Rhodes is a Greek Island located in Aegean Sea and one of the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population. It has historically been the capital of the islands and today, the City of Rhodes is home to 50,636. The city is popular around the word for its Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The medieval city of Rhodes is a World Heritage Site and one of the most visited destinations in Europe. Below is an overview of the history of the Island.
Rhodes is a Greek Island located in Aegean Sea and one of the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population. It has historically been the capital of the islands and today, the City of Rhodes is home to 50,636. The city is popular around the word for its Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The medieval city of Rhodes is a World Heritage Site and one of the most visited destinations in Europe. Below is an overview of the history of the Island.
1. The island has been inhabited since Neolithic times. However, not much of evidence and culture remains from this period.
2. 16th century BC - The Minoans arrived in the Rhodes Island.
3. 15th Century BC - The Mycenaean Greeks invaded the Island but after the Collapse of the Bronze Age Greece, the first contact with the outside world would be with Cyprus Dorians in the 8th Century. These people would then build Lindos, Ialyssos and Kameiros, which together with Kos, Cnidus and Halicarnassus that are on the mainland made up the Dorian Hexapolis or the six Greek Cities.
4. 478 BC - Although the Persians invaded the islands, they were defeated in 478 BC by the Athenian league.
5. 332BC - Rhodes became part of the growing empire of Alexander the Great who defeated the Persians completely. This was the last time the world would hear of Persians.
6. After this, Alexander the Great would divide up his Empire, with the Rhodes going under Ptolemy in Alexandria where they would remain, albeit with some wars and struggles, until the arrival of the Romans in 201 BC.
7. Rhodes became a cultural and educational center for Roman noble families and was especially noted for its teachers of rhetoric, such as Hermagoras and in 1st Century Ad, Roman Emperor Tiberius spent a brief term in Exile at Rhodes.
8. 395 - 13th Century - The Byzantine rule became a golden chance for Rhodes to grow and during this time, there was relative peace.
9. 1309 - 1444 - With the weakening of Byzantine rule, the Knights of Rhodes put on a brave face and they would hold the city in stead until 1444 when the Ottomans Arrived.
10. 1444 - 1864 - During the Ottoman rule, the island did fairly well and it would hold the reign over the island until 1864 when Italy seized the islands from the Ottomans.
11. 1944 - The German Gestapo rounded up all the Jews in the island and sent them to the extermination camps.
12. 1947 - Rhodes and all the Dodecanese were returned to Greece.
13. 1947 - The Rhodes became the venue of the peace deal after the war of Israel with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Today, Rhodes is mainly a tourist hub and a visit here will not fail to amaze you...I mean, how can island that have seen so much war and history remain so beautiful?