HISTORY OF ATHENS

Frankish occupation of Athens

Boniface of Monsserat ceded Athens and Megara to Othon de La Roche of Burgundy who already had Thebes in his procession. Otto (Dominus Arthenarum, Sire d’ Athènes), organized his territory in imitation of the western medieval model. His nephew and successor Guy 1 received the title of Duke from King Louis IX and the territory of Athens and Boeotia were officially named duchy.

Right from the beginning, a Latin Bishop was seated in the city. He was recognized by the Orthodox priests after the self-exile of Michael Choniates to Kea and Euboea. The seat of the new political and ecclesiastical administration was the Acropolis, which was strengthened by fortifications so to take the form of a medieval castle. A high tower, later known as the Frankish fort, was built south of the Propylaea. It survived until 1875.

However, the residential area was confined within the Late Roman Wall. In the first half of the 13th century, a fortification enclosure, the Rizokastro, was built in order to reinforce the castle. On the Acropolis, the Propylaea were converted into the residence of the Duke, the Erechteion into the house of the Bishop and the church of Panagia Athiniotissa became a Catholic church.

Under Otto de La Roche, Athens knew a peaceful period. The Venetians and Genoese, who had settled permanently in the city, contributed to the growth of trade and industry, especially the silk industry whose center was Thebes.

Under Guy I, on the other hand, coins were issued in the mint of Glarenza. This was the only coin minted in the duchy. The artistic production of the Athenian workshops of that time, which had incorporated the western influences, was important as well. The rule of the Burgundy Dukes came to an end with the seizure of the city by the knights of the Catalan Company after 1311. The Catalans offered the rule first to the kingdom of Sicily and then to the kingdom of Aragon. The Kings of Aragon accepted the offer and designated a vicar in the city. Thebes became the seat of the duchy whereas Catalan became the official language and the law of Barcelona was introduced. The Athenians had no right of property and the only profession that they could exercise was that of the notary.

The Catalan rule, which has been considered a sombre page in the history of Athens, came to an end with the seizure of the Acropolis by the Florentine Nerio Acciaiuoli. The Acciaiuoli maintained the rule, interrupted by a short period of Venetian rule (1395-1403) until the conclusive surrender of the city to the Ottomans (1458). Prior to this, the Ottomans had invaded the city under Bayezid in 1397 but the invasion had been unsuccessful.

The Acciaiuoli made Athens the capital of the duchy again and engaged in infrastructure and embellishment works. They had the port of Piraeus (Porto Leone) repaired, they constructed roads and restored churches. The Propylaea became a resplendent palace and the church of the Virgin Mary on the Acropolis (Santa Maria de Setines) was renovated. Trade and production were improved. Greek became the official language again and the Orthodox bishop was reinstated.

Under those circumstances, certain native families, the most eminent being the Chalkokondylis family, managed to distinguish themselves and acquire wealth. At the same time, prosperity was associated with the settlement of the Arvanites (Albanian-speaking population) in the wider region of Attica and Boeotia.

The interest shown by the Florentines was evidently associated with the movement of humanism, which had started to develop in the Italian cities and was based on the rediscovery of ancient literature, the cradle of which was Athens. As a result of this interest, certain Western travelers, such as Cyriacus of Ancona (1436 and 1444), embarked upon tentative visits to the city in order to get in touch with its glorious past. The Ottoman conquest in 1456, which was concluded with the fall of the Acropolis in 1458, interrupted this tide and introduced the city to a new phase of its history.