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Rhodes
draws its originality from
its
highly varied cultural background. Sometimes Greek, sometimes
Byzantine, subjugated by the Persians, conquered by Alexander the
Great, invaded by the Arabs, occupied by Italy - the island's
political history is certainly complicated.
That is why we have chosen to provide an overview of the history of Rhodes
using a brief chronological list of dates as a guide for our fellow
travellers.
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1. Cretan
and Doric Period (3000 - 323 BC)
|
2800 - 1000 BC |
Bronze
age: colonisation of the island by the inhabitants of Cairo and the Phoenicians. |
|
1700 |
Installation
of Minoan sanctuaries. |
|
1600 - 1150 |
Founding of the towns Lindos, Kamiros and Ialissos. |
|
1230 - 1225 |
Trojan War. |
|
700 |
Creation
of the Doric Hexapolis: trade league between Knidos, Halicarnasse,
Kos, Lindos, Kamiros and Ialissos. |
|
550 |
Cleobule government. |
| 490 - 479 |
The Battles of Marathon and Salamis put an end to the Persian
war. |
|
478 |
Rhodes became part
of the Athenian league. |
|
408 |
Construction of Rhodes town. |
|
342 |
Creation of the
School of Rhetoric. |
2. Hellenistic
Period (323 - 180 BC)
|
305-304 |
The
inhabitants of Rhodes slowed down Demetrios Poliorcete's colonisation
attempts. |
|
304-290 |
Construction of
the Colossus of Rhodes. |
|
227 |
An earthquake
toppled the statue, breaking it off at the knees.
|
| 1st century BC |
Alliance
with Rome. |
| 42
BC |
Cassius
plundered Rhodes |
| 51 AC |
St. Paul
visited Rhodes. Beginning of Christianity. |
| 269 |
Rhodes was
attacked by the Goths. The island was successively targeted by
the Persians, Arabs and pirates up until the 10th century. |
3. Byzantine Period (395 -
1309 AC)
| 563 |
The
Saracens occupied Rhodes. |
| 1082 |
The Venetians set
up a trading post on Rhodes. |
| 1191 |
The crusades were at their height in
Europe.
Richard the Lionheart and Philippe Auguste stopped off at Rhodes
in order to swell the ranks of their armies. |
| 1234 |
Domination by the
Venetians. |
| 1248 |
Domination by the
Genoans. |
4.
Christian Period (1309 -
1522 AC)
| 1309 |
The Knights of St.
John of Jerusalem drove out the Byzantines and
settled on the island. |
| 1453 |
Start
of the Turkish conquest in Greece. |
| 1522 |
The Knights
of the Order were defeated by the Ottomans. |
5.
From the Turkish Occupation
to the Present Day
| 1912 |
Rhodes
was annexed to Italy by the Treaty of Lausanne. |
| 1943-1945 |
Fall of Mussolini.
Rhodes was occupied by the Germans. |
| 1945 |
The
United Kingdom liberated the Dodecanese islands. |
| 1947 |
The Dodecanese islands were returned to Greece. |
| 1981 |
Pasok, the socialist
party, came to power. |
| 1990 |
Fall of the Pasok party. The
island was classed as a national monument and placed
under the protection of UNESCO. |
| 1993 |
Re-election of the
Pasok party. |
| 1996 |
Kostas Simitis
- Prime Minister. |
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