The Cyclades (in Greek Κυκλάδες Kykládes ) is the Greek islands of the southernmost Aegean Sea, which form a names area of the Égée-Southerner. The archipelago includes/understands approximately: 2200 islands, small islands and small island-rocks. Only 33 islands are inhabited. They are called Cyclades because they form a circle (in Greek old κύκλος / kúklos ) around the crowned island of Délos.

History

See also: History of Cyclades

Antiquity

Prehistory

They were inhabited as of the cycladic civilization, famous for its marble idols, is older than the Minoan Civilization of Crete. Crétois occupied Cyclades with, then the Mycéniens starting from 1450 av. J. - C. and Doriens starting from 1100 av. J. - C. the Ionian ones arrived at X E They created the large religious sanctuary of Délos towards the VII e
Thucydide (I, 4) says to us that Minos drove out archipelago its first inhabitants, Cariens. Hérodote ((I, 171) specifies that Cariens, also called Lélèges, had arrived from the continent. They were completely independent (“they did not pay any tribute”), but provided sailors to the ships of Minos.
According to Hérodote, Cariens would have been the best warriors of their time and would have learned how to the Greeks to put manes at the helmets, to put badges on the shields and to put belts to hold the boucliers.
Cariens would then have been driven out of Cyclades by Doriens, follow-ups of the Ionian ones. Cariens would have passed by again on the continent.

Cyclades knew a great prosperity during the Neolithic era, partly thanks to the obsidian, whose Milo, volcanic island, was one of the independent sources. One finds obsidian mélienne until in Thessalie and Asia Mineure.

Traditional period

Persians tried to seize Cyclades into 490 before our era. The islands entered then the first Ligue of Délos into 478-477 before passing under total domination of Athens. They poured their tribute until 404. They then knew a relative period of autonomy before entering the second Ligue of Délos and passing by again under the Athenian cut. They revolted at the time of the conflict of 357-355, for finally passing under the domination of the Macedonians.
In 308, they are controlled by Antigone One-eyed the which created the League of Nésiotes. The Ptolémées controlled them then, but, overcome with Andros into 228, they yielded them to the Macedonians Antigone III Doson. After Cynocephali, the islands passed to the Rhodiens then to the Romains.

Mithridate, in 88 before our era, after having driven out the Romans of Asia was interested in Égée. Its Archélaüs general subjected Délos and the majority of Cyclades which he entrusted to Athens which had been declared in favor of Mithridate. Délos succeeds in turning over in the Roman bosom. To punish it, the island was devastated by the troops of Mithridate. The defeat of this one by Sylla, Lucullus then Pompée returned the archipelago to Rome. Vespasien constituted it in Roman province.

The Middle Ages

Goths devastated the archipelago at the 4th century, as well as the Scythians in 376 pennies the Emperor Valens. During the division of the Roman Empire, Cyclades passed to the Byzantine Empire which preserved them until the 11th century of our era.

In 727, the islands revolted against the Emperor iconoclast Leon Isaurien. Cosmas, placed at the head of the rebellion was proclaimed emperor. He perishes at the time of the seat of Constantinople. Leon brutally restores his authority on Cyclades.

In 769, the islands were devastated by the Slaves, then plundered by the Sarrasins into 821. The latter settled in Crete from where they carried out raids on Cyclades during more than one hundred years.

In 1204, the {{IVe}} Croisade seized Constantinople, and the winners shared the Byzantine Empire. Nominal sovereignty on Cyclades échut with the Venetian . The latter announced whereas they would leave the management of the islands with which would be able to seize some for them. This news caused many vocations. Many adventurers armed with the fleets to their expenses and in 1207, seized Cyclades and created feudal States there. Andre and Jerome Ghisi (or Ghizzi) became Masters of Tinos, Mykonos as well as Skiros and Skopelos and Pisani took Kéa. One saw also the passage of Guistiniani, Michieti, Dandoli. Sanudi, they, founded the Duché of Naxos with the principal islands like Naxos, Paros, Antiparos, or Milo.

Modern and contemporary times

Barberousse took the islands for the Turks starting from 1537. The islands were treated with a certain care by the Door. The Couch sent only very seldom officers and governors to direct them in his proper name. There was at the beginning an attempt to install cadis and beys on each large island, but the Christian pirates removed them in so great number to resell them in Malta that the Door had to give up it. The islands were controlled more only by far. Local magistrates, often called épitropes , controlled locally. Their principal attribution was to collect the taxes for the Captain pasha (Lord High Admiral of the Othoman fleet) to whom returned it of Cyclades belonged. It came only once per annum, with all its fleet, touch the lump sum of the taxes of Cyclades. It settled then in bay of Dryo in the south-east of Paros.

The Othoman domination was badly lived. Cyclades were of all important risings, as in 1770-1774, at the time of the short passage of the Russian of Catherine II.

Geography

List islands

External bonds

  • Presentation of Cyclades
  • To discover Cyclades

(a famous computing project also named Cyclades (network)).

Simple: Cyclades

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