Greece - Korina Miller [26]
324 The AD 250 invasion of Greece by the Goths signals the decline of Pax Romana and in 324 the capital of the empire is moved to Constantinople. Christianity gains traction.
394 Christianity is declared the official religion. All pagan worship of Greek and Roman gods is outlawed. Christian theology supplants classical philosophy.
529 Athens’ cultural influence is dealt a fatal blow when Emperor Justinian outlaws the teaching of classical philosophy in favour of Christian theology, by now regarded as the ultimate form of intellectual endeavour.
1204 Marauding Frankish Crusaders sack Constantinople. Trading religious fervour for self-interest, the Crusaders strike a blow that sets Constantinople on the road to a slow demise.
1209 Geoffrey de Villehardouin parcels out the Peloponnese into fiefs; he paves the way for his nephew, another Geoffrey, who appoints himself Prince of Morea (the name given to medieval Peloponnese).
1453 Greece becomes a dominion of the Ottoman Turks after they seize control of Constantinople (modern-day İstanbul), sounding the death knell for the Byzantine Empire.
1460 By 1460 the Morea falls to the Turks and centuries of power struggles between the Turks and Venetians follows.
1684–87 The Venetians expel the Turks from the Peloponnese in a campaign that sees Venetian troops advance as far as Athens.
1770s & 1780s Catherine the Great of Russia dislodges the Turks from the Black Sea coast and assigns several towns with Ancient Greek names. She offers Greeks financial incentives and free land to settle the region, and many accept.
1814 The underground Hellenic Independence organisation known as the Filiki Eteria (Friendly Society) is established in the town of Odessa on the Black Sea coast. Its influence spreads throughout Greece.
1821 On 25 March, Bishop Germanos of Patra (a member of the Filiki Eteria) signals the beginning of the War of Independence on the mainland. Greece celebrates this date as its national day of Independence.
1822–29 Independence is declared at Epidavros on 13 January 1822, but fighting continues for another seven years. The Ottomans capitulate and accept the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople.
1827 British, French and Russian forces sink the combined Turkish-Egyptian naval fleet in the Battle of Navarino (at Pylos, in the Peloponnese); a decisive action in the War of Independence.
1827–31 Ioannis Kapodistrias is appointed prime minister of a fledgling government with its capital in the Peloponnesian town of Nafplio. Discontent ensues and Kapodistrias is assassinated.
1833 The powers of the Entente (Britain, France and Russia) decree that Greece should be a monarchy and dispatch Prince Otto of Bavaria to Greece to be the first appointed monarch in modern Greece.
1862–63 The monarchy takes a nosedive and King Otto is deposed in a bloodless coup. The British return the Ionian Islands (a British protectorate since 1815) to Greece, in an effort to quell Greece’s expansionist urges.
1863–64 The British engineer the ascension to the Greek throne of Danish Prince William, later crowned King George I. His 50-year reign begins with a new constitution in 1864.
1883 Greece completes construction of the Corinth Canal that cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth. The engineering feat opens a link between the Aegean and Ionian Seas.
1896 The staging of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens marks Greece’s coming of age. Winners receive a silver medal and olive crown, and second and third places receive a bronze medal and a laurel branch, respectively.
1912–13 The Balkan Wars erupt when Greece and Serbia initially side with Bulgaria against Turkey over the territory of Macedonia. Then Greece and Serbia fight for the same territory against Bulgaria. Greece’s territory expands.
1914 The outbreak of WWI sees Greece initially neutral but eventually siding with the Western Allies against Germany and Turkey on the promise of land in Asia Minor.
1919–23 Greece embarks on the ‘Great Idea’ campaign to unite the former Hellenic regions, including those in Asia Minor. It fails