Dodecanese

• The Dodecanese are an Island chain in the Aegean in Greece, which consist of 12 large islands and 150 smaller islands.
• The islands have been controlled by Rhodes since Antiquity.

History of the The Dodecanese

• The Dodecanese Island chain consists of 12 large islands and 150 smaller islands, controlled since antiquity by Rhodes.
• Capital city
  • Rhodes
•  History
  • In 164 BCE Rhodes signed a Trade Agreement with Rome, bringing the Dodecanese Islands under Roman Influence.
  • In c.79-81 CE Titus created the Provincia Insularum meaning the Dodecanese Islands, with Rhodes as the capital. There is one known Governor, Plutarchos, under Julian (361-363 CE)

Under the Eastern Roman Empire (after 395 CE):

• Capital city:
  • Karpathos
• History:
  • After 395 CE, the Provincia Insularum was placed under the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople.
  • The Dodecanese Islands were eventually joined with Crete under the control of Karpathos.
  • This was the Capital of the Island of Karpathos, Greece, which is halfway between Crete and Rhodes.

The Cyclades

• This is another group of 220 Islands surrounding the Island of Delos controlled since Antiquity by Crete.
• Capital city:
  • Delos:
• History:
  • Under the Roman Empire, the Cyclades were either assigned to the Province of Asia or Achaea, and later to Crete.
  • The most prosperous island was the sacred island of Delos, birth place of Apollo, which was set up by Rome in 166 BCE as a Free Port. Within two years this bankrupted the Rhodian Navy, who in 164 BCE were obliged to sign a Trade Alliance with Rome, bringing the Islands into the Roman Sphere of Influence.
  • Rome used the Cyclades as a place of Exile, mainly the Islands of Gyaros, Amorgos, Patmos and Serifos.

Rhodes and the Dodecanese