Greek History · Chronicle IX of IX

Pontus and Asia Minor

Ιωνία · Πόντος

Three thousand years of Greek life in Ionia, Pontus and Cappadocia, ending in 1922.

Span: 1100 BC – 1923 AD
Entries: 26

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Entry 1 of 26

1100 BC
The MigrationsPolitical
The Aeolian and Ionian Migrations
In the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, Greek-speaking refugees from Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica cross the Aegean and settle the western coast of Anatolia, founding the cities that will become Aeolis and Ionia.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
756 BC
The Colonisation of the Black SeaPolitical
Sinope and Trapezus Founded
Milesian colonists found Sinope on the central Pontic coast; within a generation Sinope herself plants Trapezus to the east, anchoring Greek settlement along the entire southern shore of the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
650 BC
The Ionian RenaissanceCultural
The Panionion and Ionian Federation
The twelve cities of Ionia formalise their religious and political federation around the sanctuary of Poseidon Heliconius on the Mycale promontory, the cultural and economic heart of the Greek east.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
547 BC
Persian RuleMilitary
Cyrus the Great Conquers Ionia
After the fall of Croesus's Lydia, Cyrus's general Harpagus reduces the Ionian cities one by one, ending their independence and placing them under Achaemenid satraps.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
499 BC
The Ionian RevoltPolitical
The Ionian Revolt Begins
Aristagoras of Miletus rouses the Ionian cities against Persia and sails to Greece for help; Athens and Eretria send ships, and the burning of Sardis ignites the long Greco-Persian war.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
494 BC
The Ionian RevoltMilitary
The Fall of Miletus
After the Ionian fleet is destroyed at Lade, the Persians take Miletus by storm, slaughter its men, enslave its women and children, and end the great age of Ionian civilisation.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
386 BC
Persian RestorationPolitical
The King's Peace Returns Ionia to Persia
The Spartan-Persian treaty of Antalcidas concludes that 'the cities in Asia belong to the King', formally ceding the Greek east back to the Achaemenids in exchange for Persian backing against Athens and Thebes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
334 BC
The Macedonian LiberationMilitary
Alexander Crosses to Asia
Alexander of Macedon lands at the Hellespont, defeats the Persian satrapal army at the Granicus, and proclaims the liberation of the Greek cities of Asia.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
281 BC
The Successor KingdomsPolitical
Mithridates I Founds the Kingdom of Pontus
Mithridates I Ktistes, a minor Persian dynast at Cius, slips away during the chaos following the Battle of Corupedium and proclaims himself king of Pontus, founding a dynasty that will dominate northern Anatolia for two centuries.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
263 BC
The Successor KingdomsCultural
Eumenes I and the Rise of Pergamon
Eumenes I throws off Seleucid suzerainty at Sardis and establishes Pergamon as an independent power, beginning the Attalid dynasty that will transform western Anatolia into a centre of Hellenistic art and learning.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
133 BC
The Coming of RomePolitical
Attalus III Wills Pergamon to Rome
On his deathbed the last Attalid king bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman people; after suppressing the revolt of Aristonicus, Rome organises the province of Asia, the wealthiest in the empire.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
88 BC
Mithridates and the CrisisMilitary
The Asiatic Vespers
Mithridates VI of Pontus orders the simultaneous massacre of every Italian and Roman citizen in the Greek cities of Asia Minor; perhaps eighty thousand are killed in a single day.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
64 BC
Pompey's SettlementPolitical
Pompey Reorganises the Greek East
After driving Mithridates to suicide in the Crimea, Pompey settles the affairs of Anatolia, annexing Pontus to Bithynia and ending the great age of Hellenistic kingdoms.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
AD 17
Roman AnatoliaPolitical
Cappadocia Annexed
Tiberius deposes the last client king Archelaus, annexes Cappadocia as an imperial province, and brings Greek civic life to the high plateau where it had till then been only a veneer.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
AD 53
The Apostolic MissionReligious
Paul Preaches at Ephesus
Paul of Tarsus settles at Ephesus for over two years; from this base the Greek of Asia Minor becomes the first vehicle of Christian preaching, scripture and liturgy.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
AD 325
The Ecumenical CouncilsReligious
First Council of Nicaea
Constantine convenes the first ecumenical council in the Bithynian city of Nicaea; the Nicene Creed defines the orthodoxy of the Christian world and Asia Minor becomes its theological heartland.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
AD 451
The Ecumenical CouncilsReligious
Council of Chalcedon
The fourth ecumenical council at Chalcedon defines the two natures of Christ; the rejection of the definition by the Oriental churches creates the schism that will outlive the empire.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1071
The Turkish ConquestMilitary
The Battle of Manzikert
Alp Arslan defeats and captures the emperor Romanos IV at Manzikert in eastern Anatolia; the central plateau, the heart of Byzantine Greek-speaking civilisation for seven centuries, lies open to Turkmen tribes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1204
The Empire of TrebizondPolitical
Alexios Komnenos Founds the Empire of Trebizond
Three weeks before the Latin sack of Constantinople, two grandsons of Andronikos I seize Trebizond with Georgian help; the small Pontic state will outlive Constantinople herself by eight years.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1461
The Fall of TrebizondMilitary
The Fall of Trebizond
Mehmed II besieges Trebizond by land and sea; the last Greek-speaking sovereign state of the East, David Megas Komnenos surrenders after a month, and the last Greek empire ends.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1669
Ottoman AnatoliaPolitical
The Phanariots Take the Patriarchate
Greek merchant families of the Phanar quarter consolidate their hold on the Ecumenical Patriarchate and on the dragomanate; through these offices the Greek east of the Ottoman Empire is administered by Greeks for nearly two centuries.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1908
The Young Turk EraPolitical
The Young Turk Revolution
The Committee of Union and Progress forces the restoration of the constitution; initial hopes for Ottoman pluralism give way within a few years to a militant Turkish nationalism that targets the Greek and Armenian populations of Anatolia.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1916
The Genocide of the Pontic GreeksMilitary
Deportations and Massacres in the Pontus
The Ottoman government deports the male Greek population of the Pontus into labour battalions in the interior; mass starvation, summary executions and concentration in the Anatolian highlands kill an estimated three hundred thousand Pontic Greeks between 1914 and 1923.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1919
The Asia Minor CampaignMilitary
The Greek Landing at Smyrna
Under Allied authorisation a Greek army lands at Smyrna and is welcomed by the city's Greek population; the Megali Idea of recovering the Greek homelands of Asia seems within reach, and the long retreat of Hellenism on the Anatolian coast briefly reverses.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1922
The Asia Minor CatastropheMilitary
The Burning of Smyrna
Mustafa Kemal's forces break the Greek front in August and reach Smyrna on 9 September; within a week the Greek and Armenian quarters are in flames and the three-thousand-year history of Greek Asia Minor effectively ends.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1923
The Population ExchangePolitical
The Treaty of Lausanne and the Population Exchange
The Treaty of Lausanne formalises the compulsory exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey; some 1.2 million Orthodox Christians are uprooted from Anatolia, ending the continuous Greek presence in Asia Minor that began with the Aeolian and Ionian migrations three thousand years earlier.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
18 more entries, to 1923

Pontus and Asia Minor

The Aeolian and Ionian Migrations

Sinope and Trapezus Founded

The Panionion and Ionian Federation

Cyrus the Great Conquers Ionia

The Ionian Revolt Begins

The Fall of Miletus

The King's Peace Returns Ionia to Persia

Alexander Crosses to Asia

Mithridates I Founds the Kingdom of Pontus

Eumenes I and the Rise of Pergamon

Attalus III Wills Pergamon to Rome

The Asiatic Vespers

Pompey Reorganises the Greek East

Cappadocia Annexed

Paul Preaches at Ephesus

First Council of Nicaea

Council of Chalcedon

The Battle of Manzikert

Alexios Komnenos Founds the Empire of Trebizond

The Fall of Trebizond

The Phanariots Take the Patriarchate

The Young Turk Revolution

Deportations and Massacres in the Pontus

The Greek Landing at Smyrna

The Burning of Smyrna

The Treaty of Lausanne and the Population Exchange