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Araklovon
Araklovon ( el, ), rarely known with the variant Oreoklovon (Ὀρεόκλοβον) and in French as Bucelet and variants thereof, was a medieval castle of the Byzantine era located in the region of Skorta in the southwestern Peloponnese in Greece. History The castle was built already in Byzantine times, and was of strategic importance as it lay at the mouth of the mountain pass (''droungos'') leading from the coastal plains of Elis to Skorta and the interior of the peninsula. The origin of the Greek name is unclear and has been much debated, including proposals that it means "mountain cage", or linking it with Herakles, although no sanctuary of his is known to have existed in the area. Similarly, the Western name in its various forms (Bucel t, Bucello, Polcellecto, Porcelle, Bucel tto) is of unclear origin. At the time of the arrival of the Crusaders under William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin and the onset of their conquest of the Peloponnese in 1205, Araklovon wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaiokastro, Arcadia
Sarakini ( el, Σαρακίνι) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Gortyna, western Arcadia, Greece. It is situated on a hill above the right bank of the river Alfeios, at about 450 m elevation. It is 2 km northwest of Vlachorraptis, 4 km northeast of Theisoa (Elis), 7 km northwest of Karytaina and 8 km southwest of Dimitsana. In 2011 Sarakini had a population of 8 for the village and 51 for the community, which includes the villages Kryonero and Palaiokastro. History The village of Sarakini is first recorded in 1665, and was built, according to tradition, by settlers from Constantinople. Palaiokastro is the site of a Mycenaean-era settlement (Homer's Phere), with a cemetery and a '' nekromanteion'' having been found. The ruins of a nearby medieval fortress have been identified with the Araklovon Castle Araklovon ( el, ), rarely known with the variant Oreoklovon (Ὀρεόκλοβον) and in French as Bucelet and variants thereof, was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey II Of Briel
Geoffrey II of Briel or Geoffrey of Briel the Younger, was a French knight and the cousin or nephew of Geoffrey I of Briel, Baron of Karytaina in the Principality of Achaea, in Frankish Greece. Biography Geoffrey I of Briel died in 1275, and in 1279, Geoffrey the Younger came to Greece and tried, unsuccessfully, to claim the barony, which in the meantime had reverted to the princely domain due to Geoffrey the Elder's lack of direct male heirs. The 19th-century historian Karl Hopf erroneously placed Geoffrey's arrival in Greece in 1287, but the passage of Geoffrey from Italy to Greece in January 1279 is documented in the archives of the Kingdom of Naples. Undeterred, Geoffrey resolved to take part of his inheritance by force, if need be: he went to the Araklovon Castle, gained admittance by pretending to be ill, and immediately let in his armed companions (reportedly four equerries and a few local Greeks) and made himself master of the fortress. The Achaean troops quickly invested the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barony Of Karytaina
The Barony of Karytaina or of Skorta was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the town of Karytaina ( el, Καρύταινα; french: Caraintaine; it, Caritena) in the mountainous region known as Skorta. History The Barony of Karytaina was established ca. 1209, after the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Crusaders, and was one of the original twelve secular baronies within the Principality of Achaea. The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' mentions that the barony, centred on the mountain town of Karytaina, comprised twenty-two knight's fiefs. Karytaina was of particular strategic importance, as it controlled the southern part of the Skorta region and the ravine of the Alpheios valley, which was the main route from and into the central Peloponnese from the coastal plains of Elis. The first baron was probably Renaud of Briel (or Brières), from the Champagne, who is attested in the Treaty of Sapienza in 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doxapatres Boutsaras
Doxapatres Boutsaras ( el, Δοξαπατρής Βουτσαράς) was a Byzantine Greek independent lord in the central Peloponnese in the early 13th century. He had his headquarters in the Araklovon Castle, which is located near the Minthi village, in the Municipality of Zacharo. He withstood the attacks of the Franks of the Fourth Crusade for several years, until it finally fell ca. 1210 and became part of the Principality of Achaea. His heroic defense of the fort is recorded in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'', especially its Latin versions, where he assumes superhuman proportions: he is said to have held a mace that no other man could lift, and that his cuirass alone weighed 150 pounds. Stories are also told of his daughter, Maria Doxapatre, who allegedly threw herself from the castle walls rather than become the mistress of William of Champlitte. Doxapatres is a family name. See also * Frankokratia The ''Frankokratia'' ( el, Φραγκοκρατία, la, Francocrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Castles In The Peloponnese
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minthi (mountain)
The Minthi ( el, Μίνθη) is a mountain located in southern Elis in the western Peloponnese, Greece. The mountain is named after the nymph Minthe. It is about 15 km long (from west to east), and about 10 km wide. Its highest summit is 1,345 m. It is situated between the towns Zacharo in the west and Andritsaina in the east. The valley of the river Neda forms its southern border. The sacred mountain Lykaion Mount Lykaion ( grc, Λύκαιον ὄρος, ''Lýkaion Óros''; la, Mons Lycaeus) is a mountain in Arcadia, Greece. Lykaion has two peaks: ''Stefani'' to the north and St. Ilias (, ''Agios Īlías'') to the south where the altar of Zeus is l ... lies east of the Minthi. The forests on Minthi suffered great damage from the 2007 Greek forest fires. References {{reflist Landforms of Elis Mountains of Greece Mountains of Western Greece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samiko
Samiko ( el, Σαμικό, before 1923: Αλή Τσελεπή - ''Ali Tselepi'') is a village in the municipality of Skillounta, Elis, Greece. In 2011 its population was 389. It is situated on a hill near the Ionian Sea, 2 km south of Kallikomo, 2 km southeast of Raches, 3 km north of Kato Samiko and 4 km southwest of Krestena. Population History Samiko takes its name from the ancient Elean city Samikon ( la, Samicum), which was also known as ''Samos'' and ''Samia''. It was probably identical with the Homeric ''Arene''. Samikon was located in the ancient country of Triphylia, near the river Anigros. Near the city and the river was the cave of the Anigrid nymphs. The water here reputedly cured skin diseases. Strabo '' Geographica'' 8.3 The remains of ancient Samikon have been found on a hill 1 km south of Kato Samiko. See also *List of settlements in Elis This is a list of settlements in Elis, Greece. * Achladini * Aetorrachi * Agios Andreas, Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, links=no), was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic in parts of present-day Italy (mainly Northern Italy, northeastern Italy) that existed for 1100 years from AD 697 until AD 1797. Centered on the Venetian Lagoon, lagoon communities of the prosperous city of Venice, it incorporated numerous Stato da Màr, overseas possessions in modern Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and Cyprus. The republic grew into a Economic history of Venice, trading power during the Middle Ages and strengthened this position during the Renaissance. Citizens spoke the still-surviving Venetian language, although publishing in (Florentine) Italian became the norm during the Renaissance. In its early years, it prospered on the salt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystras
Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, near ancient Sparta, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering during the Palaeologan Renaissance, including the teachings of Gemistos Plethon. The city also attracted artists and architects of the highest quality. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when Western travellers mistook it for ancient Sparta. In the 1830s, it was abandoned and the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight kilometres to the east. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Sparti municipality. As an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Byzantine city and because of its testimony to the development of Late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
