Hellenistic to Modern
last update: 9 May 2000
HELLENISTIC
ROMAN
BC
| 196 | various disputes amongst the small city-states of southern Greece cause Rome to intervene and, at Olympia, Flamininus declares Greece "free" as the Roman province of Achaia |
| ca. 150 | the Attalids of Pergamon beautify Athens |
| 146 | Rome destroys Corinth and establishes the province of Greece (former Achaia plus Macedonia |
| 88 | Athens allies with Mithridates of Pontos and is sacked by Sulla |
| 27 | Augustus (27 BC - AD 14) |
AD
| 14 | Tiberius (14-37) |
| 37 | Caligula (37-41) |
| 41 | Claudius (41-54) |
| 43 | England made a Roman province |
| 54 | Nero (54-58)
St Paul preaches in Athens Nero attempts a canal at Corinth |
| 68-69 | Galba, Otho, Vitellius -- Emperors |
| 69 | Vespasian (69-79) |
| 70 | Destruction of Jerusalem |
| 79 | Titus (79-81)
Eruption of Vesuvius (August 14) |
| 81 | Domitian (81-96) |
| 96 | Nerva (96-98) |
| 98 | Trajan (98-117) |
| 117 | Hadrian (117-138) |
| 125 | Roman Forum established in Athens |
| 138 | Antoninus Pius (138-161) |
| ca. 160 | Pausanias writes his Description of Greece |
| 161 | Marcus Aurelius (161-180) |
| 176 | Stoic University established at Athens |
| 180 | Commodus (180-192) |
| 193 | Septimius Severus (192-211) |
| 211 | Caracalla (211-217)
edict extends citizenship to all people in the Empire |
| 267 | Heruleans, a Gothic tribe, sack Athens |
| 284 | Diocletian (284-305) divides the empire in half
Diocletian rules in the east Maximian rules in the west |
| 305 | Diocletian and Maximian abdicate
Galerius rules in the East (305-311) Constantius rules in the west (305-313) |
| 313 | Constantine (313-337) reunites the empire |
BYZANTINE
| 313 | Constantine (313-337)
Constantine converts to Christianity edict: no more religious persectutions of the Christians |
| 330 | at Byzantion, Constantinople founded and becomes the Roman capitol |
| 379 | Theodosius (379-395) |
| 429 | edict: all temples must be converted to churches or be razed; the Parthenon is dedicated first to Ayia sophia (Holy Wisdom) and then to the Mother of God (Theotokos) |
| 527 | Justinian (527-565) |
| 532 | Ayia Sophia built in Constantinople |
| 550 | silk work eggs smuggled into Greece; Thebes becomes the leading manufacturer of silk |
| 622 | Hegira of Mohammed (dies 632) |
| 633 | expansion of Islam: Iraq (633), Babylonia (637), syria (638), Egypt (639), Persia (644), N. Africa (705), Spain (713), southern France (732) |
| 673 | Moslem attacks on Constantinople repelled |
| 717 | iconoclasm separates East from West churches |
| 768 | Charlemagne repels Moslems from France |
| 787 | iconoclasm rejected |
| 810 | Arabs conquer Crete (810-961) |
| 1096 | Crusade I captures Jerusalem (1099) and four Latin states are created: Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, Jerusalem |
| 1189 | Richard LionHeart leads Crusade III against Saldin |
| 1191 | Christians allowed acess to Jerusalem |
| 1204 | Crusade IV caputres Constantinople and establishes the Frankish Empire (1204-1261): Duchy of Athens ruled from Thebes (1204-1460), Principality of Achaia (1204-1432) ruled from Andravidha near Olympia, and the duchy of the Archipelago (1204-1566)
Venetians occupy Crete (1204-1669) |
| 1206 | Byzantine empire moves to Nicaea |
| 1208 | Parthenon dedicated to the Virgin Mary |
| 1220 | Geoffrey II Villehardouin of Achaia |
| 1261 | Michael Palaeologos recaptures Constantinople |
| 1262 | Michael Palaeologos recaptures Mistra and makes it the Byzantine capitol |
| 1289 | Osman I, first Turkish sultan (1289-1326) |
| 1309 | Knights of St John occupy Rhodes |
| 1311 | Catalans take the Duchy of Athens |
| 1348 | Black Plague originates in Copnstantinople |
| 1361 | Adrianople becomes the Turkish capitol |
| 1380 | Albanians invited to occupy the uninhabited areas of Greece |
| 1388 | Florentines take the duchy of Athens |
| 1430 | Byzantines oust the Franks from Andravidha |
| 1453 | Mohammed captures Constantinople (May 29) |
| 1456 | Turks take the Duchy of Athens |
| 1458 | a mosque is inserted into the Parthenon |
| 1461 | Turks take the Peloponnese |
| 1522 | Suleiman I, the Magnificent, captures Rhodes |
| 1529 | Suleiman I repelled from Vienna |
| 1566 | Turks conquer the Duchy of the Archipelago |
| 1571 | Battle of Lepanto (Naupaktos, Oct 7): the Holy League defeats the Turks but do nothing |
| 1587 | Sir Walter Raleigh lands in North Carolina |
| 1626 | Venetians under Morosini capture Crete |
| 1669 | Moslems capture Crete |
| 1687 | Morosini recaptures the Peloponnese
Sept 23, lays siege to the Acropolis of Athens and blows up the Parthenon on Sept 26 |
| 1690 | Venetians reoccupy souther Greece (until 1715) |
| 1714 | Palamidi (Nafplion) is built |
| 1715 | Turks recatpure the Peloponnese |
| 1797 | Ionian islands pass from Venetians to the French |
| 1798 | Napoleon takes Egypt
Constantine Rhigas (1760-98), nationalist poet, executed Alexander Korais (1748-1833) develops a national language (katharevousa) |
| 1799 | Lord Elgin becomes British ambassador to Istanbul |
| 1801 | Lord Elgin begins removing sculpture from the Acropolis
Memhet Ali in Egypt & Ali Pasha at Ioannina "seccede" from Turkey |
| 1814 | Philiki Hetairia (Society of Friends) is created to obtain foreign aid to abet a revolution |
| 1821 | April, revolt against Turkey raised at Kalavryta |
| 1822 | Jan.: Constitution of Epidauros elects Mavrokordato president
massacre of the Turks at Dervenaki (south of Corinth) by Kolokotronis |
| 1824 | Byron dies at Missolonghi |
| 1826 | England and Russia agree to support an independent Greece |
| 1827 | May: democratic Constitution of Troizene
July 6: Treaty of London: France, England, and Russia agree to force Turkey to surrender Greece Oct 20: French, English, & Russian fleets "by accident" annihilate the Turkist fleet in the bay of Navarino, Pylos |
| 1829 | Sept 14: peace treaty signed at Adrianople
Capodistrias president of the Greek Republic and establishes the first capitol at Nafplion |
MODERN
| 1831 | Oct: Capodistrias assassinated |
| 1832 | May: Prince Otho of Bavaria (wife: Amalia) becomes king of Greece |
| 1833 | Mar: Athens becomes the capitol |
| 1843 | Sept: Otho forced to be a constitutional monarch
Mavrokordatos becomes the first Prime Minister |
| 1862 | Oct.: antimonarchist sentiment forces Otho & Amaia to retire to Bamberg |
| 1863 | July: France, England, and Russia force Greece to accept Prince William of Denmark who becomes George I (1863-1913) |
| 1854-1881 | expansion of Greece (Ionian islands, Epiros) |
| 1893 | Corinth canal opened |
| 1896 | Crete revolts form Turkey
Prince George made High Commissioner of Crete (a Protectorate of England, France, and Russia) Eleutherios Venizelos becomes Crete's Prime Minister |
| 1909 | Tukey becomes a republic |
| 1910 | Venezelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece |
| 1912 | Greece declares war on Turkey
Nov.: Crown Prince Constantine enters Thessaloniki |
| 1913 | Mar 18: King George assassinated in Thessaloniki; Constantine I becomes king
Aug.: Crete united with Greece, along with west Thrace, Chios, Lesbos, and the northern islands |
| 1914 | June 28: assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, starts World War I |
| 1915 | Constantine declares a "benevolent neutrality" towards the Allies
Allies take Thessaloniki |
| 1916 | Oct: Venizelos lands in thessaloniki and organizes a provisional government |
| 1917 | Mar.-Nov.: the Russian Revolution
June 12: Allies force Constantine to abdicate, appointing his second son Alexander King Venizelos declares war on the Central Powers |
| 1918 | Sep: Greek forces join the Allies at Thessaloniki and defeat the Bulgarians
Oct 30: armistice on the eastern front Nov. 11: armistice on the western front |
| 1919 | Nov. 27: Treaty of Neuilly: Greece receives eastern Macedonia, west Thrace, and permission to occupy central Ionia (Smyrna) |
| 1920 | Oct 25: King Alexander dies accidentally
Dec. 19: King Constantine returns from Switzerland |
| 1921 | July: Greece marches into Ionia: the "Great Idea" |
| 1922 | Aug. 26: Greek retreat to Smyrna, rout of Greek forces
Sept 26: Constantine abdicates in favor of Crown Prince George II |
| 1923 | July 24: Treaty of Lausanne: an exchange of populations (2 million Greeks in Ionia migrate mostly to Athens
Oct 29: Turkey becomes a democratic republic, Ataturk first President |
| 1925-7 | brief fascist government of Pangalos |
| 1928 | Venizelos becomes Prime Minister again |
| 1929 | Oct. 29: Depression begins |
| 1933 | Jan. 30: Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany |
| 1935 | George II returns from England |
| 1936 | Mar 18: Venizelos dies
Aug. 4: Metaxas gets George II's permission to dissolve Parliament and declare marital law |
| 1939 | Sept 1: Germany's invasion of Poland starts World War II; Metaxas declares neutrality |
| 1940 | Aug. 15: cruiser Helle sunk at Tenos by an Italian submarine
Oct. 28: Italy demands Greece's surrender; Metaxas replies "No!" (Ochi!); Italy invades and is repulsed |
| 1941 | Jan. 30: Metaxas dies
Apr. 6: Germany invades Greece May 30: invasion of Crete Germans occupy Pireus, Salamis, Aigina, Crete, Thessaloniki, Chios, Lesbos, and Samos. Italians occupy Athens Bulgarians occupy western Macedonia the rest of Greece is unoccupied and becomes the home of resistance fighters and Communists |
| 1942 | University of Athens is closed
Nov.: King George II enrolls Greece in the UN, arranging for Swedish ships to bring food |
| 1943 | Sept 9: Italy surrenders to the Allies |
| 1944 | George Papandreou becomes new Prime Minister and forms a government-in-exile (in Egypt)
Oct.: Germans begin withdrawing north Dec: Communist resistance fighters begin taking back Athens |
| 1945 | May 7: Germany surrenders
Aug. 14: Japan surrenders Sep 1: John Younger is born Dec. Sophoulis becomes Prime Minister and announces amnesty |
| 1946 | Mar 31: elections result in a Populist victory since the Communists abstain
Sept 28: George II returns Mar 12: George II dies; succeeded by his brother Paul Dec. 24: Communists proclaim an independent country in Thrace and kidnap thousands of Greek children |
| 1948 | July: Corinth canal and National highway reopened. |
| 1949 | Sep 6: Civil War against the communists declared over |
| 1955 | Colonel Grivas in Cyprus begin terrorist actions against the native Turkish population |
| 1956 | Feb. 9: women vote in Greece for the first time
Aug. 17: cease-fire in Cyprus |
| 1959 | Republic of Cyprus declared |
| 1964 | King Paul dies; Constantine II |
| 1967 | Apr 21: Colonel George Papdopoulos overthrows the governemnt and heads a repressive, Christian military junta
Dec. 13: Constantine attempts a counter-coup and fails; flees to Rome |
| 1968 | Nov. 3: George Papandreou dies |
| 1973 | June 1: national referendum abolishes the monarchy
July: Papadopoulos appointed president of new parliamentary government Aug.: University of Athens, Law School riots Nov. 25: Athens Polytechnic University riots Dec.: Papadopoulos forced to resign |
| 1974 | July: Turkey takes over northern half of Cyprus
Nov. 17: elections in Greece: Karamanlis becomes Prime Minister |
| 1989 | Nov.: Mitsotakis elected Prime Minister |
| 1990 | May: Constantine Karamanlis (now 84) elected President |