Monemvasia (, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located in mainland Greece on a tied island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. Monemvasia is connected to the rest of the mainland by a tombolo (sandy isthmus) in length.Μονεμβασιά (in Greek) Retrieved 10 March 2023
In 1890, a small part of the natural tombolo was cut to create an artificial bridge for ships and boats. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some above sea level, up to wide and long.
Founded in the sixth century, and thus one of the oldest continually-inhabited fortified towns in Europe, the town is the site of a once-powerful medieval fortress, and was at one point one of the most important commercial centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. The town's walls and many Byzantine churches remain as testaments to the town's history. Today, the seat of the municipality of Monemvasia is the town of Molaoi.
Etymology The town's name derives from two Greek words, (, 'single') and emvasis (, 'approach'), together meaning city of the "single approach, or entrance". Its Italian form, Malvasia, gave its name to the eponymous wine. Monemvasia has been nicknamed "the Gibraltar of the East" ().
History Early history The island on which the town of Monemvasia is situated may have been the site of a Minoan trading post. Pausanias, the renowned Greek traveler and geographer, referred to the site as Akra Minoa, which translates to "Minoan Promontory".Emke, Ellie. Discover Monemvasia: A guide to its past and present, Lichnos ltd, 1990, p. 12. The ancient settlement of Epidaurus Limera was located a little north of Monemvasia in ancient times. The region surrounding the two settlements has been inhabited since prehistoric times. During Roman times it flourished as the most important city on the eastern coast of the Malea peninsula.
Pausanias visited Epidaurus Limera and said that opposite the city there was a promontory which he referred to as the "extremity of Minos", which has been identified as Monemvasia. Strabo—a century earlier—mentions it as "Minoan fortress". The toponym "Minoa" indicates the existence of a port in antiquity, traces of which have been discovered underwater. However, it is not known if there was a significant settlement on the island. It is possible that a settlement was established there in the 4th century, around the time when the capital of the Roman Empire moved from Rome to Constantinople, which resulted in changes in maritime trade routes. Epidaurus Limera itself was abandoned in the 4th century.
Establishment Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century from the relocation of the inhabitants of Ancient Sparta, which was then known as Lacedaemon. Sparta, unlike other cities that were abandoned, continued to be inhabited until the 6th century AD, despite earthquakes, Goth raids in 395 under Alaric I, Vandals in 468 under Gaiseric, and the plague epidemic of 541–543. According to the later Chronicle of Monemvasia, Sparta was abandoned after a Slav raid during the reign of Maurice in 587-588 when the city's inhabitants left in a panic, some fortifying themselves under the leadership of their bishop in Monemvasia and others settling in the passes of the region. However, archaeological findings do not support this, since the first level of the basilica church of Christ Elkomenos in the center of the lower town dates from the time of Justinian's reign a few decades earlier.
During Justinian's reign, natural disasters and raids led to the significant decline of many cities and Justinian proceeded with residential remodeling, moving entire populations to new locations and often changing city names. Such changes are mentioned by Procopius in On Buildings, though specific references to the Peloponnese are rare. The 15th-century text Report to the Patriarch, written by Isidoros, the metropolitan of Monemvasia, mentions that the movement of the populations took place under Justinian. Aipeia in Messenia, which moved to the current site of Koroni, is one city that was moved during this time period. Similarly, the location of Sparta was deemed insufficiently fortified and prone to long-term blockades due to its long distance from the port, and with the move of the capital to Constantinople, ships from Gytheion now had to sail around Cape Maleas. For these reasons, city authorities proceeded to move the population of Sparta, establishing Monemvasia, and reorganize the settlements of southeastern Laconia. The reorganization included settlement in the mountain passes of Parnon and migration from Gytheion, and the Chronicle of Monemvasia states that part of the population relocated as far away as Sicily. Because the rebuilding, moving, and settling of the population at the new location must have been completed several years later, it is likely that the two cities coexisted for some time. The seat of the diocese of Lacedaemonia was also moved, along with its inhabitants, though it kept its old name.
Byzantine period Unlike other settlements in the Peloponnese region that saw their decline from the 7th century onwards—a period known as the Dark Ages—Monemvasia developed into a commercial and cultural centre due to its location on important sea routes like the one that connected it to Sicily. A bronze coin of Philippikos Bardanes minted in Sicily was found in the lower town. The oldest known mention of Monemvasia dates from the third decade of the 8th century by the pilgrim Vilibaldos, who traveled from Sicily to the Holy Land with a stopover in Monemvasia. Monemvasia is also mentioned by Theophanes the Confessor, who describes the arrival of the plague in Byzantium in 746-747.
Monemvasia's key position on the sea route to the eastern Mediterranean made it the target of pirate raids in the following centuries, along with raids by Western rulers. Arab raids began in the 9th century, and after their settlement in Crete the raids multiplied. One such raid is mentioned in the 10th-century Psychophile Narratives of bishop Pavlos Monemvasias, which now survive only in an Arabic translation. In one of them, it is mentioned that the Arabs attacked the fortress of Vukolo, which has been identified as Monemvasia. Earlier in the same text it is mentioned that the relics of the saints of Barcelona, such as Bishops Valerius, Eulalia and Vincentius, among others, washed up in the city. The inhabitants collected the sarcophagi that contained them and built a church on the steep hill. During the reign of Emperors Leo VI and Alexander, the chapel was located and the remains were transferred to the chapel of Agia Irini next to the church of Agia Anastasia, which today is dedicated to Christ Elkomenos.
At the beginning of the 10th century, the ecclesiastical seat of Monemvasia was transferred from the jurisdiction of the church of Rome to the patriarchate of Constantinople, where it was demoted to the diocese of Corinth. Despite this, Monemvasia continued to develop and maintain many privileges, among which was self-government.
During the 11th and 12th centuries, Monemvasia experienced significant economic growth. During that period, the settlement spread around the island from the main side and key monuments were rebuilt, such as the church of Hagia Sophia (originally dedicated to Panagia Hodegetria) in the upper town and the church of Elkomenos Christos. At the time of the Komnenians, Monemvasia had evolved into a guardian of the western entrance to the Aegean. In 1147, ships of the Sicilian king Roger II tried to capture the city without success, being forced to withdraw with heavy losses. Theodoros Mavrosomis, the archon of Monemvasia at that time, then settled in the imperial court, and after the Battle of Myriokephalos he was put in charge of the left wing of the army and was given the position of mediator.
The Latin Empire, a 13th-century crusader state, unsuccessfully attempted to besiege Monemvasia in 1222. In 1225, after a three-year siege, the Frankish prince of Achaia, William of Villehardouin, successfully occupied Monemvasia. The inhabitants who did not wish to remain under Latin occupation left for Bithynia, which acquired many of the same commercial privileges as Monemvasia. Monemvasia itself retained the same privileges it previously had, along with an obligation to maintain the ships, and became the seat of a Latin bishop. Monemvasia's loss was a serious blow to the emperor of Nicaea, Michael VIII Palaiologos, since it ruined his plans for the recovery of the lands that had fallen to the Franks., so when William was captured by the Byzantines at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 and refused to cede his possessions in the Peloponnese in exchange for his release, Michael kept him prisoner until 1262, when he agreed to surrender the castles of Monemvasia, Mystras, Grand Magne, and Geraki to the Byzantines. Monemvasia was designated the seat of a Byzantine general and an Orthodox metropolitan and important privileges were granted to the inhabitants. These privileges were renewed and expanded by Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328), including exemptions from inheritance taxes and duties, then Andronikos III Paleologos later exempted Monemvasia from 28 taxes.
The prosperity of the city was rapid. In addition to an increase in population and the accompanying increase in trade and shipping, spiritual and ecclesiastical development occurred to the extent that the period up to 1460 is considered the city's "golden age". This prosperity attracted Roger of Lauria, who sacked the lower town in 1292. In 1302, the town welcomed the Catalan Company on its way eastward. In 1324, out of a total of 3,108 pyres that the metropolitans contributed to the Constantinople Patriarchate, 800 came from the Monemvasia metropolis, more than any other. In 1347 or 1348, John VI Kantakouzenos promoted the metropolis of Monemvasia to the hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The peaceful life of Monemvasia during the 14th and the first half of the 15th century was disturbed by pirate raids and internal conflicts, though its historical course under the Despotate of the Morea was not affected.
In 1354, control over the Despotate of Morea was usurped by Manuel Kantakouzinos, who remained in power until 1380. The administration of Monemvasia was given to Ioannis Kantakouzinos, who rebelled after learning that Theodore Palaiologos would be appointed after Manuel's death. Theodore tried to approach Monemvasia but was driven away and fled to Venetian-occupied Koroni to ask for help in exchange for the territory of Monemvasia. The Monemvasians repudiated the rebels and in 1394, Theodore was captured by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. In order to free himself, he asked for the surrender of Monemvasia. Theodore managed to escape, and with the help of Venice, recaptured Monemvasia from the Ottomans in July 1394. Because of the unrest caused by these events, the city's population decreased and commercial traffic was effectively brought to a halt. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, unrest prevailed in the Despotate. The two despots at that time, Thomas Palaiologos and Demetrios Palaiologos, disagreed about the future of the despotate. Eventually, Dimitrios surrendered Monemvasia to Mehmed II in May 1460. However, Mehmed withdrew without besieging the city. Then, on September 12, 1460, following the advice of Thomas, the inhabitants offered the city to Pope Pius II, who accepted.
First Venetian rule and first Ottoman rule