Gardiki Castle was a medieval fortress and settlement in southern

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

History

Gardiki existed as a settlement before the 13th century. Its name, which derives from a Slavic term for "small fort", demonstrates the naturally fortified nature of the site, even before the construction of the castle. The castle of Gardiki was built sometime after 1284, and was in

Byzantine 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 Constantinopl ...

hands by 1297, when the

Princess of Achaea This is a list of the princess consorts of Achaea, the consorts of the Princes of Achaea. The Principality of Achaea had three princesses by their own rights: Isabella, Matilda, and Joan. Their husbands were not consorts. Maria II Zaccaria was pri ...

Isabella of Villehardouin Isabella of Villehardouin (1260/1263 – 23 January 1312) was reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 ...

, constructed the fortress of Chateneuf to protect the inhabitants of the plains of Messenia and Arcadia from the raids of the Byzantine troops based in the region around Gardiki and

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, nea ...

. Indeed, it is likely that the castle was built by the Byzantines, as it is not recorded that it was ever held by the

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

of Achaea. In 1374, the new '' bailli'' (viceroy) of the Principality of Achaea,

Francis of San Severino Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

, attacked Gardiki, captured the village and defeated a Byzantine relief force, but was unable to capture the strongly fortified castle and had to withdraw. In 1422, the

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, ...

considered taking over the two fortresses, along with much of what remained of the Principality of Achaea and parts of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea, as part of a defensive alliance to protect the Morea from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, but nothing came of the negotiations with the local Latin and Greek leaders. As a result, when the Ottomans under Turahan Bey invaded the Morea in 1423, several towns, including Gardiki, were captured and pillaged. In 1460, during the Ottoman conquest of the Despotate of the Morea, the population of the town of Leontari sought refuge in the Castle of Gardiki. The castle, commanded by Manuel Bochalis, surrendered on condition of safety, but the Ottomans massacred the entire population of 6,000. Only Bocharis and his family escaped this fate, as they were relatives of the Ottoman grand vizier,

Mahmud Pasha Angelović Mahmud Pasha Angelović ( sr, Махмуд-паша Анђеловић/Mahmud-paša Anđelović; tr, Veli Mahmud Paşa; 1420–1474) was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and again from 1472 to 1474, who also wrote Persian ...

Location

The exact site of the medieval castle is unknown. The descriptions in the medieval sources do not match with the village of Gardiki (modern Anavryto) to the east of Leontari, where furthermore no traces of fortifications survive. It is more likely that the medieval site is to be found southwest of Leontari, some north of Kalamata, at the ruins of Kokla or Kokkala (close to

Ellinitsa Ellinitsa ( el, Ελληνίτσα) is a village in the municipal unit of Falaisia, in Arcadia, Greece. It is located on a hillside, 2 km west of Potamia, 3 km southwest of Leontari, 4 km southeast of Paradeisia and 11 km south of Megalopo ...

), where already Pietro Antonio Pacifico and

Jean Alexandre Buchon Jean Alexandre Buchon (21 May 1791 – 29 August 1849) was a French scholar born at Menetou-Salon (Cher). Buchon was an ardent Liberal and took an active part in party struggles under the Restoration, while throwing himself into the historical ...

had proposed as its likely site.

References

Sources

* * {{coord missing, Greece Byzantine castles in Greece Despotate of the Morea Medieval Arcadia