Onasander Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) https://books.google.com/books?id=5HPY20ksNcwC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=byzantines+icaria&source=bl&ots=ytxhufaEgi&sig=bfo04Pcw_7XlWbA18sPI2-Gg5SE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QSQDVcSELYyqyASZxIGQCw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAQ Honestly, I can't find evidence anywhere Icaria was conquered. I went Island by Island for when the East Roman Empire was conquered, but can't find any evidence Turks even showed up till a century after Trebazon fell, and that was by a Turkish tax collector who was quickly hanged, and this book focusing on it's history shows instead of thriving, they more or less devolved. I recall them having built towers to fight off the Venetians, and the link given to the Knights of St. John looks rather loose and unconvincing that they held any control over them other than some trade contacts. So what do we do with trying to trace the collapse of the Roman Empire, territory by territory, when it's last remaining holding just.... hid really really well, but kept independence, and just.... went badly downhill? Edited March 13, 2015 by Onasander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onasander Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Supposedly the Genoans held it, but the issue with that is, well.... It has no port. It has a tower built by Alexander the Great, at least one byzantine fortress, and then switched apparently with the Byzantines concent over to Genoa to keep the Turkish navy out.... but then reverted to a feral state when Genoa pulled out. All I can find as evidence for this is assumptions Genoa "built forts", but how this set up actually exerted sovereignty is doubtful given how isolated the island's population was.... Plus the turks made a map long after the Genoese pulled out assuming they were still there. The islanders also begged the knights of st. john, wanting to move to Rhodes. The knights said no, but somehow or another the island was incorporated into their holdings..... again, without a port and a interior isolated population. They killed the first Turkish tax collector, got away with it. Never really paid taxes except a ecclesiastical tax via the church, as they were too poor. Got hit up by pirates, a lot.... Which is expected. They claim to be of royal blood, and refuse to marry outside the island. Had a very peculiar dialect of Greek, studies had been done, showing it to be the most classical of all Greek dialects. So it appears the center of this quite worthless island managed to avoid the collapse of the roman empire and carried on long after the rest of the world fell, but lead a very miserable existence in doing so, and nearly went extinct a few times in the following centuries in their isolation. It was in the 18th century (not 1800s) that they came into a more regular control under the ottomans, via 1 official, and this was eventually replaced by a local Greek dictator who was eventually disposed of. So.... this isn't certain, as I can't find out just howmuch or what Genoa did on Icaria, much less the Knights of St. John other than sit a few men down in rotation in a remarkably useless hill fort on a port less, remarkably poor island. I'm really feeling bad reading this background information. It was hell in those last days of the empire. Refugees had no idea of where to go. They appear to of been freely given to Genoa, but were abandoned. Couldn't get the knights to take them in. Undoubtedly were surprised that Turkish invasion fleet never quite showed up. Very tough incorporating such a community into the Trebazond was last free outpost. These people lived free, in brutal poverty but free without a master in their villages for centuries on, save for the occasional dissapointed pirate raid. They made certain no pirate bases were set up on the island by launching raids on them from what I've read whenever they settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onasander Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) Well, apparently Stupidville (Stubenville), Ohio has a large population of people from Icaria (explains a few things) and was just informed by them that a whole city held out on the Island of Karpathos, a mountaintop community called Olympus, whereas the rest of the island was conquered. They claim to of never of been conquered by anyone up there. Of course, this is Stupidville talk. I can only affirm the place exists, but can't find any evidence of this. Edited March 16, 2015 by Onasander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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