#ottoman cyprus | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kittyit · 19 days ago

Note

well let me start off by saying that neither ww1 nor ww2 were actually called that during their durations so expecting any country leader to stand up and say "hey this is ww3 right here" is non-sentical, it would be a career suicide (in the reasonable parts of the world anyway, not USA). The image of ww3 is almost universally used as fearmongering and announcing it at any official capacity would send the world into panic mode, which is very counterproductive to any party.

Notice how any currently ongoing grab for land (by which I'll be further meaning Russian invasion into Ukraine, genocide in Gaza and Azerbaijan occupation of Artsakh though I'm sure there are more things I'm not fully in touch with) explicitly avoids being called war as well. They're always reclamation that, special military operation this. This is entirely intentional because nobody wants a fucking war but minds a military operation.

That aside now think about the ongoing issues too. War in Ukraine, Ukrainian side is supplied by the western powers/NATO, Russian side is supplied by Iran, North Korea, China. This is basically repeating the lineup of the cold war with some adjustments with Ukraine as a testing ground for weapons. But we'll have to examine that further than just Putin loosing his marbles at long last because this is a part of a long lived imperialist pipe dream of restoring USSR/Russian Empire; it is geopolitically motivated at the top levels and xenophobically at the low levels. Not that Putin and his underlings don't believe Ukrainians are lesser people, they just don't care about that as much as they care about conquering the parts of Ukraine that are the most resource lucrative - the eastern coal, steel and previous stone mines, the southern parts with open access to black sea, famously lucrative Ukrainian agrarian regions. They already profit off it so this is neither simply political agenda nor a blatant cash grab, it's both a fascist, imperialist ideology combined with a land grab rush. Which they are winning.

And if we look into Armenia vs Azerbaijan situation then you'd notice it looks very similar. Azerbaijan #1 ride or die ally is Turkey, and Armenia is located very inconveniently in geopolitical terms, nevermind the fact that it has already suffered a genocide and had land taken. It's common knowledge that Turkey also has a pipe dream of restoring the Ottoman Empire. Source: 1) they tell on themselves constantly if you pay attention 2) the entire invasion of Cyprus for no fucking reason in 20th century 3) the tongue-in-cheek diplomacy with Greece for ages. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were once part of the Ottoman Empire, and while it is doubtful that Azerbaijan would officially join Turkey provided an opportunity, they're close allies to the point where things like borders don't really matter (Russia and Belarus are similar, though there actually was an attempt to unite them legally that kinda fell through). But Turkey is in NATO and is posing as an overall Good Guy so Erdogan would never actually put his act where his mouth and ideas is. Now "tiny irrelevant" Azerbaijan, supplied by Turkic weaponry (which is nothing to scoff at - they do supply NATO fyi)? Easy. And there we have another ethnic cleansing and an open intend to go whole way.

Now some were suprised by Russia standing aside in Artsakh when they were supposed to help their ally but you can't miss out on the context that Armenia was never a full hearted ally of Russia and was basically forced to join the alliance out of fear of eradication, and Russian troops were actually on site of Artsakh helping the Azeri side. This has not come as a surprise to Armenians who were wholly aware of their political situation, because we need to keep in mind that Putin is friends with Erdogan (because he helped negotiate the Black Sea routes with Putin - remember that?), and by extension is married to the "let's restore the Ottoman Empire" imperialist dream. It holds little threat to him because one, Erdogan owes Russia in both economy and help with Artsakh, and two, Russia does still have more military power than Turkey has.

Putin's hand and approval partially guided the invasion in Artsakh and fully guides the war in Ukraine, he is also on good terms with Netanyahu, Israeli soldiers in Gaza use Russian's handbook on propaganda and public relationships. Also China is supplying Russia and North Korea, so there's also that. Also Russian presence in Africa, forgot to mention that. On the "western" side we have America and other NATO members supplying Ukraine, Belarus is so fully immersed into Russia people forget it's a state, Poland and Baltics all but openly stating they're preparing for invasion in case Ukraine loses and ceases to exist - which is will, and sooner rather than later. What's in it for USA? Land and money, mostly tbh. It's not about defeating Putin, it never was (Trump fucking loves him but nothing will stop him from switching up when Putin inevitably attacks Poland/Finland/etc as he has already stated he intends to), but trapping already broke eastern Europe in even more unpayable debt which they will be forced to pay off in labor and resources, as well as some ideological boost of morale? Please.

Empires' dick measuring contest, doesn't that remind you of anything? It will be more complicated than both of the previous world wars because we also have late stage capitalism and propaganda machines unlike anything humanity has ever seen before, but structurally, it will be more reminiscent of ww1 than ww2.

We don't call it WW3 despite how many countries are involved politically and financially *yet* because nothing has so far happened on American or Western European soil nor have either started a draft, but I think it's fairly safe to say we're in the beginning years of one, think 1939, especially with a fascist government rising to power in USA. So my answer is yes, ww3 full swing in the following 10 years is almost guaranteed, but we're kind of already in one in everything but name.

That said, I might be biased, seeing as I am Ukrainian.

thanks for sharing your thoughts. honestly this is out of my wheelhouse as I'm slowly understanding more and more geopolitics but I appreciate you explaining your perspective and it's valuable to hear from a Ukrainian sister. wishing you nothing but the best

#WW3

42 notes · View notes

gemsofgreece · 1 month ago

Note

can you tell me more about greeks from eastern europe and MeNa ? I cant find anything on them

Anon, when you were asking this, I assume you did not expect it would start an Odyssey for me. The ask was literally a "tell me more about the Greeks of three continents" and I... complied. It took me 20 days but I kinda wrote a book here. It was not easy. I used the English Wikipedia for sources. You can look there for more information.

I should note I did not include the Cypriot Greeks in this because I assumed you did not mean Greeks who have their own sovereign state. So, ultimately this is about Greek minorities. The topic of a minority - any minority - is always sensitive. As a result, some information here might be unpleasant. The purpose of the post is not to provoke or cause any controversy. It is only the truth of Greek people living outside Greece and Cyprus.

This post is only about the Greeks specifically from the areas Anon asked about.

Chapters:

Egyptian Greeks

Sudanese, Tunisian and Libyan Greeks

Greeks of Albania

Ukrainian Greeks

Greeks of Russia and other Caucasus Greeks (including those of Georgia and Armenia)

Greeks of Romania and Moldova

Greeks of Bulgaria

Greeks in the Republic of North Macedonia

Greek presence in Hungary, Czechia, Poland and Serbia

Greeks of Syria and Lebanon

Greeks of Israel and Palestine

Greeks of Turkey

North Africa

Egyptian Greeks (Egyptiótes / Alexandriní)

One of the historically most prolific Greek minorities. While mercenaries and other small groups of Greeks had settled in Egypt centuries earlier, they really established themselves there during Alexander's conquests in the Hellenistic period. Ever since, they have been mostly concentrated around Alexandria, the city Alexander had built and named after himself, and later also Cairo, so they always formed an urban social class. Alexandria was a Greek hub for the longest time, throughout the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Byzantine Empire and even the Ottoman times. Their numbers however had reached their lowest in the 18th century but a new surge of Greeks migrated to Egypt in the meantime, because by 1920 they were 200,000 and by 1940 they were 300,000. Greeks of Egypt were rich, owning banks, tobacco industries, cotton fields and many more businesses. They published several Greek newspapers and had their own theatres and cinemas. The Egyptian Greeks produced many artists, some of whom are amongst the most important Greek poets. Egyptian Greeks volunteered and participated in all wars Greece has been in. There were also many benefactors of the Greek state amongst them like Antonis Benakis for example, who founded the Benaki museums in Greece. In fact, a large number of Modern Greek artists and celebrities were or are descended from Egyptian Greeks. Greeks started leaving Egypt at the times of the coup d'etat of 1952 and the rise of the Pan-Arab nationalism. Nowadays, their number has fallen at around 7,000 while others changed their nationality to Egyptian. However, they are still centered around Alexandria and their churches and schools are still functioning. In Alexandria, apart from the Patriarchate, there is a Patriarchal theology school that opened recently after 480 years being closed. During the last decades, Greco-Egyptian relations have improved again a lot and this affects positively the Greek diaspora there.

A few notable Greeks of Egypt; note the poet Constantine Cavafy (upper row, right) and the nobellist poet George Seferis (lower row, middle).

Greek school play in Cairo for the Greek independence, 2017 - 2018.

Sudanese, Tunisian and Libyan Greeks

Greeks of North Africa are overwhelmingly concentrated in Egypt. However, there are tiny Greek communities in Libya, Sudan, South Sudan and Tunisia and they have a long history. Libyan Greeks are about 1,500 and are mostly descended from Crete. Greeks have been interacting with Nubians and the Sudanese over the course of millenias. In the Ottoman times, many Greeks arrived there, especially Greek Arvanites, as Ottoman mercenaries. After that they grew to around 7,000 people. Although always very few, they became quite influential to the Sudanese society, making industries, famous products, newspapers and running successful businesses. Around certain parts in Sudan one can still see old Greek advertisements and abandoned Greek named shops. Due to the unrest in Sudan and the rise of the Sharia Law, most Greeks abandoned the country. They are now only about 200 in North and South Sudan and yet they are still the largest European community of the country (so I read). In Tunisia the Greeks are fewer than 100 although in the 19th century they were more than 8,000 and most were sponge divers descended from the Dodecanese islands.

Sudanese Greek families of Khartoum, 1898.

Eastern Europe and Caucasus

Greeks of Albania (Northern Epirotes)

The Greek minority of Albania is the currently largest Greek minority in Eastern Europe and it is officially recognized by the Albanian state as the Greek National Minority of Albania. It is concentrated in the southern part of the country, particularly in the districts of Sarandë (Áyii Saránda), Gjirokaster (Argirókastro) and Vlorë (Avlóna) . There are hugely conflicting estimations of the Greek minority's numbers between the Albanian and the Greek state census. Western estimations place them around 200,000 though. There are also concerns of human right violations, with allegations that the police and secret services target the Greek minority. Greek communities have been targeted by development projects and had their homes demolished. Due to their proximity to Greece, the Greeks of Albania essentially speak Standard Modern Greek and are mostly indistinguishable from the Epirotes of Greece. A lot of them migrate to Greece at this point.

Greeks from Dropull, Albania in folk attires.

Ukrainian Greeks

The 2001 Ukrainian census counted 91,548 ethnic Greeks in Ukraine. They reside mostly in Donetsk and particularly in Mariupol city, which is why the most common dialect there is called Mariupolitan Greek. Greeks have been settling to Ukrainian territories since antiquity but most Ukrainian Greeks are descended from Pontic and Caucasus Greeks . However, some are also Urums, Tatar-speaking Greek Orthodox people of Crimea. They are very well intergrated to the Ukrainian state.

Greeks of Ukraine

Greeks of Russia and other Caucasus Greeks (including those of Georgia and Armenia)

Greeks have been settling to Caucasus and the southwestern regions of Russia since antiquity. The history of the Greeks in Russia has had ups and downs, sometimes enjoying privileges or tolerance and sometimes suffering suppression along all other ethnic minorities. This was the case both in Tsarist and Soviet Russia. More than half a million Greeks lived in the Russian Empire pre-Russian Revolution. Notable Greeks have been born or have lived in Russia, a prime example being the Heptanesian-born Ioannis Kapodistrias serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Russian Empire. Lenin supported the Greek community, only for Stalin to blow things up by deporting large numbers of Greeks to Kazakhstan. In general, Greeks mostly left Russia during Soviet times but things weren't always as bad as in Stalin's times. Most Greeks of Russia speak Pontic Greek, however in the operating Greek schools now they are learning Standard Demotic Greek. In 2010, the Russian census recorded 85,640 Greeks but in the 2021 census the number was 53,972...

Like said above, while Greeks inhabited Caucasus since the 7th century BC, most Caucasus Greeks nowadays originate from Pontos and East Anatolia, modern-day Turkey, and were emigrating to Russian, Georgian and Armenian highlands usually due to the Ottoman conquests and the very tense relations with the Turks. A bright exception occured in 1763 when 800 Greek households were moved to modern-day Armenia by King Heraclius II of Georgia in order to develop silver and lead mining. Their descendants still live in Marneuli district in modern-day Georgia. Greeks of Georgia, both Pontians and Urums, largely maintained their ethnic identity. Most started emigrating to Greece in the 20th century and especially during the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia. Some who tried to return for vacations to their properties in Georgia found state efforts to uproot the remnants of the minority by favouring ethnic Georgians, reporting violence, looting and occupation of Greek houses. In 2005 the Council of Greeks in Georgia has appealed to the World Council of Hellenes, SAE, registering their fear caused by the increasing instances of previously rare ethnic violence against them. The matter was also discussed in the parliament of Greece. In any case, in 2002 there were still 15,166 Greeks living in Georgia but it is a dramatic decrease from 1989's 100,324. Georgian Greeks traditionally viewed Greece as the "Promised Land", dreaming to move there at some point. However, when they actually started doing that in the 90s, they experienced a cultural shock they did not expect. A few of them initially had some trouble to integrate into the society. This was perhaps the reason Georgian Greeks unfortunately even face some level of prejuidice within Greece, where they are sometimes called Russo-Pontians (Ρωσοπόντιοι). These issues are fading now though.

Despite the excellent relations of Greeks and Armenians, few Greeks reside in Armenia. According to an Armenian scientific research in 2002, around 6,000 Greeks lived in the country, however in the Armenian census of 2011 there were only 900 registered. The reasons for the decrease in their numbers is emigration to Greece and the West for financial reasons.

Caucasus Greeks from Batumi, Georgia, early 20th century.

Greeks of Romania and Moldova

Greeks are a very small but historic minority of Romania and Moldova. Again, first settling in the 7th century BC, they maintained a presence there throughout the Middle Ages, due to the Orthodox influence of the Byzantine Empire. So much so that even during the Ottoman times, Greeks were still considered the most significant promoters and representatives of the Orthodox faith, enjoying thus a big status in these regions, enforced by the Ottomans who did not trust Romanian rulers. Many Greek Phanariotes (elite Greeks of Constantinople) rose to nobility and royalty and became Voivodes (princes) of Wallachia and Moldavia. In the early 19th century, the Greek princes and nobles of the Danubian principalities became directly involved in the preparation of the Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire. In Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, the oldest surving building of the city once housed the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends), the secret organisation that prepared the Greek Revolution. Its appointed leader Alexander Ypsilantis was the Greek Voivode of Wallachia. After the Greek Independence and ever since, Greeks gradually lost this status of nobility and were integrated into Romanian society. A lot of notable Greeks are Romanian Greeks. Nowadays, the emigration routes have shifted a lot and Romania has a Greek minority of about 14,000. In Moldova, the ethnic Greeks are no more than 3,000-4,000.

Portrait of Ioannis Georgios Karatzas (Ioan Caradja), Prince of Hungaro-Wallachia, with his granddaughter Eleni Argyropoulou, crayons and chalk on paper, 1821.

Greeks of Bulgaria / Sarakatsani

Historically there were Greeks settled in the region of Bulgaria since the 7th century BC, given also its proximity to Greece. Due to the Macedonian Struggle and the two Balkan Wars it's very hard to find safe estimations of how many Greeks truly lived there. In any case, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey underwent critical population exchanges with each other and most Greeks of Bulgaria sooner or later moved to Greece. The Bulgarian census of 2011 reported 3,935 Greeks (this making them the fourth largest ethnic minority in the country), whereas the Greek government estimated them at 25,000 - 28,500. The reason for this gap is that the Bulgarian government does not recognize the Sarakatsani as ethnic Greeks, instead pushing for Vlach, Slavic or Thracian origin theories, which are making the preservation of the community's ethnic identity harder and harder. This is why in February 2023 the head committee of the Sarakatsani Associations of Bulgaria and the head committee of the Sarakatsani Associations (Greece) visited the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hellenic Parliament to ask from the Greek State to push the matter of granting Greek nationality to the Sarakatsani of Bulgaria.

The Sarakatsani are a nomadic group which originates from the mountains of Greece and speak a northern Greek dialect with several archaic elements.

Sarakatsani girls of Bulgaria

Greeks in the Republic of North Macedonia

Nowadays, the Greeks of the neighbouring country are 294. They originate mostly from Greek refugees from the Civil War. I don't actually doubt that number because a) it is a small country and b) I don't think many Greeks would live there or be registered as Greeks now given the tensions between the two countries. However, the Greek presence in the region can be traced since 2,000 BC but of course everything is denied prior to the refugees of the 40s - 50s. Until about 1690, the Greek Christian population was the majority according to Ottoman demographics. Since then the rise of Slavic nationalism caused trouble to the Greek community, which gradually started to shrink. The two hotspots of Greek presence were Gevgelija (Yévyeli) and Bitola or Monastir (Monastiri). In 1878, 10,000 Greek signatures were gathered in Skopje against the Treaty of San Stefano, which was empowering Bulgarian and minimizing Greek claims. When the area passed under the control of Serbia in 1913, one fourth of the Bitola population was Greeks. There were also villages with only Greek population. In the census of 1941, German Axis forces counted 100,000 Greeks out of an overall population of 800,000 in the entire region. The census of 1951 counts 158,000 Greeks, most of Vlach descent, but the rise in number is indeed due to the influx of Greek refugees of the Civil War. Surprisingly, during the 1991 census after the establishment of the republic, the opposition party revealed that about 12 - 18% of the population claimed Greek ethnic consciousness. Now they are 294 according to the census.

Greek demonstration in Bitola, 1905.

Greek school in Gevgelija, 1900. It was one of the four Greek schools operating in the city.

The first organisation for the pro-Greek side of the Macedonian Struggle in Gevgelija, 1904.

Greek presence in Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Serbia

In Hungary, Poland and Czechia the Greek minorities are very small, counting about 3,500 - 4,000 people in each. Greeks settled in these places since the Middle Ages but most Greeks there originate from migrations during the Greek Civil War. In Hungary the Greek minority is one of the 13 officially recognized minorities of the country. The Greek-founded village Beloiannisz (named after Beloyannis) traditionally has a Greek mayor, even though the Greek population of the village is not the majority anymore..

Despite the excellent relations, few Greeks live in Serbia. About 690 Greeks are registered but there are another 4,500 people of Greek ancestry. The small Greek minority is officially recognized by the Serbian government.

Near East

Greeks of Syria and Lebanon (Antiochean and Levantine Greeks)

Greek presence in Syria and Lebanon had been strong since ancient times, even before Alexander the Great's conquests, but it was reinforced constantly throughout the Hellenistic, the Roman and the Byzantine periods. The first massive blow to the Greek population there was the Arab conquest in the 7th century. The second blow was the vindictive measures Ottoman Turks took against Greeks of the Near Eastern lands of the empire as a warning to not aid the Greeks of Greece in the Independence War. Nowadays, 4,500 Christian Greeks live in Syria. However, following the Greco-Turkish War in 1897–98, in which the Ottoman Empire lost Crete to the Kingdom of Greece, Sultan Abdul Hamid II resettled in Syria and Lebanon significant numbers of Greek Muslims originally from Ottoman Crete. Nowadays, there are 7,000 and 8,000 Greek-speaking Muslims of Cretan origin in Lebanon and in Al-Hamidiyah, Syria respectively. Many of them still speak Greek as their first language. By 1988, many Greek Muslims from both Lebanon and Syria had reported being subject to discrimination by the Greek embassy because of their religious affiliation. The community members would be regarded with indifference and even hostility and would be denied visas and opportunities to improve their Greek through trips to Greece. Scary, but true. Due to the Syrian Civil War, many Muslim Syrian Greeks moved to Cyprus or back to Crete. Many Greeks left Lebanon due to the Israel invasion in 2006.

Greek kids of Damascus celebrating the Ohi (No) National Day.

Lebanon Greeks in a traditional dance.

Greeks of Israel and Palestine

There is a theory popular with the scholars that the Philistines, ancient people of Palestine, originate from Aegean Greek populations who migrated there in the Iron Age. What's certain is that later, after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the consequent conquests of the Romans the regions were and remained for a long time significantly hellenized. Ashkelon, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Gaza were in fact the most hellenized areas. During the Byzantine period, the populations there reached their peak and a considerable part of them were Greeks. The Greek presence was reduced significantly with the Arab conquest of the 7th century. Nowadays, the Greek community there is small. There are about 1,500 - 2,500 non-Jewish Greeks. There are however also 1,000 - 6,000 Greek Jews (Romaniote and Sephardic) who originate from Greece Jews who moved to the modern State of Israel after its establishment. Greek expatriates comprise most of the leadership of the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and of course the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, in an arrangement that predates the modern State of Israel.

Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Greeks of Turkey (Anatolian, Pontic, Constantinopolitan and Cappadocian Greeks)

It's hard to summarize the story here. Greeks settled in Asia Minor in the 13th century BC. While Asia Minor was a hub of ancient peoples and cultures, most of them faded due to infighting with each other. In these circumstances, the Greek colonies prospered and the Greek influence spread thoroughly throughout the land. In the archaic period already western Anatolia was structured in Greek city-states, not different from what was happening in the Greek mainland. Many of the most famous ancient Greeks were from Anatolia. While the Greek presence there was never threatened, the Greek influence was antagonized by that of the Persian Empire, with the Greek city-states often being under its control. Alexander the Great's wars with the Persian Empire and the establishment of the Diadochi Kingdoms in the 4th - 1st century BC simply reinforced the Greek presence there for centuries to come. From that point onwards the population of the region was predominantly Greek. This was not changed by the Romans who allowed the Greek language and the Greek culture to remain the principal one in the whole east half of the empire. In 330 AD the emperor Constantine the Great founded the city of Constantinople on the older site of the Greek city Byzantion. This city soon became the largest and wealthiest in the world in the Middle Ages and it was the most significant hotspot of the medieval Greek culture and language. The region of Asia Minor was the most prosperous region of the Byzantine Empire for most of its history. Many Byzantine Emperors were of Anatolian / Cappadocian Greek descent. However, in the end of the 11th century the Byzantine Empire lost these lands to a new coming force from the east, the Seljuq Turks. Some of these losses were reversed but it was ultimately the beginning of the end. The sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and the formation of Latin states throughout Greece dismantled the empire completely and while it made valiant efforts to resurrect itself, it did not manage to fortify itself against the next threat. By the middle of the 15th century, the new coming force of the Ottoman Turks had conquered Asia Minor, Constantinople and the Greek mainland.

Asia Minor Greeks remained subjects of the Ottoman Empire for the centuries to come. Due to the policy of religious tolerance, the Anatolian Greeks managed to keep their faith and their identity effectively preserved. In spite of that, the Ottoman society favoured Muslims significantly and many Greeks converted to Islam and progressively lost their identity.

Cappadocian Greeks (Karamanlides)

During the 16th century the region of Cappadocia became largely Turkified in culture and language through a gradual process of acculturation, as a result many Greeks of Anatolia had accepted the Turkish vernacular and some of whom later became known as Karamanlides. Although the Karamanlides abandoned Greek when they learned Turkish, they remained Greek Orthodox Christians and continued to write using the Greek alphabet. Cappadocian Greeks would migrate to Constantinople and other large cities to do business. By the 19th century, many were wealthy, educated and westernized and several reclaimed their native tongue. In the early 20th century, Greek settlements were still both numerous and widespread throughout most of today’s Turkey. The Cappadocian Greeks of the 19th and 20th centuries were renowned for the richness of their folktales and preservation of their ancient Greek tongue. The underground cities of Cappadocia continued to be used as refuges from the Turkish Muslim rulers as late as the 20th century. By the beginning of the First World War, the Greeks of Anatolia were besieged by the Young Turks. Cappadocian Greek deaths alone totaled 397,000. In 1924, after living in Cappadocia for thousands of years the remaining Cappadocian Greeks were expelled to Greece as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey defined by the Treaty of Lausanne. The descendants of the Cappadocian Greeks who had converted to Islam were not included in the population exchange and remained in Cappadocia, some still speaking the Cappadocian Greek language. Following the population exchange there was still a substantial community of Cappadocian Greeks living in Turkey, in Constantinople, the majority of whom also migrated to Greece following the Anti-Greek Istanbul Pogrom riots of 1955. Today the descendants of the Cappadocian Greeks can be found throughout Greece, as well as in countries around the world. The modern region of Cappadocia is famous with tourists and has more than 700 Greek Orthodox churches and over thirty rock-carved chapels, many with preserved painted icons, Greek writing and frescos, some from the pre-iconoclastic period that date back as far as the 6th century, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Notable Cappadocian Greeks.

Pontic Greeks

Pontic or Pontian Greeks are the ethnic Greeks indigenous to the region of Pontus (pontos, Greek for "sea"), the northern coastal area of Turkey in the Black Sea. They speak the Pontic Greek dialect, which they also call Romeika, like Greek was often called in the Byzantine times. This dialect retains many archaic elements. Large communities (around 25% of the population) of Christian Pontic Greeks remained throughout the Pontus area until the 1920s, preserving their own distinct customs and dialect of Greek. Between 1913 and 1923, the Ottoman leadership attempted to expel or kill its native Christian population of Anatolia, including the Pontic Greeks. Different scholars have made different estimates for the death toll; most estimates range from 300,000 to 360,000 Pontic Greeks killed. Many were executed, others were subject to massacres; many Pontic men were forced to work in labor camps until they died; still others were deported to the interior on death marches. Rape, primarily of Pontic women and girls, was prominent. In 1923 those still remaining in Turkey were exiled to Greece as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey defined by the Treaty of Lausanne. Nowadays, there are about 5,000 Greeks remaining in their lands of Pontus. However, some Greek sources exploring the possibility of crypto-Christianity in Turkey speak of estimations around 345,000. In any case, most of their descendants now live in Greece, nearing half a million. The total Pontic Greek population across the globe (including the diaspora) is estimated as two to two and a half million people. Pontians are amongst the proudest Greeks and preserve their culture and customs carefully. The sense of Greek ethnic identity of the Pontians remaining in Turkey however is severely endangered.

Pontic Greek students in Trebizond, 1902 - 1903.

Greeks of Constantinople and the rest of the Anatolian Greeks

A class of moneyed ethnically Greek merchants called Phanariotes emerged in the latter half of the 16th century and went on to exercise great influence in the administration in the Ottoman Empire's Balkan domains in the 18th century. For all their cosmopolitanism and often western education, the Phanariotes were aware of their Hellenism. In the early 19th century, two out of the three major centers of Greek learning were in Anatolia; Smyrna (Izmir) and Aivali (Ayvalik). The outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in March 1821 was met by mass executions, pogrom-style attacks, the destruction of churches, and looting of Greek properties throughout the Empire. The most severe atrocities occurred in Constantinople, in what became known as the Constantinople Massacre of 1821. By the late 19th and early 20th century, the Greek element was found predominantly in Constantinople and Smyrna, along the Black Sea coast (the Pontic Greeks) and the Aegean coast, the Gallipoli peninsula and a few cities and numerous villages in the central Anatolian interior (the Cappadocian Greeks). The Greeks of Constantinople constituted the largest Greek urban population in the Eastern Mediterranean.The Greek population amounted to 1,777,146 (16.42% of population during 1910). In the first half of 1914, the Ottoman authorities expelled more than 100,000 Ottoman Greeks to Greece. During World War I and its aftermath (1914–1923), the government of the Ottoman Empire and subsequently the Turkish National Movement, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, instigated a violent campaign against the Greek population of the Empire. The campaign included massacres, forced deportations involving death marches, and summary expulsions. According to various sources, several hundreds of thousand Ottoman Greeks died during this period. After the Greco-Turkish War, a population exchange between the two countries was agreed. Due to the Greeks' strong emotional attachment to their first capital as well as the importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Greek and worldwide Orthodoxy, the Greek population of Constantinople was specifically exempted and allowed to stay in place. In 1923, the Ministry of Public Works asked from private companies to fire non-Muslim workers. In 1934, many minorities including the Greeks were forced to adopt last names of a more Turkish rendition. In 1936, Turkish became the teaching language in Greek schools. In 6–7 September 1955 an anti-Greek pogrom was orchestrated in Istanbul by the Turkish military. The pogrom greatly accelerated emigration of ethnic Greeks from Turkey, and the Istanbul region in particular. The Greek population of Turkey declined from 119,822 persons in 1927, to about 7,000 by 1978. In 1964 the Turkish government took actions against the Greek minority that resulted in massive expulsions and Greeks were banned from participating in 30 professions. Greek-owned shops were forcefully shut down. More Greeks were deported. In the late 60s, the Turkish authorities built open prisons for Turkish convicts in Turkey's islands Imbros and Tenedos, which however were Greek populated, forcing many of the Greeks living there to also leave. On 15 August 2010, a ritual was held for the Assumption of Mary at the Sumela Monastery, built in 386 AD, after an 88 years old ban. This annual ritual continues, although it often sparks debate in Turkey for “keeping foreign traditions alive on the day Trabzon was captured by the Turks.” Get it? The "foreign" traditions were the ones taking place there since 386 AD.

To summarize, before World War I, there were still an estimated 1.8 million Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire with Constantinople being the most populous Greek center in the the Mediterranean. The 2008 figures released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry places the current number of Turkish citizens of Greek descent at the 3,000–4,000 mark. As of 2023, according to The Economist, "Turkey's Greek community is being revived"... whatever that means.

Graduates and Teacher of the Evangelical School of Izmir (Smyrna), 1878. (Not to be confused with the Evangelical dogma.)

#greece #greeks #greek people #minorities #greek diaspora #eastern europe #north africa #middle east #greek history #anon #ask

31 notes · View notes

petermorwood · 11 months ago

Text

How on earth did these goats get there?

*****

In reality the goats are lying on their sides on rocky ground, looking up at a crane-mounted camera. The photograph was taken some years ago, part of a series reconstructing Central European folk customs and traditions which have fallen from favour or are now prohibited.

This old-fashioned rural blood-sport was originally practiced in parts of Anatolia, Turkey, where the game was called keçi fırlatmak, and also in the Carpathian Alps of Romania, possibly imported during the Ottoman conquest. The name there was aruncarea caprei.

*****

The goats would have been coated in a strong adhesive traditionally distilled from pine resin.(represented pictorially here by darker patches of dye on the flanks) and were then thrown upwards towards a cliff or rock-face with makeshift catapults, often a primitive form of counterweight trebuchet assembled from wooden beams and weighted with rocks.

The game ended when the glue dried and lost adhesion, and the goats fell to their deaths. They were then cooked and eaten, their meat being valued like that of Spanish fighting bulls.

The meat of the last goat to fall (başarılı keçi or cea mai durabilă capră) was prized as a special delicacy and selected cuts from the legs of this particular “winner” goat were often smoked and dried into a kind of jerky.

*****

In his “Grandes Histoires Vraies d'un Voyageur le 1er Avril” (pub. Mensonges & Faussetés, Paris, 1871) French folk-historian, anthropologist and retired cavalry general Gilles-Etienne Gérârd wrote about witnessing a festival near Sighișoara, Transylvania, in 1868.

There he claims to have seen catapults improvised from jeunes arbres, très élastiques et souples - “very springy and flexible young trees” - which were drawn back with ropes and then released.

Bets were placed before the throw, and marks given afterwards, according to what way up the goats adhered and for how long. The reconstruction, with both goats upright, facing outward and still in place, shows what would have been a potential high score.

The practice has been officially banned in both countries since the late 1940s, but supposedly still occurred in more isolated areas up to the end of the 20th century. Wooden beams from which the catapults were constructed could easily be disguised as barn-rafters etc., and of course flexible trees were, and are, just trees.

*****

Gérârd’s book incorrectly calls the goat jerky “pastrami”, to which he gives the meaning "meat of preservation".

While pastrami may be a printing error for the Turkish word bastırma or the Romanian pastramă, both meaning “preserved meat”, at least one reviewer claims that Gérârd misunderstood his guide-translator, who would have been working from rural dialect to formal Romanian to scholarly French.

Since this jerky was considered a good-luck food for shepherds, mountaineers, steeplejacks and others whose work involved a risk of falling, Gérârd's assumption seems a reasonable one.

However, several critical comments on that review have dismissed its conclusion, claiming "no translator could be so clumsy", but in its defence, other comments point out confusion between slang usage in the same language.

One cites American and British English, noting that even before differences in spelling (tire / tyre, kerb / curb etc.) "guns" can mean biceps or firearms, "flat" can mean a deflated wheel or a place to live, "ass" can mean buttocks or donkey and adds, with undisguised relish, some of the more embarrassing examples.

This comment concludes that since the errors "usually make sense in context", Gérârd's misapprehension is entitled to the same respect.

*****

The good-luck aspect of the meat apparently extended to work which involved "falling safely", since its last known use was believed to be in ration packs issued to the 1. Hava İndirme Tugayı (1st Airborne Brigade) of the Turkish Army, immediately before the invasion of Cyprus in July 1974.

Nothing more recent has been officially recorded, because the presence of cameras near military bases or possible - and of course illegal - contests is strongly (sometimes forcefully) discouraged, and the sport’s very existence is increasingly dismissed as an urban or more correctly rural legend.

The official line taken by both Anatolian and Carpathian authorities is that it was only ever a joke played on tourists, similar to the Australian “Drop-bear”, the Scottish “Wild Haggis” and the North American “Jackalope”.

They dismiss the evidence of Gérârd’s personal observation as “a wild fable to encourage sales of his book”, “a city-dweller’s misinterpretation of country practices”, or even “the deliberate deception of a gullible foreigner by humorous peasants”.

And as for those paratroop ration packs, Turkish involvement in Cyprus is still such a delicate subject that the standard response remains “no comment”.

#goats #mountain goats #climbing #falling #good-luck food #rural myth #pinch of salt #A day in April

88 notes · View notes

perrysoup · 1 year ago

Text

Jewish State Ideas BEFORE Palestine

CRITICAL PREAMBLE: It is important to keep in mind that the idea of building a Jewish State is Zionist. It does not reflect the views of Judaism as a whole, and any antisemetic actions will result in blocking and banning. It is critical now more than ever that we recognize that there is a different. Your issues in Palestine are with ZIONISM, not Judaism. Do NOT associate them as the same. Doing so is a common Zionist tactic to make comments or opinions against Israel be rebutted that it is antisemetic purely because it comments on actions by Israel and their Zionist government and military.

Again, Zionism and Judaism are NOT one in the same, and should not be treated that way.

Anywho, timeline time!

1820 - Ararat City - Grand Island Niagara River in Western New York. Considered a precursor to Zionism as known today.

1902 - Leaugue of Eastern European States - "would entail the establishment of a buffer state (Pufferstaat) within the Jewish Pale of Settlement of Russia, composed of the former Polish provinces annexed by Russia."

Date Unsure - Herzl Plan - "The Jews who wish for a State will have it. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes." His proposed location? Cyprus 1903 - British Uganda Program - Rejected after (shocker) there were lions in Africa. Also "it was populated by a large number of Maasai people, who did not seem at all amenable to an influx of people coming from Europe." fuckin wonder why. Note that some Zionists were concerned it would "make it more difficult to establish a Jewish state in Palestine in Ottoman Syria, particularly the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem" 1928 - Jewish Autonomous Oblast in USSR - Proposed by Russia specifcally to prevent a State of Israel AND done because it viewed Judaism as a threat to the state. "In that sense, it was also a response to two supposed threats to the Soviet state: Judaism, which ran counter to official state policy of atheism; and Zionism, the creation of the modern State of Israel, which countered Soviet views of nationalism. Yiddish, rather than Hebrew, would be the national language, and a new socialist literature and arts would replace religion as the primary expression of culture." Also included the idea of a JSR in Crimea or "part of Ukraine, however these were rejected because of fears of antagonizing non-Jews in those regions."

1940 - British Guiana - "the British Government decided that "the problem is at present too problematical to admit of the adoption of a definite policy and must be left for the decision of some future Government in years to come""

The Madagascar Plan and the Italian East Africa plans were both efforts by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to "solve Jewish problem" (YES THIS IS BAD). "Jews from Europe and Palestine would be resettled to the north-west Ethiopian districts of Gojjam and Begemder, along with the Beta Israel community."

1989 - Plans for the West Bank - Contemplation of a Second Jewish State - "Israeli settlers in the West Bank have mulled declaring independence as the State of Judea should Israel ever withdraw from the West Bank. In January 1989, several hundred activists met and announced their intention to create such a state in the event of Israeli withdrawal."

So yea, don't tell me about "homeland" when there were a shit ton of other ideas accepted within the Zionist ideal prior to SETTLING on Palestine. It's "homeland" cause that's where the British Empire could throw Israel. Not because they though it was the "right thing to do" or whatever thing Zionists claim now a days.

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #israel is a terrorist state #israel #genocide #fuck the israeli government #gaza strip #idf is a terrorist group

69 notes · View notes

whencyclopedia · 7 months ago

Photo

The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman (l. 1258-1326), an Anatolian chieftain. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the empire controlled vast stretches including Anatolia, southwestern Europe, mainland Greece, the Balkans, parts of northern Iraq, Azerbaijan, Syria, Palestine, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and parts of the North African strip, in addition to the major Mediterranean islands of Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete. Renowned the strongest military superpower of its time, the empire stagnated and faced prolonged decline from the late 16th century CE onwards until it was replaced by the modern Republic of Turkey after the First World War (1914-1918).

#HistoryFacts #History #OttomanEmpire #OsmanI #MehmedII #WHE

22 notes · View notes

archiveofcyp · 1 year ago

Text

A black-and-white photograph of three Cypriot men taken in the Public Garden in Nicosia. The man on the left is Mehmet Mıstık, who was born in 1896. He wears a fez, a western-style jacket (sakgo/divişli sakgo), traditional vraga trousers, and a sash (hacı şalı guşak), which was likely brought back from pilgrimage to Mecca. The man in the middle standing on the stool has a trimmed moustache, wears a fez, and a western-styled three-piece suit with a kerchief around his neck in place of a tie, a silver or gold cord (sırmalı), and a ring on his left hand. The man on the right is Mustafa Mıstık (1892-1951), who was a butcher. Instead of a fez, he is wearing a headscarf (tsemberi/çember) with ornamental lace. He also wears a sash (hacı şalı guşak), an embroidered shirt (gömlek), black vraga, and detailed carnation (garifallo/garanfil) stockings.

📸 source: Aziz Damdelen Public Garden, Epicho (Abohor), Mesaoria, Nicosia District. Ali Mehter in the The Aziz Damdelen Collection Kioneli (Gönneli). Source information provided by Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou and Aziz Damdelen - ‘Turkish Cypriot dress: The Aziz Damdelen Collection’. https://moufflon.com.cy/product/turkish-cypriot-dress-the-aziz-damdelen-collection/.

Disclaimer: Please note no copyright infringement intended, and I do not own nor claim to own any of the original images or information unless otherwise stated.

#cyprus #cypriot #cyprus archive #archive image #cypriot archive #cyprus history #cyprus fashion #cypriot heritage #turkish speaking cypriots #archive #history #photography #ottoman history #ottoman cyprus

5 notes · View notes

alatismeni-theitsa · 5 months ago

Note

thank you for your response! i was originally thinking of getting “Σαυτὸν ἴσθι”

but i actually really like “Ηττώ υπέρ δικαίου” i think i may wear jewelry with the phrase carved into it firstly and then going from there. and i have seen your post on the misuse of Hellenismos! luckily; i was already made aware of this misuse of the word thanks to a content creator i like. i’ll definitely be keeping up with this blog to make sure i stay in my lane & respect Greek culture, while i’ve been practicing the Hellenic Polytheistic religion for many years i still have much to learn! such as, i had always been told online that modern Greeks don’t believe in or care about the “old religion” so it’s been really interesting to read about how that isn’t totally the case. :)

Ωωωω! Followup on the tattoo ask! :D Hello again! Hopefully you'll find the best way to carry the tenant with you!

Btw it grinds my gears when I see non-Greeks being so quick to say "modern Greeks don’t believe in or care about the gods anyway, why are they even talking".... Like BABE if it weren't for the Greeks who kept alive a large portion of the ancient texts on religion, philosophy, folk stories etc for more than a thousand years, you wouldn't have Greek myths to obsess over. There was indeed a time when Christians oppressed the Polytheists (also as a payback for the Polytheists doing the same to them in the past) but a few generations later people realized that this destruction would only make our ethnic memory and our heritage poorer, so they started copying and preserving the ancient texts.

Not to mention that Greece today has a huge archaeological sector, a ton of scholars, every town and city has its own archaeological museum, and we are taught the myths in context starting elementary school and analyze the epics and the ancient plays and other texts with classics professors and philologists from highschool already. Magazines frequently gift ancient plays, epics and philosophical texts, and you can find these editions pretty cheap in bookstores too, like 5 euros per play.

Our landscape is marked with ancient stories - everyone knows Zeus' mountains in Crete and Naxos, what Delos is to Apollo, what Cyprus is to Aphrodite, people continue living on Olympos as usual and we know it's considered the home of "our gods". (Instead of "Greek gods" we sometimes say "our gods" because... we are Greeks, so "our" and "Greek" are interchangeable in meaning.) Of course we consider the gods to be our important heritage figures. Even if a Greek feels like they don't have basic respect for the gods, they will still roll their eyes when seeing how the gods are portrayed in USAmerican media -meaning they have absorbed a type of respect for the deities through osmosis in Greece without realizing it.

Our public companies, streets, and groups/teams have names of gods and heroes. There are Christian Greeks baptized with the names of Greek gods, muses, and ancient heroes or play characters (Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, Demetra, Odysseus, Akhilleas, Patroklos, Dione, Thalia, Antigone etc) and that's not just a modern phenomenon. We just... kept our names through the ages.

Not every single Greek will be interested in those things because everyone has different passions and hobbies, but Greece as a whole continues to record and safekeep all things ancient. The Ottoman occupation was harsh for us and we lost access to education and the science of archaeology for a while but we started getting educated again on our past as soon as we were able to offer our people decent public education (when we gained our freedom).

Many Greeks see the ancient religion as a level "behind" in human rights and religious philosophy, and like a stage we have overgrown as a nation. However, this doesn't contradict the basic respect one gets for the gods as soon as they do a basic study of the material readily available all around them, and the whole stance that the country keeps toward our gods.

I didn't intend to write that much but, ya know, I get very irritated just thinking how people with no idea about Greece's history make assumptions about us just to win an argument online.

Thank you for making it this far! It's great you are taking the initiative to ask and learn! Gaining knowledge of a different religion and culture is always a difficult but rewarding journey! For your patience, I will leave you with a few verses of one of our classic poems:

As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. [...]

Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you’re destined for. But don’t hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you’re old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you wouldn't have set out. She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you’ll have understood by then what Ithakas mean.

(Ithaki , Konstantinos Kavafis, 1911)

#answered

12 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 6 months ago

Text

On September 2nd 1854 the pioneer of modern urban sociology, Patrick Geddes, was born in Ballater.

Geddes is regarded as the founding father of town planning. Although he was trained as a biologist, he applied biological knowledge to striving to create an ideal environment for human existence. The author of City Development and Cities in Evolution, Geddes was greatly troubled by the plight of refugees of the war between Armenians and the Ottoman Empire in 1896. His response was to travel to Cyprus, helping the displaced people to resettle there in small agricultural and industrial units.

Read more at the short article on Geddes here http://www.lothianlife.co.uk/2007/02/think-global-act-local/

#scotland #scottish #town planning #history #edinburgh #Ballater

13 notes · View notes

cincinnatusvirtue · 2 years ago

Text

Countries that are no more: Republic of Venice (697AD-1797AD)

The first in a series I hope to feature on providing high level overviews of countries that existed and were influential to history or obscure and lost to most memory in time. The first up is the Republic of Venice.

Name: Serenisma Republega de Venesia (Venetian). In English this translates to the state's official name The Most Serene Republic of Venice. Also referred to as the Venetian Republic, Republic of Venice or just Venice.

Language: The official languages were the Romance languages of Latin, Venetian & later Italian. The regional dialect of Vulgar Latin in Northeastern Italy known as Veneto was the original language of Venice. This evolved in Venetian which was attested to as a distinct language as early as the 13th century AD. Venetian became the official language and lingua franca of the everyday Venetians and across parts of the Mediterranean although Latin would still be used in official documents and religious functions. Overtime, modern Italian was spoken in Venice though the Venetian language remains technically a separate language in Italy's Veneto region and the surrounding areas to this day.

Minority languages across the republic's territory included various Romance languages such as Lombard, Friulian, Ladin, Dalmatian and non-romance languages such as Albanian, Greek & Serbo-Croatian.

Territory: The republic was centered on the city of Venice founded in the Venetian lagoon on the north end of the Adriatic Sea to the northeast coast of the Italian peninsula. It also included the surrounding regions of mainland northeast Italy in the regions of Veneto and Friuli and parts of Lombardy. This became known as the terraferma or the mainland holdings of the republic. It also possessed overseas holdings in modern day Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece & Cyprus.

Symbols & Mottos: The main symbol of Venice was its flag which had the famed Winged Lion of St. Mark. This represented the republic's patron saint, St. Mark. Mark the Evangelist after whom the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament in the Bible is named. Mark's body and holy relics were taken by Venice and said to be housed in the Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica) in Venice itself. Variations of this flag differed during times of peace & war. During peace the winged lion is seen holding an open book and during war flags depicted the lion with its paw upon a bible and an upright sword held in another paw.

The republic's motto in Latin was "Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus" or in English "Peace be to you Mark, my evangelist."

Religion: Roman Catholicism was the official religion of the state but Venice did have minorities of Eastern Orthodox & Protestant (usually foreign) Christian denominations at times in its territory and it also had small populations of Jews and Muslims to be found in Greek and Albanian territories during the wars with the Ottoman Empire.

Currency: Venetian ducat and later the Venetian lira.

Population: Though population varied overtime for the republic due to a variety of factors such as war & changing territory and disease & its subsequent effects. There was rough population recorded of 2.3 million people across all of its holdings in the mid sixteenth century (circa 1550-1560). The vast majority of its population was found in the terraferma of northern Italy and the city of Venice itself with its concentrated population on the islands within the Venetian Lagoon. The Greek island of Crete and the island of (Greek speaking) Cyprus were the most populous overseas possessions of the republic's territory. The rest of the population was found its various holdings in the Balkans mostly along the Adriatic coastline.

Government: The republic followed a complex mixed model of government. Essentially it could be characterized as a mixed parliamentary constitutional republic with a mercantile oligarchy ruling over it in practice. It had no formal written constitution, and this led to a degree of evolution without exactly defined roles often in reaction to happenings in its history. The resulting government became more complex overtime as institutions became increasingly fragmented in their size, scope and duties, some almost obsolete but still retained and others not fully defined. Yet, the republic managed to function quite well for most of its history. It incorporated elements of oligarchy, monarchy & limited democracy.

It's head of state and government was known as the Doge which is akin to the term of Duke. Though this similarity of name ends there. The Doge was neither similar to a duke in the modern sense nor was it meant as a hereditary position. The doge was rather a lifetime appointment much like the Pope for the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, doges were elected by the ruling elite of Venice, namely its wealthy oligarchy merchant class. The doge didn't have well defined & precise powers throughout the republic's 1,100-year history. It varied from great autocracy in the early parts of the republic to increasing regulation and restriction by the late 13th century onward. Though the doge always maintained a symbolic and ceremonial role throughout the republic's history. Some doges were forcibly removed from power and post-1268 until a new doge could be elected, the republic's rule transferred to the most senior ducal counsellor with the style of "vicedoge". After a doge's death following a commission was formed to study the doge's life and review it for moral and ethical transgressions and placed judgment upon him posthumously. If the commission found the deceased doge to have transgressed, his estate could be found liable and subject to fines. The doge was given plenty of ceremonial roles such as heading the symbolic marriage of Venice to the sea by casting a marriage ring into the sea from the doge's barge (similar to a royal yacht). Additionally, the doge was treated in foreign relations akin to a prince. It's titles and styles include "My Lord the Doge", "Most Serene Prince" and "His Serenity". The doge resided in the ducal palace (Palazzo Ducale) or Doge's Palace on the lagoonfront in Venice next St. Mark's Basilica and St. Mark's Square.

While the doge remained the symbolic and nominal head of the government, the oligarchy remained supreme overall. The supreme political organ was the 480-member Great Council. This assembly elected many of the office holders within the republic (including the doge) and the various senior councils tasked with administration, passing laws and judicial oversight. The Great Council's membership post 1297 was restricted to an inheritance by members of the patrician elite of the city of Venice's most noble families recorded in the famed Golden Book. This was divided between the old houses of the republic's earliest days and newer mercantile families if their fortunes should attain them property ownership and wealth. These families usually ranged between 20-30 total. They were socially forbidden from marrying outside their class & usually intermarried for political and economic reasons. Their economic concerns were chief to the whole of the republic and most centered on Eurasian & African trade throughout the Mediterranean Sea's basin. Members of these families served in the military and eventually rose to prominent positions of administration throughout the republic.

The Great Council overtime circumscribed the doge's power by creating councils devoted to oversight of the doge or executive and administrative functions (similar to modern executive cabinets or departments) whereas the doge became more and more a ceremonial role. The also created a senate which handled daily legislation. They also created a Council of Ten set to have authority over all government action. Other bodies were formed from this Great Council and others overtime. This resulted in intricate and overlapping yet separate bodies which found themselves subject to limitations with various checks on virtually each other's power. Essentially running as committees or sub-committees with checks on another committee's powers. These bodies weren't always completely defined in their scope and overtime their complexity led to battles to limit other's power (with limited success) along with gradual obsolescence and sometimes slow grinding administration.

Military: The military of Venice consisted of a relatively small army and a powerful navy. The famed Venetian Arsenal in Venice proper was essentially a complex of armories and shipyards to build and arm Venice's navy. The arsenal in Venice has the capacity to mass produce ships and weapons in the Middle Ages, centuries before the Industrial Revolution allowed for modern mass production in economic and military applications. Venice's military was designed towards protecting it possessions both in Italy and its overseas territories. The primary concern was to secure Venice's trade routes to the rest of Europe as well as Asia & Africa. It faced opponents' overtime ranging from the Franks, the Byzantine Empire, Bulgarians to other Italian city-states, France, Austria, the Ottoman Empire and Barbary Corsairs along with European pirates in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. It played key roles as a naval transport in other powers including throughout the Crusades. It also played a key role in the infamous Fourth Crusade which culminated in the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD, an event which fractured the Byzantine Empire into a half-century of civil war between successor states before a weakened revival in the mid 13th century. The Byzantine Empire would linger until the 15th century when the Ottoman Empire finally conquered its last remaining portions. Many attribute this loss to in part to its weakness still resulting from that 1204 sack lead by Venice. The Venetian military would exist until the republic's end when The French Republic's Army of Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the republic, a conquest in which the Venetians surrendered without a proper fight.

Economy: Venice's economy was based largely in trade. Namely control over the salt trade. Venice was to control salt (preservative of food) production and trade throughout the Mediterranean. It also traded in commodities associated with the salt trade routes to Eurasia and Africa. These commodities could include other foodstuffs (grains, meats & cheeses), textiles & glassware among other items.

Lifespan: 697AD-1797AD. Though the exact founding of Venice itself hasn't been determined. It is traditionally said to have taken place in the year 421 AD. At a time when Roman citizens in northeast Italy were escaping waves of Germanic & Hunnic barbarian invasions that contributed to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The going theory is that these Romans evaded barbarian attacks by building their homes in the Venetian Lagoon by hammering wood stakes to form a foundation which sunk into the muddy shallows and petrified. Upon which they built their homes and created a cityscape marked by streets and canals interlaced. Venice remained a community of fishermen and merchants and was nominally under the control of the surviving Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire). It avoided barbarians overrunning the land but also was removed enough from Constantinople that it was relatively autonomous and became strategically important as a port. Other islands in the lagoon also banded together with Venice in a loose confederation of sorts by the 6th and 7th centuries which increased economic productivity and security for the city. The first doge was said to have been elected in 697 AD under the name Paolo Lucio Anafesto, though there is dispute about his historicity. Anafesto supposedly ruled until 717 AD. This is traditionally regarded as the foundation of the Republic of Venice.

Venice's third doge was Orso Ipato who reigned from 726-737 and he is the first undisputed historically recorded doge whose existence was confirmed. Orso also known as Ursus was known to strengthen the city's navy and army to protect it from the Lombard Germanic invaders who had overrun and ruled Italy by that time. Though nominally part of the Byzantine Empire, by 803, the Byzantine Emperors are said to have recognized Venice's de-facto independence. Though this view is disputed somewhat, it nevertheless remained virtually independent until its collapse in 1797.

Venice also partook in the slave trade of non-Christian European populations from Eastern Europe and transferred them to North Africa, selling them to the Arab and Berber (Moors) of the Islamic world.

As the 9th century progressed, the Venetian navy secured the Adriatic and various trade routes by defeating Slavic and Muslim pirates in the region. The Venetians also went onto battle the Normans who settled in southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century.

Venice provided naval transports for Crusaders from Western Europe starting with the successful First Crusade.

The High Middle Ages (1000AD-1350AD) saw the wealth and expansion Venice increase dramatically. However, over this period Venice gradually came into mixed relations with its former ruler the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire endured corruption, civil war and foreign invasion which saw it alternate between periods of waning power and restored power. Venice provided the Byzantines with an increased naval force when needed and many trading commodities. In exchange for this, Venice was granted trading rights within Byzantine territory and a place within the "Latin Quarter" for Western Europeans in Constantinople. The Byzantine populace though calling themselves "Romans" having taken on the political & cultural institutions of the Roman Empire which lived on in the East long after the Western half's collapse, were in fact mostly Greek by ethnicity, language and culture. Their religion was the Eastern Orthodox or Greek Orthodox branch of Christianity which was often at odds with Roman Catholics of Western Europe. Resentment at the religious and cultural differences along with the economic displacement the Venetians and other Italian merchants from Genoa & Pisa had caused in Constantinople's maritime & financial sectors contributed to the 1182 "Massacre of the Latins" in which the Byzantine Greek majority of the city rioted and slaughtered much of the 60,000 mostly Italian Catholics living within the city. Thousands were also sold into slavery to the Anatolian Seljuk Turks.

This event lingered in Venice's memory as its trade in the city was reduced for awhile. Though trade resumed between the Byzantines and the West again shortly thereafter, the event soured the perception of the Greeks to Western Europeans. This along with a subsequent power struggle for the throne of the Eastern Roman Emperor fell into Venice & Western Crusader's hands in 1202. Looking to originally ferry Western Crusaders to the Levant against the Islamic Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt & Syria. Events transpired that devolved into Venice conspiring under its doge Enrico Dandalo along with other Western leaders and a Byzantine claimant to the throne that resulted in the first successful sacking of Constantinople in 1204. The city was ransacked, some Greek citizens murdered by the Crusaders & classical works of art destroyed or looted (most famously the four bronze horses of St. Marks in Venice) and politically, the Byzantine Empire would be temporarily fractured between competing Greek dynasties while the Crusaders along with Venice created the short-lived Latin Empire, which controlled Constantinople and its environs while Venice also acquired Greek territories which it was to hold for centuries. Venice also came into conflict with the Second Bulgarian Empire at this time as its support of the Latin Empire of Constantinople encroached on the Bulgarian's land. Eventually by the mid 13th century the Latin Empire (never fully stable) collapsed, and the Byzantine Empire was restored until the mid-15th century but forever weakened as a result of the 1204 sacking of its capital.

Venice reached trade deals with the Mongol Empire in 1221. As the century wore on, it also engaged its rival in Western Italy Genoa in some warfare.

The 14th century is generally regarded as Venice at its peak as it faced down Genoa in a number of battles and came to be the most dominant trading power in the Mediterranean, though it was impacted by the Black Death plague. Nevertheless, into the 15th and even 16th centuries, it partook in a number of wars which saw it gain territory on the Italian mainland, establishing its terraferma domain.

By the 16th late 15th and into the 16th century new threats had emerged such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453 is seen as the end of the Middle Ages as the last political vestiges of the Roman Empire vanished from the world stage. However, a number of Byzantine Greeks escaped on Italian ships during the conquest of the city and others escaped Greece in subsequent years. These refugees brought with them artistic and cultural heritages that reemphasized the classical forms of Ancient Greece and Rome and lead to the Italian Rennaisance in art & other forms of culture. Ideas which emphasized humanism and spread to elsewhere in Europe overtime.

While there was a cultural flourishing in Venice and elsewhere due to the Rennaisance. There was also the first signs of economic and political decline as well from the 16th century onwards. The Ottoman dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean meant the traditional trade routes to the East were cut off by an often-hostile Muslim power. Additionally, other maritime powers in the West namely Spain & Portugal had recently begun exploring the continents of South & North America and in time France, England & the Netherlands would join in them. This decline in Eastern trade and the newfound trade routes dominated by other European states in the Americas and Asia (by way of rounding Africa) would render trade with Venice gradually obsolete. Venice would still maintain what trade it could in the Mediterranean, but it also focused on production and placed increasing importance on its Italian mainland possessions rather than just its declining position overseas in Greek territories, including the loss of Cyprus to the Ottomans in 1571. Though the Venetian navy with other Christian powers won the notable naval victory against the Ottomans in 1570 at Lepanto.

It was also involved in the Italian Wars between various rival city states and the power struggle between the Papacy, France and the Hapsburg realms of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

Other factors that impacted the declining trade in the 17th century included an inability to keep up in the textile trade elsewhere in Europe, closure of the spice trade to all but the Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French and English and the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) which impacted Venice's trade partners.

Ongoing wars including a 21-year siege of Crete by the Ottomans saw further losses. Although Venice partook in the Holy League headed by the Holy Roman Empire (under Hapsburg Austria) which saw some minor temporary gains from the Ottomans in southern Greece before losing them again in the early 18th century.

War and loss of overseas territories along with a stagnant economy was slightly offset by a somewhat strong position in northern Italy. Nevertheless, its maritime fleet was reduced to a mere shadow of its former glory and it found itself sandwiched still between Austria and France. Over the rest of the 18th century, economic stagnation and social stratification remained prevalent while Venice remained in a quiet peace. However, the French Revolution reignited war in Italy and while Venice remained neutral, it would soon get caught up in events.

The Austrians and the Piedmontese (Italian) allies were beaten by the French Republic's Army of Italy headed by an up-and-coming general named Napoleon Bonaparte. Bonaparte and the French army crossed the borders of northern Italy into Venetian neutral territory to pursue the Austrians. Eventually half of Venice's territory was occupied by France and the remainder of the mainland was occupied by Austria. By secret treaty the French and Austrians were to divide the territory between themselves (Venice was consulted in the matter). Bonaparte gave orders to Venetian doge Ludovico Manin to surrender the city to French occupation to which he abdicated his power. The republic's Major Council met one last time to officially declare an end to republic on May 12th, 1797, after 1,100 years. Venice was placed under a provisional government and ironically the French looted Venice stripping it of artworks to grace the Louvre Museum in Paris along with the Arc d'Triomphe, taking the famed four bronze horses of St. Mark's to adorn the triumphal arch in Paris, the very same horses Venice had confiscated from Constantinople in 1204. It was a symbolic end to the republic, the irony of which did not escape commentators at the time. Following Napoleonic France's final defeat in 1815 the horses were returned to Venice and St. Mark's where they remain today. Venice itself was given over to the Austrian Empire.

The Republic of Venice has a historical legacy in terms of its economic accomplishments through control of trade and its innovative mass production of ships, armaments & trade commodities. It also holds a political legacy worthy of study given it was a unique and enduring polity for 1,100 years. One that maintained a complex and at times chaotic form of government that still managed to function and endure for centuries.

#military history #middle ages #venice #venetian republic #italy #politics #political history #trade #economics #governance #commerce #ottoman empire #spain #byzantine empire #napoleon #doge #republic

73 notes · View notes

nakibistan · 2 years ago

Text

People often say that LGBTQIA+ people doesn't exists in Muslim/Islamic World. Nowdays many muslims argued that LGBTQI+ rights are contrary to their traditional beliefs, homosexuality shouldn't be decriminalized in their native countries,because it goes against their moral values,cultural norms & social mores,[...].

But previous Islamic history & muslim traditions had wide range of acceptance of sexual & gender diversity.In those days Muslim communities weren't so bigotted, heterosexist,homophobic/transphobic, heteropatriarchal.Colonialism,communism,dictatorship,islamist regime justified the prejudices against queer folks in Muslim world, not Islam itself.

In 1854, Ottoman empire legalised consensual homosexuality in parts of Middle East,North Africa,Eastern Europe & West Asia.Notably Mughal,Mamluk,Khilji,Sayyid, Pathan,Lodi,Abbasid,Safavid,Qajar,Ottoman empire gave privileges to gender variants and eunuchs.Even it is also said that Aghawas (a designation for trans feminine, effeminate,agender/eunuch & intersex) were served as guardian of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s mosque & tomb.There had been numerous homoerotic paintings & same sex romantic poetries in medieval islamic era.In pre-modern muslim societies ghazals (sufi spiritual song) has direct references with queerness.In some sufi traditions cross-dressing, gender fluidity was considered as sacred.

Since 18th & 19th century almost all muslim countries were colonized or being influenced by European Orthodox Christians.Europeans pushed their moral codes,heteropatriarchal system & gender roles upon muslim communities.But western colonialism was unable to erase queerness & love from asia.In Pakistan,Bangladesh,India & some parts of Afghanistan, Hijras (designation term for trans feminine,trans woman,gender diverse,intersex) are still exists.Hijras has recognition of third gender in Pakistan,India & Bangladesh.They have some civil rights in those countries mentioned.But Transgender people's livelihood in Afghanistan is very worst.Some Afghan trans people's lifestyles are very similar to Hijra/Khawaja Sara subculture. In central-asian muslim cultures gender vice-versa or variance are not uncommon.Bacha bazi or Bacha-bozi is practice where adult men get sexual services from young crossdressers and effeminates.

Waria, another transgender muslim community can be found in Indonesia.Waria transgenders has very limited rights comparing to Hijras.In South Sulawesi, Indonesia Bugis (a muslim tribe) recognized 5 genders: Oroané(masculine men), makkunrai (feminine women), Calalai (trans-masculine or masculine women), Calabai (trans-feminine or feminine male), Bissu (androgynous or non-binary).The classification of the calabai,calalai, & bissu as third genders is disputed.These roles can also be seen as fundamental occupational and spiritual callings, which are not as directly involved in designations such as male and female.In pre-Islamic culture, Bissu were seen as intermediaries between the people and the gods.The Bissu are closely associated with the female yet androgynous moon goddess, as her spiritual offspring.Up until the 1940s, the Bissu were still central to keeping ancient palace rites alive, including coronations of kings & queens. Historically, Bissu have played an important role in other ceremonies as well,particularly in weddings and childbirth events.However today Bissu & Waria faces marginalization in their homeland due to rise of Political Islamism & Islamic Extremism .

Here is a list of Muslim/Islamic nations where homosexuality is not a criminal offense (technically):

Albania - Legal since Ottoman period.

Bosnia & Herzegovina - Legal since Ottoman period.

Kosovo - Legal since Ottoman period.

Azerbaijan - Legal since 1918 or 2000 (not sure).But state often arrests LGBTQ community members.

Northern Cyprus - Legal since Ottoman period,legal in modern northern cyprus since 2015.

Turkey - Legal since Ottoman period, legal in modern turkey since 1923.

Jordan - Legal since Ottoman period,legal in hashemite kingdom of jordan since 1951.

Bahrain - Legal since Ottoman period.

West Bank (Palestine) - Female homosexuality always been legal,male homosexuality is legal since 1951.

Gaza (Palestine) -Female homosexuality always been legal.

Lebanon - Legal since Ottoman period, legal in modern lebanon since 2018 (however the legal status of homosexuality is vogue)

Kazakhstan - Legal since 1997 (de facto),nationwide legal since 1998 (de jure).

Kyrgyzstan - Legal since 1998.

Egypt - Legal since Ottoman period.Although private consensual homosexuality is not criminalized by domestic laws.Commercial & adult consensual homosexuality is de-facto illegal since 1961.

Kuwait -Female homosexuality always been legal.

UAE - There's no explicit federal law against homosexuality.But commercial & non-commercial homosexuality is de-facto illegal.

Burkina Faso - always legal

Djibouti - always legal

Mali - legal since 1961

Mayotte - always legal

Niger - always legal

Guinea Bissau - legal since 1993.

Sierra Leone -Female homosexuality always been legal.

Uzbekistan - Female homosexuality always been legal in federal law.

Turkmenistan - Female homosexuality always been legal in federal law.

Tajikistan - legal since 1998.

Indonesia - Homosexuality never been a criminal offense until 2022.LGBTQI+ people often faced persecution by state & harassment.In 2022, Indonesian parliament passed a bill that outlaws all types of sexual relationships outside the traditional marriage.

Here is a list of Muslim/Islamic nations,where transgender & gender diverse people has rights:

Iran - Transgender individuals were officially recognized by the government, under condition of undergoing sex reassignment surgery, with some financial assistance being provided by the govt. for the costs of surgery, and with a change of sex marker on birth certificates available post-surgery since early 1980s. However, substantial legal and societal barriers still exist in Iran. Trans individuals who do not undergo surgery have no legal recognition and those that do are first submitted to a long and invasive process (including virginity tests, parental approval, psychological counseling that reinforces feelings of shame & inspection by the Family Court).

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Trans people may change their legal gender in Bosnia & Herzegovina after a sex reassignment surgery & other medical treatments.

Pakistan - Pakistan recognized Hijras as third gender in 2009. In 2018 Pakistan's parliament passed “The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act” which provides fundamental rights in health, education, government and security.

Lebanon - In late 1990s Lebanon allow sex reassignment surgery.In 2016 Lebanon court legally recognized a trans man as man.

Turkey - Transgender individuals were allowed to change their gender since 1988.However later Turkey adopted harsh policies for transgenders,required many pre–requisutes in order to be able to receive gender-affirming surgery. Transgender persons had to ask & be granted permission for the surgery,be at least 18 years of age,unmarried, & sterilized in order to receive gender-affirming surgery.

Jordan - Since 2014 jordan allow trans people to change their gender after a sex change operation.

Bahrain -Since 2008 Bahrain allow trans people to change their gender after a sex change operation.

Bangladesh - since 2013 Bangladesh recognized hijras & eunuchs as third gender.In 1975 Dr. Hosne Ara Begum became the first transsexual woman to be recognised as woman in Bangladesh.

Indonesia - Indonesia allows sex change operation for Warias & give limited rights for transgenders.

Kazakhstan - Since 2003, trans people allowed to change legal gender following sex change surgery,medical examinations, & sterilisation.

Kyrgyzstan -Transgender people allowed to change legal gender following sex reassigment surgery, medical treatments,sterilisation since 2014.

Tajikistan -Under Tajik law, trans people may change their legal gender on their passport if they provide a medical statement that they have undergone sex reassignment surgery. There has been 2 sex-change operations performed – the first one in 2001 and the second one in 2014.

UAE- allows intersex persons to undergoes a sex change surgery & change their gender.

Egypt - In 1988, a sunni Islamic Fatwa by Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy grants legal permission to perform gender affirming surgery. In Egypt, those who want to undergo the surgery must seek an approval from a gender reassignment review committee at the Medical Syndicate of Al-Azhar. But the committee has not convened since 2013, when Al-Azhar withdrew its member from the ccommission. Now, Egypt only perform sex reassignment surgery for intersex individuals with court approval.

Iraq - An Iraqi transsexual undergone a sex change surgery in 2018. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior supported country's first sex change operation. However, Iraq has harsh policies for trans individuals, required pre–requisites in order to be able to receive sex reassignment surgery. Since 2023 Iraq has prohibited sex change operations based on mere personal choices, one must have court approval and have to give medical reason for it.

#lgbtqi muslims #lgbtqia+ muslim #lgbtqia #queer #religious queer #queer rights #trans rights #trending #allah loves all #loveislove #muslim

56 notes · View notes