Fanari () or Fanarion (Φανάριον) is a village in Karditsa,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, with a population of 433 (2011 census). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mouzaki, whereas before that it was the seat of the municipality of Ithomi. Fanari occupies the site of the ancient town of Ithome.

History

The village is located on the end of a series of hills extending into the Thessalian plain northwest of Karditsa, and commands a broad view of the surrounding area. The current settlement dates to the later

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, but is located on the ruins of the ancient city of Ithome, which survived until early

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times. Fanari is mentioned for the first time in 1304, when it was briefly occupied by the forces of the regent of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene. It then came under the control of the autonomous Thessalian magnate Stephen Gabrielopoulos, and on his death in 1333 it passed to the ruler of Epirus, John II Orsini, who fortified it. The castle, a plain structure on a circular plateau some 100 m across, is well preserved to this day. It features five square towers, and a strong gate-tower on its western side, while a

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

and remains of a barracks survive in the interior. The ''

archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

tes'' (local elders) of Fanari are mentioned in several documents: in 1342 Michael Gabrielopoulos assured them that no

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

would be settled in their area, and confirmed their possession of the monasteries of Lykousada and Porta Panagia, while in 1382 the ''archontes'' are mentioned in a local church synod. In 1444, when the Despot of the Morea and future

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Constantine XI Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus (; 8 February 140429 May 1453) was the last reigning List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 23 January 1449 until his death in battle at the fall of Constantinople on 29 M ...

, briefly expanded his control into Central Greece, he installed a governor of his own in Fanari. A local bishopric is attested from 1382 to 1388 on, initially in combination with Kappoua (modern Kappas), but after the Ottoman conquest of Thessaly it became a separate see and was even raised to an archbishopric. In 1521 ( Hijri 927) the town of had 53 Muslim households in three neighborhoods, and 370 Christian households in six neighborhoods. Today the see is a

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

within the Church of Greece, held since 2003 by Agathangelos (Vasileios) Haramantidis.

Population

References

Sources

* {{Mouzaki div Populated places in Karditsa (regional unit) Mouzaki Byzantine castles in Thessaly Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople