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History of Rhodes


According to the tradition the name became from Rodo who was wife of Posidon and from Alia who was wife of Helius. The children of Helius and Alia conquered the island of Rhodes till the time that Hercules the Tilopolemos conquered the island and used it as a base for his campaign to Troy. Rhodes had a few other names as well suchs us Ofiousa-from the vast amount of snakes that were on the island, Elafousa(deers)- because the locals then brought deers to kill the snakes,Telhines- they were the first habitants of the island, they were daemons with abilities on metals, asteria- because the sky is usually so clear that you can see the stars and Attavyria-because of the mountain Attavyros.

From the excavations came in light that the 2nd millenium b.c. Rhodes was under the occupation of Achaeans who develop civilazation equal to those of the other Greek cities. The 1500 b.c. Dorieans occupied the island and destroyed everything that was built from Achaenas in order to build the cities the way they wanted. Dorieans were settled into 3 different cities built from Achaeans Lindos, Kamiros, Ialysia.

Those three cities together with Alikarnasos(coast of Turkey), Kos and Knidos were constituting the city-state with the name Doriean Exapolis. The habitants of Rhodes created a lot of colonies from the coast of M. Asia till west Spain. it is important to mention that Rhodes was a huge commercial center from Ancient years due to the geographical position that holds. Noticing the world map Rhodes is situated between 3 continents. Many merchants in ancient world used Rhodes as a basis for their commercial trades with the rest of the world.

In 408 b.c. the three cities of Rhodes merged together and created Rhodes city where Rhodes is situated today. The city of Rhodes acquired great power after the death of Alexander the Great.

The Rhodians discovered what we called today Navy commercial Law and also the term "insurance". As Emperor Antonios said " I rule the world but Rhodians with their laws rule the sea". Because Rhodes was a commercial port the merchants that owned ships decided to make a law to protect their ships and investments from the crusaders. According to that law eveybody had to pay an amount of money to a committee and in case that the crusaders were stealing the cargo from the ship this merchant was recouped from the committee.

Rhodians till 42 b.c. due to a treaty that they signed with Romans they belonged to the Roman Empire but they had their indepedence. That had as a result when the whole Greece was decaying Rhodes was prospering. Unfortunately because of a dissagreement and the Assasination of Cassius, Julius Ceasar after an attact to the island conquered the city and detroeyd it. He took with him more than 3.000 statues and oblations and he detroyed the rest.

Some of the cities that were built from Rhodians are the Naples in Italy, Roza in Spain, Gymnasia and Balearics islands.

The island was occupied a lot of times from Arabs and suffered a lot of disasters.In 1306 when the Knights of Saint John came in the Island the island started it's 213 years of prosperity till 1522 when it was occupied from the Turks. The occupation of the barbarians lasted 400 years till 1912 when the island felt under the occupation of Italians. In 1947 the island was re-merged with the rest of dodecanese and Greece.

Important Rhodian Poets and philosophers are Omeeros who wrote Iliada and Oddysia, Kleovoulos from Lindos, Aristippos.The Athenian rhetor Aishinis the mathematician and astronomer Ipparchus taught in Rhodes. From Rhodes also became the architecture of Blocks.

Scientific Explanation of Rhodes

Scientifically Rhodes was created from a terrible earthquake when a part of the bottom emerged in the surface. This explanation which also looks very logical can be verified with findings of sea shells on the mountains.

Collosus of Rhodes

Collosus of Rhodes a bronze statue 34 meters long was situated in the main entrance of the port. One leg was on one side and the other leg on the other side with the ships in order to enter the port had to pass underneath the statue. Collosus was built from Charis from Lindos who was ancient sculptur. The statue was built between 292 b.c. and 280 b.c. The statue remained in i'ts position for 56 years. In 224 b.c. a disasterous earthqauake send the statue in the bottom of the sea. The statue remained in the bottom till 653 a.c. when Saracens after a crusade to Rhodes stole the statue and sold it as bronze.

The statue was built as a sign of appreciation to God Helius for the prosperity that he brough to the island and also as a sign of the wealth of Rhodes.

The rebuilt of the statue is still dominating the conversations among the people in Rhodes. The statue is to be rebuilt soon and situated in it's original position.

Modern history of Rhodes

5thy May 1912: Turkish surrendered to Italians.Italians general Giovanni Ameglio occupies the city of Rhodes and a few days after that the whole island. The occupation started from Psinthos.

4th June 1912 :The representatives of the islands organize a dodecanesian conference in Patmos and announce the islands self-governed country with the name "State of Aegean". The complaints that the Italians did not comply with the laws and the treaty of Patmos reached the ears of the European Capitals and made the dodecanesian an international issue.

Doctor Skevos Zervos from Kalymnos, Ioannis Kazoyllis from Rhodes and Dr. Nikolaos Mavris from Kasos dedicate their lives to promote the Dodecanesian issue to Grrece, Egypt and U.S.A.

October 1912-May 1913: The first balkan-turkish war begins and Turkey after the attact to them from the Allies they negotiatet peace with the Italians.

18th October 1912: A treaty is signed between Turkey and Italy in Ouchy of Lozan according to this treaty Turkey recognizes the Italian occupation in Libya and Italy commits to return dodecanese to Turkey.

May-October 1913: Second Balkan War begins. Greece and the rest of Aegean except Dodecanese merge together to prepare for the war.

July 1914: the first world war begins between (England, Russia and France) and on the other side Germany and Austria-Hungary. Greece takes the side of England and France. Turkey was on the other side.

26th April 1915: Italy signs a secret treaty in London on the 22 of August with the Antat forces in order to secure it's rights with Dodecanese.

7th April 1919: The Italian authorities try to stop the Pan-dodecanesian rally for the merge of Dodecanese with the rest of Greece. The collisions with the Italians had bad results. Priest Papaloukas and Anthoula Zervou were killed. The incident remained in history known as "Bloody Easter". The rally and the collisions took a great extent in Europe with the European countries start seeing the Dodecanesian fight from another point of view.

28th June 1919: The treaty of Verallies is signed and seals the end of 1st world war.

16th July 1919: The treaty of Paris is signed between Tittoni and Venizelos which satisfies the dodecanesian matters in a great extent. Italy, according to the treaty, gives to Greece Dodecanese except Rhodes which stays under Italian occupancy for 5 more years. It seems that half of the people wanted to remain part of the Italian Country and others to merge with Greece. So the dissagreement arranged to be resolved with a referendum

28th July/10th August 1920: The top Greek Politician Venizelos signs a treaty in Sevres according to which Turkey and Italy quit from all the rights they had on Dodecanese.

August 1922: The Mikrasiatiki Disaster is finished after the burn and manslaughtering of Smyrni. The Mikrasiatiki disaster that cause the violent expatriation of the Greeks was fatefull for dodecanese.

8th September 1922: Italy favoured from the incidents and the negative development of the happenings in Greece announces through it's Foreign policy minister the cancellation of the treaties.

24th July 1923: Greece signs the treaty of Lozan. Italy gains the right of being in Dodecanese.

6th August 1923 : Dodecanese merges officially with Italy. Dodecanese had as a Governor the Italian Minister Mario Lago. The second period of Italian Occupancy begins.

22nd November 1936: Military and Political Governor of the islands is by now Cesare Maria De Vecchi minister of Education in Italy. One of the four Fasists of Italy and x- governor of Somalia.

3rd September 1939: After the German attack in Poland, England and France start the war against Germany. The second world war begins.

28th October 1940: Italy announces the war against Greece. Greeks as the rest of the allies fight against Germans and Italians. The lieutenant Alexandros Diakos from Halki ,Dodecanesian, is the first casualty of the war. The same day Italians concentrate in Tafros all the males of Dodecanese.

9th November 1940: The battalion of Dodecanese Volunteers among every dodecanesian in the world is organized. The creator was Ioannis Kazoulis with the temporary Major Marko Kladaki from Symi.

24th Arpil 1941 :Hellas after an heroic resistance to Germans signs a treaty and resigns to Germans.

8th September 1943: The fall of Mousolini on the 15th of July and the treaty of the new Prime minister Pietro Badoglio on the 8th of Spetember known as Armistizio points rapid development in dodecanesian matter. The administration of Rhodes is taken from the German General Ulrich Kleeman. The period of German occupation starts in the islands.

8th may 1945: The new leader of German forces General Wagener signs a treaty in Symi to surrender to the Allies and the Commander of the holly company Crhistodoulos Tsigante.

9th May 1945: English forces with Hindu battalions and men from holly company come in Rhodes. The people of rhodes and villages welcome these people as saviours holding Greek Flags on their hands and cheer for them.

27th June 1946: In Paris the coucil of The ministers of Foreign Policies decide the Dodecanese to merge with Greece.

10th February 1947: The treaty of Paris is signed between the allies ,Greece and Italy. According to the treaty Greece takes full control of the command in Dodecanese and all the small unhabitant islands in the area.

31st March 1947: The British Birgadier General A.S Parker commander of Dodecanese delivers the Administration of the islands to vice admiral Perikli Ioannidi.

9th January 1948: Under law 518 of the 4th revisional parliament of Greece are assigned in Greece as of the 28th of October of 1947 the islands of :Rhodes, Karpathos, Kalymnos, Astypalea, Nisyros, Patmos, Halki, Kasos, symi, Kos, Leros, Tilos, Kastellorizo and the rest smaller unhabitant islands.

The 7th of March is appointed as the day of celebration for the merge with the rest of Hellas.

7th March 1948: The king of Greece Pavlos and Queen Frederiki come in Rhodes to celebrate the merge of Dodecanese with Greece.

Article: Nikos Nikolaoy

7th of March constitutes a historic milestone for Rhodes and Dodecanese. It is the day that Dodecanese ware merged with Greece and comprised the new Country of Greece.*

*It is easy for somebody to notice that through history Rhodes was always an independent state. The Rhodians try to comprise an independent country. It had it's own laws foregin Policy and way of developing. Rhodes was never a bellicose state. Rhodes could develop really fast but it's inability to fight the enemies made the island a toy for the Powerful countries. Rhodes belongs to another country with it's will after 1948. Rhodians had a gift in commerce and navy, art and education but not in millitary. The history of Rhodes after 1948 is the same as the history of Greece.

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