c. 1744–1822
Ali Pasha of Ioannina
Ali Pasha Tepelena governed from Ioannina and expanded his authority across much of Epirus, southern Albania and western Greece. His court combined…
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Balkans
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Reigned AD 976–1025
Basil II and the Balkan Wars
Basil II ruled from AD 976 to 1025 and spent much of his reign consolidating imperial authority. His long conflict with the…
Read story →Ninth century
Cyril and Methodius
Constantine, later known as Cyril, and Methodius were Byzantine missionaries from Thessaloniki. Sent to Great Moravia, they translated Christian texts into a…
Read story →Fifteenth–early nineteenth centuries
Education in Ottoman Greek Communities
Greek education under Ottoman rule varied greatly by place and period. Community schools, church institutions, merchant sponsorship and private teaching expanded literacy…
Read story →1914–1918
Greece and the First World War
Greece remained officially neutral during the first years of the First World War while Allied armies operated from Thessaloniki. In 1917 King…
Read story →Seventeenth–early nineteenth centuries
Greek Merchant Networks
From the seventeenth century onward, Greek-speaking merchants built commercial networks across the Ottoman Empire, the Black Sea, Italy, Austria and the Balkans.…
Read story →1757–1798
Rigas Feraios and the Vision of Freedom
Rigas Velestinlis, also known as Rigas Feraios, was a leading figure of the Greek Enlightenment. His writings, maps and revolutionary songs called…
Read story →Developed mainly from the seventh century
The Byzantine Theme System
Themes were regional military and administrative districts that developed during the seventh and eighth centuries. Their organization changed repeatedly as the empire's…
Read story →Thirteenth–fifteenth centuries
The Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus emerged after the capture of Constantinople in 1204. Centred initially on Arta, it controlled territories in western Greece…
Read story →Mainly fifteenth–seventeenth centuries
The Devshirme and the Ottoman Balkans
The devshirme was an Ottoman system that periodically took boys from Christian communities, converted them to Islam and trained them for military…
Read story →AD 1081–1185
The Komnenian Restoration
Beginning with Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, the Komnenian dynasty restored political stability, reorganized armies and diplomacy and recovered some territories.
Read story →Fifteenth–nineteenth centuries
The Orthodox Church under Ottoman Rule
Under Ottoman rule, Orthodox bishops, monasteries and parish communities remained important religious and social institutions. The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople held a…
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