek people and the Church

1413 Timur the LameΉs Empire breaks up and Turks recover their holdings

1420 Reign of John VIII Paleologus, son of Manuel II

1422 Ottomans unsuccessfully besiege Constantinople

1423

Governor of Thessaloniki, fearing a Turkish attack, sold the city to the

Venetians

1430 Ottomans capture Thessaloniki and slaughter or enslave Greek population

1439

John VIII pledges to the Union of the Churches at the Council of Florence,

aborted attempt to unite Roman Catholic and East Orthodox Churches under

Papal supremacy

1444

As a result of John VIIIΉs pledge at the Council of Florence, a new Western

expedition invades the Balkans to be defeated by the Turks at Varna

1448 Reign if Constantine XI Palaiologos, after his brother John VIII dies.

1451 to 1481

Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" leads Ottomans in capture of

Constantinople

Dec 12, 1452

Unification of the churches on the west's terms proclaimed in Agia Sofia

when Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, against the peoples wishes,

appealed to the Pope for military help

May 29,1453 Fall of Constantinople to Ottomans

Jan 6,1454

George Skholarios under name of Yennadios, ordained from monk to

Patriarch in one day via friendship of Sultan Mehmet II

1460 Turks conquer Peloponese

1461

Ottoman Turks conquer Pontos, successor state established after Latin

invasion of 1204; last Greek enclave

1482 Venetians take Zakynthos and begin domination of Ionian Islands

1489 Venetians assume control of Cyprus from Franks

1492 Ottoman Empire gives asylum to expelled Sephardic Jews from Spain

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1526 Moldavia and Wallachia come under Ottoman rule and keep autonomous rule

1571 Conquest of Cyprus from Venetians by Ottoman Turks

1571

Battle of Lepanto, Spain, Venice, Genoa and Roman Papacy send armada and

destroy Turkish navy

1589 Patriarchate of Moscow created

1599 Hios taken from Florence by Ottomans

1612

The United Provinces were accorded a capitulatory treaty of their own,

similar to those granted to England and France but limited in trade. They

made free use of it to introduce tobacco into Turkey in the face of vigorous

but vain opposition by the Mufti.

1638

New Testament translated by Maximos of Gallipoli and published in Modern

Greek in Geneva

1640-?

Jesuits missionaries converted Greek Orthodox to Protestantism via use of

'demotiki' language

1645 to 1669 Turco-Venetian War

1669

Dragoman of Porte(Interpreter of Imperial Court) Dragoman of Fleet

created by Ottomans

1682 to 1791 Hundred Year War between Hapsburg Monarchy and Ottoman Empire

1683

Second failed siege of Vienna by Ottomans which began recession of

Ottoman Empire's frontiers

1695 Hios taken from Venetians by Ottomans

1711 Prince of autonomous principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia to Phanariots

1715 Ottomans reconquer Morea from Venetians

1768 to 1774 Russo-Turkish War in which Ottoman's lost

1770

Empress Catherine II(the Great) sends Russian fleet to western Greece and

induces Greeks to failed revolt

1787 to 1792 Russo-Turkish War

1797 Collapse of the Venetian Republic and loss of Ionian Islands to France

1810(1815?) Ionian Islands annexed by Britain

1821

Prince Alexander Ypsilantes, who rose to rank of major-general in Russian

army, led failed Greek revolt in Moldavia in early March 1821, wrongly

assumed non-Greeks would support him.

1821 to 1829

Greek War of Independence. 64,000 Turks in Peloponese at the time(16% of

population). Half killed in first weeks of war

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1822

Massacre of Hios by Ottomans after Greek Insurrection, killed 25,000,

enslaved 50,000 of total 100,000 population

1825 to 27 Egyptians retake Greece for Ottomans

Oct 20, 1827 European fleet destroys Egyptian fleet at Navarino bay

1830

Jacob Fallmerayer publishes work that challenges Greeks' claims of common

racial descent from the ancient Hellenes

1831

Count John Capodistrias(1776 to 1831), first president of Greece,

assassinated by disgruntled Maniats

1833 Autocephelous Church of Greece created

1833

Installation of King Otto(1816 to 1867), son of King Ludwig of Bavaria, first

ruling through a regency then assuming full powers in his person. Population

of Greece approximately. 800,000

1843

Greece becomes a semi-constitutional monarchy after bloodless revolt attains

dismissal of Bavarian ministers

1853 to 1856

Crimean(Russo-Turkish) War that Greeks could not take advantage of and

expand, partly due to French and English troops occupying Greece

1860

Konstantine Paparigopoulos publishes first of five volume "History of the

Hellenic Nation from the Ancient Times Until Modern "

1861 Assassination attempt on Queen Amalia

1862

King Otto deposed; replaced by the Danish prince King George I(1845-) and

new constitution creating a "crowned democracy"

1864 Ionian Islands ceded by Britain as a good will gesture

1866 Ecclesiastical independence of Romanian Orthodox Church

1866 to 1869 Cretans unsuccessful revolt against Ottomans

1870 Ecclesiastical independence of Bulgarian Orthodox Church

1877 to 1888 Russo-Turkish War that saw the creation of Bulgaria

1878 Cyprus ceded to Britain by Ottoman Empire

1881

Thessaly and Arta region of Epirus ceded to Greece by Ottomans via

European Power intervention

1890 to 1914

GREEK IMMIGRATION. Widespread unemployment and economic

problems led to extensive migrations almost entirely to US of 350,000, onefifth

of total population

1893

Greek government led by Harilaos Tricoupis forced to declare the country

bankrupt

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1896

Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France initiates efforts to revive Olympic

Games at the ancient stadium in Athens

1897

Greece fights and loses two-week war with the Ottoman Empire. Crete gains

autonomy with Prince George of Greece as first governor

1901 "Evangelakia" riots over translations of the Bible into demotic Greek

1908 Ottoman officers revolt "Young Turks" in Thessaloniki

1909

Officers revolt("Military League") after decade of instability caused by 1897

defeat and inspired by Young Turks, topple weak Greek government, impose

reforms, then dissolve and invite Venizelos to be Prime Minister

1911 Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister

1911 to 1912

Italy declares war on Turkey, invades Libya and Dodecanese Islands, Turkish

holdings

1912

Greece homogenous in population except for 6000 Muslims in Thessaly

(Campbell Sherrard, p143)

1912 to 1913

Balkan Wars. Balkan League of Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece

declare war on Turkey and drive Turks out of Europe. Greece gains

Macedonia and Epirus. Now 13% minorities including 370,000 Turks and

104,000 Bulgars

Mar 18,1913 King George assassinated in Thessaloniki by madman

1913 Treaty of London placed Crete under full Greek rule

1913

Treaty of Bucharest placed much of western Thrace in Greek hands; Lesbos,

Chios Samos also incorporated

1914 to 1918 First World War

1916

National Schism between supporting Entente or Central Powers results in

divided government, Venizelos declaring provisional government in

Thessaloniki

1917 Russian revolution

June 1917

Britain and France demand abdication of King Constantine. King and son

Prince George flee, his second son Alexander became provisional King

July 2,1917 Venizelos assumes control of Greece and declares war on Central powers

May 1918

Greece mobilizes 250,000 troops, loses 6,000 dead and 25,000 wounded

before peace is declared in November

1919-1922 Greco-Turkish War

March 1919

Italy lands forces at Antalya to ensure their mandate over southwest Turkey

(promised to them for entering WWI on side of Entente)

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

May 6,1919

Greek forces, escorted by British and French naval units, occupy Smyrna in

reaction to Italian invasion

June 1920

Turkish nationalists under Mustapha Kemal attack British position on the

Ismid peninsula at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara and Greek forces

sent to aid them.

Aug 10,1920

Treaty of Sevres signed but never ratified by Entente powers of Turkey.

Gives Greece eastern Thrace, the islands of Tenedos and Imbros and

administration of the Smyrna district that stays under Turkish sovereignty for

five years. By a plebescite after this period the population could ask for

incorporation into the Greek state.

Aug 12,1920

Assassination attempt on Venizelos and retaliatory death of Ion Dragoumis

by fanatical pro-Venizelists on the streets of Athens

Sept 30,1920

King Alexander(1893 to 1920) bit by pet monkey and dies of blood

poisoning on October 25

Nov 14, 1920 Venizelos loses elections and leaves the country

Dec 5, 1920

Greeks vote for King Constantine's return over the allies warnings of cutting

off all aid to Greece

Sept 1921

Greek drive brings troops to within 65 km of Ankara before being pushed

back

Sept8/14,1922

Smyrna evacuated after Greek army routed, 30,000 civilians killed, million

refugees fled to Greece joining half a million Greeks who had fled earlier

Sept 26, 1922

Military coup in reaction to the loss in Asia Minor led by Colonels Plastiras

and Gonatas creating the Revolutionary Government results in abdication by

King Constantine, Prince George becomes King George II

Nov 28, 1922

The Six, five former ministers including the Prime Minister Gounaris, Stratou

and the Commander in Chief Hadjianesti, were executed by firing squad in

reaction to the loss in Asia Minor

1922 Collapse of Ottoman Empire

Jan 30, 1923

Convention signed by Greece and Turkey for the compulsory exchange of

minority populations except the Turks in western Thrace and the 100,000

Greeks in Constantinople.

July 23, 1923

Treaty of Lausanne signed ending Greco-Turkish War. Eastern Thrace,

islands of Tenedos and Imbros reverted to Turkey

1923

Abortive royalist military coup in Macedonia led by Metaxas led the

Revolutionary Government to request King George II to leave Greece until

elections could be held on the monarchy

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

1924

Elections held that restored constitutional rule with Venizelos as Prime

Minister and Revolutionary Government stepped down. Venizelos resigns

after a month over monarchy question and numerous governments form and

fall until 1928

Apr 13, 1924 Plebescite resulted in 69% for establishing a republic

Jun 25, 1925

Political instability and general unrest among urban workers, especially the

refugees, brings on a coup by General Pangalos

August 1926

Pangalos economic and diplomatic mishandling of national affairs brings

coup by General Kondylis

Nov 7, 1926

Elections resulted in almost even split of Liberals(Venizelists) and

republicans vs Populists. Ten Communist deputies elected, 8 from Macedonia

1928-1932

Venizelos returns to govern Greece. Instituted educational reforms. Built

many primary schools, made education less classical and more practical,

established demotic Greek in the schools

1928

Exchange of population increased Greece's numbers by 3.6 million to 6.2

million inhabitants. Population of Athens doubles between 1907 and 1928

1931 British go off gold standard; Greece effected by Great Depression

Apr 15, 1932 Greece suspends payments on foreign loans

Sep 1932

Populists form government after close elections; 11% of vote for Left,

Communist, Agrarians

Jan 12, 1933 Populist government falls, Venizelos forms government

Mar 5, 1933

Close elections, Venizelos loses. Tsaldaris forms government. Attempted

coup by republicans fails.

Jun 6, 1933

Venizelos escapes assassination for role in attempted coup. The car used by

the assassins belonged to the brother of the Athens chief of Police who was

appointed by Tsaldaris.

Mar 1934

Populists passed bill to retire officers, republican officers were threatened.

Also attempted to change election laws and voting districts to insure their

reelection. One of Venizelos assassins was caught and tried twice without an

outcome.

Mar 1, 1935

Republicans attempt coup to regain power. Coup failed. More than a

thousands put on trial and convicted; three officers executed as revenge for

the Six. Venizelos condemned to death in absentia, leaves country.

Oct 10, 1935

General Papagos gives ultimatum to Prime Minister Tsaldaris to restore the

monarchy; Tsaldaris declares government overthrown by force; General

Kondylis forms government supported by the armed forces

Nov 3, 1935 Plebescite shows 97% of voters want return of King.

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

Nov 25, 1993 King George II returns to Greece

Jan 26, 1935

Elections are close between Populists and republicans, Communists holding

the balance.

Jan-Apr 1936

General Kondylis, Venizelos and Prime Minister Dermitzis die. King asks

General Ioannis Metaxas to from government. Metaxas spurred by continuing

political problems and the Communist threat takes dictatorial powers which

the King supports.

Aug 4, 1936

Dictatorship formally established, various articles of the constitution were

suspended, press censorship established, parliament dissolved; announcement

provoked little public reaction. King felt Metaxas was only one could prepare

Greece for war.

1936-1940

Metaxas tried to create a new Greek society, to replace selfish individualism

and disillusionment with new corporate and Christian loyalties. Began E.O.N.

Youth Movement

1940-1945 World War II

Oct 28, 1940

Metaxas says "OXI" to the Italians request for capitulation. Italians invade

Epirus

Jan 29, 1941 Metaxas dies.

April 1941 Germany and Italy occupy Greece

Oct 31, 1944 Germans evacuate northern Greece

1946-1950 Greek Civil War

Mar 7,1947

Dodecanese ceded to Greece by Italians after WWII and last territorial

addition to present day Greece

1960 Cyprus gains independence from Britain

Dec 7, 1965 Catholic and Orthodox churches cancelled excommunications of 1054

April 22, 1967

Coup of Greek colonels; 'demotiki' banned from schools replaced by

'katherevousa'.

1974 Greek Junta falls; Turkish invasion of Cyprus

1974 to 1981 Karamanlis and conservatives(Nea Demokratia)

1981 to 1990 Andreas Papandreou and socialist PASOK party rule Greece

1990

Constantine Mitsotakis and Nea Demokratia barely win majority of vote after

three attempts at elections

1993 PASOK wins elections under Papandreou

Dec 1995

Papandreou falls ill and resigns as Prime Minister but remains head of

PASOK party

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A Detailed Chronology of Greek History

Jan 1996 Constantinos Simitis chosen by PASOK as Prime Minister

June 1996 Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece for 10 years, dies

August/September 1996

Simitis calls for elections; PASOK wins elections and Simitis again elected

Prime Minister

Bibliography:

Campbell , John and Sherrard, Phillip, Modern Greece, Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, New York,

1969

Runciman, Steven, Byzantine Civilization, Meridian Books, New York, 1961

Runciman, Steven, The Last Byzantine Renaissance, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970

Sealey, Raphael, A History of the Greek City State, 700 to 338BC, University of California Press, Los

Angeles, 1976

Speake, Graham, ed., Dictionary of Ancient History, Penguin Books, 1994

Starr, Chester G., The Birth of Athenian Democracy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1990

Toynbee, Arnold, The Greeks and their Heritage, Oxford University Press, New York, 1981

Vryonis, Jr., Speros, Byzantium and Europe, Harcourt, Brace World, 1967

Questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me at ChKyriacou@aol.com

Return to home page

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