Saint Christopher. A dog headed saint.

Saint Christopher is considered by the church the patron of motorcars and baby buggies.His legendary acts were mainly centered in the Black sea region.According to his hagiography Saint Christopher was a giant belonging to cynocephalic race, in the land of Chananeans(the Canines),who eat human flesh and only form of communication is barking. His original name was Reprebos(the condemned) and corresponded to his nature. He was black,ferocious and dreadful.One day he asked the god to show his power by giving him the gift of human speech.Then an angel came down, blew on in his mouth and suddenly the Saint was able to speak Greek.Still a proud giant he is cut down to size by the Christ child who commands that he carry him over a river. As he advanced into the flood,the child was becoming heavier and heavier. When Christopher was not able to go further,the child revealed its true nature and Christorer having learned his lesson devoted himself to Christian service. He was later caught by Roman authorities and martyred in the region of Lycia(land of the wolves).


source:David Gordon White, Myths of the dogman, University of Chicago press,

Samantha Smith:The youngest peace ambassador in history

Samantha Smith holding the letter she sent to the Soviet leader Yuri Andropov.

"Actually, the whole thing started when I asked my mother if there was going to be a war.  There was always something on television about missiles and nuclear bombs.  Once I watched a science show on public television and the scientists said that a nuclear war would wreck the Earth and destroy the atmosphere.  Nobody would win a nuclear war.  I remembered that I woke up one morning and wondered if this was going to be the last day of the Earth.

I asked my mother who would start a war and why.  She showed me a news magazine with a story about America and Russia, one that had a picture of the new Russian leader, Yuri Andropov, on the cover.  We read it together.  It seemed that the people in both Russia and America were worried that the other country would start a nuclear war.  It all seemed so dumb to me.  I had learned about the awful things that had happened during World War II, so I thought that nobody would ever want to have another war.  I told Mom that she should write to Mr. Andropov to find out who was causing all the trouble.  She said, "Why don't you write to him?" So I did."

When Samantha Smith was killed in a plane crash on August 25, 1985, millions of people all over the world grieved as if for their own child.  For, in a way, she was a child of the world - a symbol of childhood itself, a guardian of our dreams and hopes for children everywhere.  The heads of the two most powerful nations on earth sent the following condolences to Samantha's mother, Jane. 

Dear Mr. Andropov,My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.Sincerely,Samantha Smith

December 1982:  Ten-year old Samantha Smith of Manchester, ME writes a letter to Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov to express her worry about the United States and The USSR getting into a nuclear war.

April 1983:  Andropov replies to Samantha reassuring her that the Soviet Union wants no war with the United States.  He invites her to visit the Soviet Union.

July 1983: Samantha, accompanied by her parents, leaves for a two-week trip to the Soviet Union.  She visits Moscow, Leningrad, and the summer camp 'Artek'.

December 1983: Samantha goes on a 10-day trip to Japan, where she delivers a speech at the Children's International Symposium.

February 1985:  An action-adventure television series featuring Samantha is announced.  The show, starring Robert Wagner, is first called "J.G. Culver", then renamed "Lime Street."

In an international kid's camp in Soviet Union.

August 25, 1985:  Samantha, 13, and her father, Arthur Smith, are killed in a Bar Harbor Airlines crash near Auburn, ME.

October 1985:  The Samantha Smith Foundation is established.  It is a non-profit foundation fostering international understanding.

December 1986:  A statue of Samantha is unveiled in front of the State Cultural Building.  It shows Samantha releasing a dove, with a bear cub at her side.

source:http://www.samanthasmith.info/

The Hellenism of Syria and its historical decline

Map with the sites of the Greek settlement in Syria

The presence of Hellenism in the area of historical Syria and middle East starts from the 4rth century BC, after the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was boosted by the founder of the Seleucid kingdom Seleucus I who was son of Antiochus the general of King Philip of Macedon.There are some references though about Greek presence in Syria earlier than the 4rth century BC. Philosopher Livanius stated that the Greek town of Ione which was located near Antiochia of Syria was a Greek colony that was established since the times of the Assyrian empire.Ione was founded by Greek people from Argos and later it was settled by Cypriots and Cretans too.

 As a memorial for his victory against the Persians in the battle of Issus, Alexander the Great founded a city called Nicopolis and a city called Alexandria over Issus.One of the diadochi of Alexander called Antigonus founded a city called Antigoneia and settled it with Atheneans.Later Seleucus, according to Libanius founded many Greek cities in Syria to create a Greek core in his multinational empire. Libanius exaggerated by saying that Seleucus founded so more Greek colonies than Athens and Miletus did during the big colonization of the Mediterranean.

Apamea

 According to the chronographies of Malalas and Pausanias, Seuleucus founded 75 cities in Mesopotamia and Persia. The area of Syria was colonised and many cities were created and promoted Greek culture.The most famous of these was Antioch.It was founded in 300 BC and was colonised by Atheneans,Cretans,Macedonians and Cypriots. It became the center of the Hellenism and later of Christianity in Syria.

Palmyra. The ruins the findings by archaeologists suggest a strong Hellenistic presence in this ancient city.

 Antioch became a metropolis considering the city sizes of antiquity.It became a center of Greek arts,philosophy and rhetorics.Near Antioch there was an another Greek city called Apameia. Apameia was the name of the wife of Seleucus.Its citizens were also calling it Pella. According to Strabo near Apameia were also built several Greek towns like Megara, Larisa and Apollonia.

The coastal city of Laodicea took its name from Seleucus' mother.It was a prominent city in Syria just like Seleukeia over Orontes which was the port city of Antioch.Other famous Greek cities in Northern Syria were Arethousa,Epiphaneia,Ierapolis,Veroia,Herakleia,Poseidion,Herakleion, Germanikeia,Doliche,Nikopolis ,Kiristine and Seleukovilos.

Damascus was not founded by Greeks but during the Seleucid rule it was colonised by Greeks. Historians refer that Olympic games were taking place in Damascus.Another famous Greek city was Chalkis over Velus which was the hometown of philosopher Iamblichus.Homs which during the Hellenistic times was named Emessa was the hometown of the Stoic philosopher Poseidonius. Palmyra was also settled by Greeks. There are numerous of Greek inscriptions that were excavated by archaeologists.

Representation of how Antioch would look like in Antiquity

 Some of the most renowned Greeks who were born and lived in Syria were the historian Apollodorus of Artemita, the physician Apollonius of Antioch, the philosopher Apollophanes from Antioch,the son of Iamblichus Ariston, the poet Archias from Antioch, the rhetor Demetrius the Syrian, the stoic philosopher Diogenes from Seleucia and the historian Selecus from Emessa.

Antioch was the city were the terms Christians and Christianity were coined.The language of the Antiochian church was Greek. Paul the apostle who founded the church in Antioch wrote his letters in Greek.The Greek orthodox christians of Syria descend from these first christians. There are many christian text authors that were born and lived in Syria. All of the them had Greek education.

Seleucus I founder of the Seleucid kingdom which streched from Syria to India but later it would be confined only in the Hellenized region of Syria.

Until the 7th century and the rise of Islam Syria was primarily a christian country with a Greek speaking population.Antioch was the gate of Greek culture in the middle east.When the Arabs took the city, Hellenism and christianity bagan to dwindle.After 1453 and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans the Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch were found in a position fighting the Catholic propagnada and the massive conversion of Christians to Islam due to their persecution and for economic reasons.

 Since the 16th century when a latin bishop settled in Sidon many Orthodox christians converted to catholicism.In 1837 the Uniate church was acknowledged by the Ottoman Sultan and acquired many of the assets of the orthodox church.The Patriarchs of Antioch had meagre economic means to confront the Catholic influence.Afterwards a Russian called Porphyrius Uspensky appeared in 1843 and founded the Palestinian company which would promote the interests of Russia in the area.The Russians who wanted to take the primacy of the Orthodox world from the Greek orthodox patriarchate in Constantinople incited the Arab issue. They compelled the Syrians to abandon the Greek language as their church language and change it with the Arab language.

This scandalous intervention of the Russians caused the resignation of the Patriarch of Antioch in on April the 15th 1897 and the election of an Arabic speaking patriarch, excluding the Greek speaking candidates.

"Convent of our lady" Greek orthodox church in Syria

In the end of the 19th century the area of Syria was populated by Ansari, Chriastian and Islamic Arabs, Amenians,Bedouins,Druze(people from Libanon,Greeks,Jacobites,Ismailites(shiite Persians),Israelites,Circassians,Kurds,Latins,Maronites(people who settled there hunted by the Byzantine as heretics who adhered Monothelitism),Melkites(christianized Arabs),Syrians,Turks,Turkomans,Chaldeans,Roma people and Persians.

Byzantine Emperor Justinian and Theodora in an Orthodox church fresco.

We can say that generally these populations were descended from Ancient

 Syrians(Aramaeans),Ancient Greeks,Arabs,Turks and Western Europeans.Regarding the religion the Greek speaking populations which were under the jurisdiction of the Antioch patriarchate were located in Tarsus, Adana, Erserum and Diyarbakir.All these areas were out of historical Syria and this illustrated the general demise of Hellenism in Syria.According to unofficial statistics of the Patriarchate there were 500,000 Greek speaking people in the area that streched from Syria to Lebanon and Iraq.

The current events in Syria attract now the global attention.It's a country that traditionally had many antitheses concerning its populations that lived there.Among these populations still continue to live the remnants of the once dominant Hellenism of Syria and they are also endagered by this ongoing civil conflict. 

source: American-Greek newspaper "Hellas"(page 32)

translation of the Greek text done by the blog owner.

The Celts in the heart of the Hellenistic world

Continuing from: http://akrokorinthos.blogspot.gr/2011/12/celts-and-greeks-acquaintance-of-two.html and
http://akrokorinthos.blogspot.gr/2011/12/celts-and-greeks-acquaintance-of-two_08.html

The regions of Asia Minor during the Hellenistic era

The Celts were unsuccesful at their campaigns in Greece. Although they plundered many of the riches of Macedonia and Thessaly, they were not able to settle down somewhere as they intended to do(They brought their families with them)

As we were saying in the part 2, one part of the Gauls returned  to the Danube,  a second one went northeast where they established the kingdom of Tylis in Thrace(Nowadays Bulgaria) and a third one was cut off from Brenus' army to join the pretender of the throne of Bithynia Nicomedes I who was fighting against his brother.

                                            Tylis: The Celts in Thrace

The Celts failed to find a new homeland in Greece but achieved it temporarily in Thrace.Comontorius found a city called Tylis and estalished a short lived realm in 279 BC. The reason for this was that later the Celts would migrate once again towards Asia Minor where they would later establish Galatia.Tylis was destroyed by local Thracian tribes in 212 BC. 

Crossing the Hellespont into Asia minor

The dying Gaul. A famous statue that was displayed in Pergamum the capital of the Attalids after their victory of the Gauls.

In the 270s three Celtic tribes numbering 10.000 men able to fight and 10.000 women and children,crossed the Hellespont under the leadership of Leonnorios and Leotarios, responding to the invitation of Nicomedes I.The Gauls settled in the area were Phrygia was located in the central Anatolian plateau. Since then the area would be called Galatia.With the use of the Celts Nicomedes I defeated Zipoetes II and was able to unite the whole of Bithynia under his rule. 

As it is aforementioned the Gauls settled in Galatia and were also reinforced with new Celtic populations that migrated from Thrace.They made their living by raiding nearby areas in Asia minor. This caused frictions and war with the powerful Seulecid empire.Eventually the Gauls were defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I who used war elephants in the battleground.The Gauls also sided with a pretender Seulecid King  who wanted to overthrow the rule of the Attalids in Pergamum. The Attalids however defeated the false king and his Celtic allies confining them finally back to their original territory in Asia minor.

Galatia was the Easternmost settlement of Celts in antiquity. Another feature was that this settlement was completely isolated from the Celtic world. It was like a Celtic islet within the Hellenistic world.

Galatia

Gaulish art. The face of a Gaul. The hellenistic influence is obvious.

Even though afterwards the area was named after them, the Gauls never formed a majority in Galatia. They rather formed a military aristocracy which governed the Celtic tribes in the area. The other populations in Galatia like the native Phrygians were left to control their own affairs undisturbed as long as they would pay tribute to their overlords.

A Gallic chieftain kills his wife and commits suicide. After their defeats y Antiochus I and Attalus Soter, the Gauls had to retreat back to Galatia.

The Gaulish tribes were frequently fighting each other and a Gaulish kingdom was never formed.However they were able to keep control of the region until the arrival of the Romans.

Contemporary historians called the Galatians GalloGraeci and the area Gallo-Graecia. It seems that they had adopted some aspects of Greek/Hellenistic culture.Consequently the Galatians were hellenized to a degree of almost full assimilation. During the Roman conquests of Galatia, Roman writers were marking that many Galatians were of mixed race. This suggested that there were a lot of intermarriages during the previous years.

The Organisation of tribes in Galatia.

1. the Tectosages in the centre, round with their capital Ancyra,
2. the Tolistobogii on the west, round Pessinus as their chief town, sacred to Cybele, and
3. the Trocmi on the east, round their chief town Tavium. Each tribal territory was divided into four cantons or tetrarchies. Each of the twelve tetrarchs had under him a judge and a general. A council of the nation consisting of the tetrarchs and three hundred senators was periodically held at Drynemeton.

The Greek captain of the early U.S navy.

 George Colcovoresses

George Colvocoreses (Γεώργιος Κολβοκορέσης) was a Greek-American officer of the US navy.He was born on 22 October 1816 in Chios, descended from a noble family.During the Chios massacre by the Ottomans he was caught by the Turks along with his 2 sisters and his mother.His remaining 6 simblings were all killed.His family's property was destroyed and confiscated.

His father,with the assistance of American missionaries,achieved to release him when he was 8 years old and sent him to Baltimore in U.S.A.There he was adopted by the lieutenant Alden Partridge who was the founder of the American scientific and military academy(nowadays university of Norwich) which was the first private military educational institute in U.S.A. In 1831 he graduated and was accepted in the ranks of the American navy.In 1832 he was appointed as a recruit and in 1836 he served in the frigate "United States" which was part of the U.S naval unit of the Meditteranean which would later become the 6th fleet.From 1838 until 1842 he served in the research team of the U.S.A in the Pacific Ocean.His impressions were illustrated in a book that he wrote bearing the title:Four years in a Government Exploring Expedition.

The outbeak of the American civil war found him fighting for the North.On January 29,1862. He was captain of the frigate USS Supply and achieved to capture a transport ship of the South which was carrying war supplies.In 1864 as captain of the warship Saratoga he was distinguished  in many naval missions.In 1867 he retired with the rank of the captain.
George Kolkovoresis was assassinated on June 3,1872  at Bridgeport of Connecticut while waiting for the ship for New York.Initially his death was attributed to suicide. The case is still unsolved today.He got married twice and had 4 children.
Three of his descendants followed a military career. His son George Colcovoresses reached the rank of admiral and his great grandson Alden  Colcovoresses became a colonel.
In his honor a sea strait in the Piugit canal of Washington state was named Kolvos passage and a gulf in Antarctica was named Colcovoresses bay

 George Colcovoresses' grave

Προς τιμή του, ένα θαλάσσιο στενό στον Πορθμό Πιούτζιτ της πολιτείας της Ουάσινγκτον ονομάστηκε «Πέρασμα Κόλβος» (Colvos Passage), καθώς κι ένας κόλπος στην Ανταρκτική (Colvocoresses Bay).

29/5/1453 

http://akrokorinthos.blogspot.gr/2009/05/blog-post.html

The Sicilian Vespers

written by Marco Maria(http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utente:Rocker85)

the Sicilian vespers

The term Sicilian Vespers refers to the historical event that took place in the thirteenth century when Sicily became independent from Angevin occupation. The word literally means the vesper hour of sunset.

Historical Facts

We are in Sicily during the reign of the Angevins. The tyranny of King Charles lasted so long, the Sicilian people was tired and harassed by the constant abuses inflicted by the Angevin kingdom. Meanwhile, King Charles prepared for war against Constantinople and set up militia to attack the castles  strategic places and the main towns of the island.

The Angevin King was assisted by the vicar Herbert d'Orleans in Messina, while Palermo was assisted by Minister John of San Remigio. Authorized by them, the army officers were responsible for violence, robberies and spreading terror throughout the island.

King Charles Capet

The inhabitants of Sicily reached their limits. During Easter, the citizens of Palermo gathered to pray in the Church. Also in this sacred place they were forced to tolerate the abuses by agents of the IRS ,who with no respect  burst into the temple and draw by force debtors who had not paid their taxes.

After this they handcuffed them and carried them in jail, the officers denounced and insulted  the crowd which meanwhile was rushed. Episodes of outrage on the part of the French against the local population were followed, but the most serious incidents in the historic revolt of the "Sicilian Vespers" took place on the Tuesday after Easter, on March 31, 1282.

In Palermo's Church of the Holy Spirit, a religious celebration was held. In the hours of evening  many people rushed: they are women, men, families who wanted to pray in peace and quiet. Some were held  back in the meadows that surrounded the Church taking advantage of the first warm days of spring, others danced accompanied by the sound of musical instruments. During these joyful festivities suddenly appeared some Frenchmen who mingled with the people,  behaving arrogantly and not very friendly towards the women who were present.

Soon some men reacted to the foreigners and ordered to give up their women. The French, however, had no intention of going away, and continued their provocations. At one point, a French rummaged  the breast of a woman in search of any hidden weapons, and she fainted  to the ground from fear. Outraged her husband, began to cry, "Death to these Frenchmen."

the pretext for the uprising

The hatred and anger which for so long repressed in the souls of the Sicilians exploded violently. Near the church was created an unspeakable scrum, and the French, although they were armed, succumbed. 

The revolt was not suppresed and reached the city of Palermo. Roger Mastrangelo initiated a fierce battle of the Sicilians and the Angevins that at some point,  had such frightening ferocity that none of the belligerents could even react and beg for mercy.

The church of the holy spirit

There was no escape even for those French who sought shelter in churches and convents, because once found they were slaughtered anyway. John of San Remigio, the minister of King Charles, defended himself in his palace, but the crowd broke through the main gate with the intention of killing him. However he managed to escape and flee with his family.

About four thousand French died during the uprising. The corpses were left on the streets or thrown into large pits dug here and there. On the night of March 31, 1282 the Sicilians gathered in the parliament and declared the city of Palermo free from Angevin rule.In the  following days they organized a federation under the protection of the Church. Approximately a month after the episode of the Sicilian Vespers, almost the whole island was free from Angevin oppression .

People who refused to die

Through history humanity has exceeding a lot of times its limits.Here are some examples of people who either from luck ,duty or desire to live succeeded to survive through lethal circumstances.

Hiroo Onoda

Hiroo Onoda

A Japanese soldier who remained in a Philippine jungle for 30 years after the end of WWII.

On December 17, 1944, Lt. Hiroo Onoda left for the Philippines to join the Sugi Brigade (the Eighth Division from Hirosaki). Here, Onoda was given orders by Major Yoshimi Taniguchi and Major Takahashi. Onoda was ordered to lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare. As Onoda and his comrades were getting ready to leave on their separate missions, they stopped by to report to the division commander. The division commander ordered:

You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we'll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that's the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you to give up your life voluntarily.

Onoda took these words more literally and seriously than the division commander could ever have meant them.

Onoda remained in the jungle along with his comrades for 30 years. During these years all the others died except him. When he was found, he refused to believe that Japan lost the war. He needed to hear it from his commander himself. Thus his commander, a booksheller travelled to the Philippines to order Onoda to surrender.

Poon Lim

Poon Lim

A WWII castaway in the Atlantic ocean. He was on a British navy ship which was sunk by a German U-boat. He survived on a raft for 133 days!

On April 5, 1943, after 133 days in the life raft, Poon Lim neared land and a river inlet. A few days earlier, he had known that he was close to the land because the colour of the water had changed; it was no longer the oceanic deep blue. Three Brazilian fishermen rescued him and took him to Belém three days later.

Steven Callahan

Steven Callahan

He survived for 76 days inside a life-raft having consumed only 8 glasses of water and 3 kgs of food.

Uruguayan air force flight 571

15 passengers of the flight survived for 72 days after their plane crashed on the Andes mountains.They had to feed from dead passengers in order to survive.

Slavomir Rawicz

Slavomir Rawicz

He was a Polish lieutenant who was imprisoned by the Soviets.In 1942 he escaped from a Soviet Gulag and walked on foot along with six other persons through Siberia, Gobi desert and Tibet to reach British India.

Juliane Koepche

Juliane Koepche

A German Peruvian school student who fell from a height of 10.000 feet(3.2 kms) and survived. Her plane was hit by a thunder and broke up, she survived the fall perhaps because she was strapped in her seat and somehow it buffered the crash.The real adventure would start after the fall as her glasses were broken and she was in an unhospitable jungle.She followed the survival principle her father taught her. She followed a water stream that eventually led her to civilization.

 Leonid Rogozov

Leonid Rogozov

A Russian scientist in Antarctica. He carried out an apendectomy on himself.His condition was urgent and the nearest research station where he could ask for help was 1600 km away. With the help of a driver and a meteorologist who were giving him surgery tools and holding the mirror he removed the appendix after a 2 hours long self-surgery.

Cyprus: The Eastern Roman province

Cyprus since the beginning of the Eastern Roman empire's history was a province that belonged to the administration of the east.The capital of this authority was in Antioch.Cypriots were involved in dynastic wars as Licinius obliged them to help him against Constantine the Great.Licinius' defeat rendered the whole empire under Constantine's control.

One of the first moves of the new emperor was to reinforce the defences of the island in order to be able to deal with the constant pirate raids.He also sent a trusted person to govern the it called Kalokairos. Kalokairos failed Constantine as he was incapable and additionally he declared himself independent hegemon of Cyprus.This rebelion was suppressed and Kalokairos was executed.

The island tried to recover under the authority of Constantinople.However in parallel with the rebellion, Cyprus was also hit by a natural disaster as many earthquakes caused much devastation at the main cities of the island.The successor of Constantine emperor Constantius, took the initiative to rebuilt Salamina the capital of the island. As an honour for doing this, the citizens of Salamina renamed the city  Constantia

After the earthquakes, a starvation followed which during the 4rth century wiped out the majority of the population.

During the 5th cen. there is no event worth of rememberence except some ecclesiastical develpments as during emperor Zeno's rule Cyprus was an autocephalus archbishopric.

Since the 6th century under the emperor Justinian I Cyprus was under military administration along with the northern territories of the state and the islands of the Aegean.The historians presume that this weird administrative unit was created in such way so that the safe islands of the mediterranean would support economically the northern territories which suffered from barbarian raids.

During emperor Herakleios' reign Cyprus functioned as a shelter of refugees from Palestine and Egypt as a result from the constant wars of the Byzantines with the Sassanid empire.In the same period Islam started to spread in the Levant and Cyprus gradually was turned into a border province.

The first raids against Cyprus(7th cen.)

The Arabic conquests were really fast since the adoption of Islam as their main religion(622).The crucial battle in Yarmouk(638) was the deathblow for the Byzantines in the Levant.Consequently Jerusalem and Egypt fell some years after.

Thus the Arabs acquired rich territories with much population for making bigger armies and having higher tax income.Their next step was the creation of a strong fleet in order to attack the islands of the mediterranean.They used the knowledge of the conquered people who had long naval tradition.

The nearest and easier target for the Arabs in the area of the Eastern mediterranean was Cyprus.The first recorded raid of Arabs occured in 632 when Abu Bakr was still leader of the Arabs.However this source is strongly doubted as the Arabs hadn't finished conquering Syria during that time.

It is around 641 that we have certain information about an invasion on Cyprus.The leader of the Arab fleet consisted of 1700 ships was Muawiyah the governor of Syria and later the 5th caliph.During this invasion even Constantia the capital of the island was destroyed.The Arabs didn't intend to settle in the island and when the Byzantine fleet arrived they returned back to Syria. 

Generally the territorial advantage of the Arabs helped them conduct numerous raids during the 7th cen. which were not recorded in Byzantine chronicles but only in biographies of Cypriot saints and Arab archives.

During Constantine IV Pogonatos reign the Byzantines agreed on various peace treaties with the Arabs.Essentially there is no change of the status quo until the reign of Justinian II who renewed the peace treaty by offering as a tribute 365 thousand gold coins, 365 horses and 365 slaves. It was agreed then that the income from the bordering provinces between the Arab caliphate and the Byzantine empire.Therefore Cyprus would also be turned into a "grey zone".However this changing of status would be really destructive for Cyprus in the future.

The suffering came really early. During even Justinian's II reign in 691 the emperor himself decided to break the peace treaty and forced the majority of the island's population to migrate to Asia Minor. By doing this the emperor thought that he would give an economic blow to the caliph as there would be no population in Cyprus to pay him taxes.The consequenses for the island were devastating as most of the island was deserted and much of the transferred population died of starvation and diseases.

The majority of the Cypriots were resettled in the area of Kyzikos near the Hellespont straits.There the emperor found a city called Justinianopolis. The reduction of the population cut off the prosperous economy of Cyprus.After 7 years in "exile" under order of emperor Tiberius II most of the Cypriots returned in Cyprus.

Tiberius thought that he should reinforce a border province with populations that were loyal to the Byzantine crown in order to defend better against the Arabs who continued to expand in Northern Africa really fast.

The Arab raids in 8th-9th century

Remains of Salamis the capital of Cyprus(Known as Constantia)

After the sufferings of their exile, the Cypriots thought that a time of peace and prosperity would come. Indeed until the first half of the 8th century this happened.The rise of the house of Isauroi in the Byzantine throne and the failed siege of Constantinople by the Arabs in 717-718 gave the upper hand to the Byzantines who counter attacked. The crucial battle in Akroinon in 740 made the Arabs leave from Asia minor.Thus Cyprus remained away from the main war theater all these years.Additionally the transferring of the capital in Baghdad lowered the interest of the Arabs for the Mediterranean sea.

During those years we know that the Arabs attempted this time to transfer the Cypriots in Syria without success.In 746 we know that the Byzantine fleet arrived in Cyprus and by using the Greek fire they defeated an Arab fleet of 1000 ships from which only 3 managed to escape.

During this period we may assume that Cyprus was not under full Byzantine control as it was a land for exiled persons and for iconoclast monks.

In the beginning of the 9th century the emperor Mickael I sent priests in Cyprus to assist the pilgrims who were returning from the Holy lands.New tensions followed by Arab raids restart during Harun al Rashid's rule(786-809). The Arabs do not find any resistance as the Byzantines were involved in internal conflicts.

In 790 a rumour spread in Constantinople about a powerful arab fleet ready to attack Cyprus.Empress Irene who was regent of her son the emperor Constantine VI ordered the Byzantine fleet to confront them.In one of the naval battles around Cyprus the admiral of the Byzantine fleet was caught and sent to Baghdad. There he died as a martyr because he declined to convert.

The period of weakness for the empire would end when the emperor Nikephoros Phokas(802-811) would take the throne. Meanwhile Harun al Rashid himself conducted raids in Asia minor and detachments of the Arab army reached even Ankara.As a result Nikephoros used diplomacy once again to stop the Arab exapansion. The Arabs agreed to a peace treaty where they would receive large sums  of gold coins as tribute and a term that the Byzantines wouldn't rebuilt the destroyed castles in the border provinces.Nikephoros thinking that the castles were crucial for the defence of the state started to rebuild them.The Arabs considering that this was a violation of the treaty prepared extensive retaliation campaigns.The most highlighted was a destructive raid of Cyprus in 806.

The supremacy of the Arab fleet allowed the army to disembark on the island and loot. Cities were looted the rural areas were deserted and monasteries were destroyed.Many Cypriots were caught as hostages and were tranferred in Syria. Despite the ferocity of this invasion the Arabs didn't settle in the island. Contrary we have clues about the de jure control of the island by the Byzantines proved by a letter  sent from the patriarch Photios in 878 to the governor of the island called Stavrakios.

During the reign of Basil I(867-886) Cyprus became a theme of the Byzantine empire but not for long time as the Arabs restored the previous status quo of Cyprus as a grey zone.

10th century: Cyprus reclaimed by the Byzantines

In the 10th century the Byzantine interest for Cyprus was renewed.The emperor Leo the wise considered Cyprus of high strategic importance as the Byzantine fleet could gather there and attack Arab targets using the Greek fire.The Byzantines tried to maintain control of the area but not so successfully.In 904 for instance the Arab fleet of Leontas Tripolites which sacked Thessalonika used Paphos as its port.

The sacking of Thessalonika was just one episode of the numerous raids conducted by Leontas Tripolites who took advantage the absence of the Byzantine fleet which was sent to defend Sicily which also fell to the Arabs in 902.

Emperor Leo sent the admiral Himerios to pursue Leontas and after much wandering he found inveded Cyprus. There he treated the Arabs of Cyprus with cruelty as a retaliation for the raids.

The fleet of Leo Tripolites sacks Thessalonika

This act was considered by the Arabs as a violation of the neutrality of the island and an Arab  fleet under admiral Damianos invaded Cyprus pillaging and looting everything on their path,capturing  Cypriots as slaves or exchange hostages.Although there is no involvement of Cypriots in what Himerios did to the Arabs of Cyprus,  Damianos' cruelty cannot be justified as the Cypriots continued to pay their regular taxes to Baghdad.

In 913 most of the Cypriot hostages returned back to Cyprus grace to the bishop of Kythraia Demetrianos and the patriarch of Constantinople Nikolaos Mystikos.In the next years the Arabs faced many internal problems and stopped their raids against Cyprus.On the other side the Byzantines with skilled military leadership under Nikephoros Phokas restored their supremacy in the eastern mediterranean and in 965 under order of Nikephoros Phokas the general Niketas Chalkoutzes liberated Cyprus.

Emperor Nikephoros Phokas

Cyprus in the following years got rid of the Arabs but internal conficts in Byzantium made the Cypriots rebel and seek independence which was achieved for some years before the island would fall under Latin/crusader rule

The battle of Matzikert:The astounding victory of Arp Aslan and the beginning of the end of the Byzantines in Anatolia

The Seljuk Turks first entered the Middle East some time during the 10th century and conquered the eastern Islamic lands that included Persia at that time. Although there were battles and skirmishes along their borders, they never seemed to have had any intention of advancing into Anatolia and conquering the Byzantines. They were far more interested the lands along the Mediterranean like Syria, Lebanon and eventually Egypt – actually they were particularly interested in Egypt, which was ruled by the Fatimid dynasty and was Shiite Muslim while the Seljuk Turks were Sunni Muslims.

The Seljuks had to contend with nomadic Turkish tribes who were entering the Middle East and they developed a policy of encouraging these people to continue on West into the pseudo no man’s land that had developed between the Byzantines and the Seljuks. There the nomads could fight each other, rather than unite and rebel against the central authority. In fact a peace treaty had even been signed by the Seljuks and Byzantines in 1069. 

Seljuk warriors

The Byzantine army, under the direct command of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, was a mixture of elite Byzantine, mercenaries of various sorts including Turks, and an enormous imperial baggage train; it numbered anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000. Some sources give the number as 100,000. The emperor’s intent was not to actually fight the Seljuk Turks. In fact he thought the Turks were engaged in military action in Syria with a view of conquering Egypt. Romanos actually wanted to retake a number of Armenian cities that the Seljuk Turks had conquered from the Byzantine Empire. As Lars Brownworth has written about this period in time, “There was no Armenia, just a collection of princes, a population sharing common dialects, and vague, shifting borders.”

Reaching Manzikert

Byzantine Emperor Romanos in 1071 decided the Seljuks under Sultan Alp Arslan were busy elsewhere allowing him to retake the area of what had been Armenia and was, at that time, under Byzantine control. Romanos offered to renew the treaty between them to make sure the sultan would move in the direction of Aleppo. And the latter laid siege to Aleppo as a result. But when he caught wind a large Byzantine army was approaching, the Seljuk Tukish ruler Sultan Alp Arslan raised his siege of Aleppo and marched into Anatolia to fight the advancing force. It was August 1071. 

Romanos was so sure of himself and his abilities as an army commander that he assembled an army at Constantinople in March1071 and went on the march until August, losing his German mercenaries along the way and his Turkish allies, when the army reached Manzikert north of Lake Van. There it easily overpowered the Seljuk force manning the fortress. Romanos didn’t lack for military intelligence.
 
Now he heard that Alp Arslan had abandoned his siege of Aleppo and was moving eastward along the Euphrates River but received no further information. So Romanos split his army in two and sent one half South to head the Seljuk army off because he thought the Seljuks would come from that direction. 

What happened to those soldiers is a matter of speculation as the force that went south disappeared. Either it was totally annihilated or the Byzantines spotted the advancing Seljuks and retreated without informing Romanos. Yet a third theory has it that the commander of this force was Turkish and so were his men who hadn’t been paid in some time. They may have deserted to the Seljuks. Whatever happened, it left the Byzantine Emperor with only half his army although he didn’t know it. He also wasn’t aware that Alp Arslan had led his force north and come up around the eastern side of Lake Van. 

The battle of Manzikert took place on a plain set in rocky, hilly terrain. On Aug. 24 advance scouts from the Byzantines made contact with the Seljuk army and lost part of their cavalry. The next day, the Seljuks sent an offer of a peace treaty to the Byzantines, but this was rejected. So on Aug. 26 Romanos drew up his army on the plain in fighting order. He took charge of the central section and placed two commanders on his right and left flanks. His reserves were kept back under the command of Andronikos Doukas who happened to be his enemy. Opposite the Byzantine army Alp Arslan arranged his men in the form of an arc so that when the enemy advanced, it could hit the soldiers with arrows and cause considerable damage. 

The battle of Matzikert(from a french manuscript)

The center of the Turkish line retreated, drawing the Byzantine center further in as the archers who were on horseback attacked and retreated on the sides, inflicting further damage. Towards evening the Byzantines were even able to capture the Turkish camp, but then the center turned back since it hadn’t been able to force a decisive engagement on the enemy. However, the Byzantine right flank didn’t retreat and this opened up a chance for Alp Arslan to attack. Meanwhile the reserves under Doukas didn’t go cover the emperor’s retreat; instead he had his men leave the field, abandoning the Byzantine center and the emperor. The latter fought until he was injured and couldn’t hold his sword and so he was captured. 

When Romanos was brought before Alp Arslan, the latter put his foot on the Byzantine emperor’s neck and forced him to kiss the ground as a sign of his having been conquered. Afterwards, the sultan had him treated with respect and even dined with him at his own table. He held him for a week and demanded a ransom of ten million, an amount that was reduced to 500,000 thousand plus 360,000 annually. The cities of Manzikert, Edessa, Antioch and Hieropolis were to be surrendered to the Turks. And one of Romanos’ daughters was to be married to one of Alp Arslan’s sons. 

Treaty signed after the battle

The Byzantine and Seljuk empires at the aftermath of the battle

Following this disastrous defeat, Romanos was dethroned, his eyes were blinded and he was sent to a monastery. He died in 1072 as a result of an infection that he acquired when he was blinded. Alp Arslan also died in 1072 under suspicious circumstances while he was a prisoner of a fortress commander.

The treaty signed after the Battle of Manzikert was never honored on the Byzantine side under the circumstances and Alp Arslan was more interested in Fatimid Egypt than in Anatolia. But the sultan instead encouraged the several nomadic tribes to enter Anatolia proper and, due to the power struggles going on in Constantinople, these groups were not only able to reach the Aegean but went as far north as Nicaea (Iznik) which became the capital in 1077 of the nomads who became known as the Rum Seljuks. They later established their capital at Konya. 
How ironic that 941 years after the Battle of Manzikert Sunnis are still fighting Shiites, and Aleppo is again a battle zone and Turkey’s southeast region is still troubled

source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/on-the-anniversary-of-a-critical-battle-manzikert.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28534&NewsCatID=438