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T
he preaching of the new religion of Christianity reached
the islands and coasts of the Aegean Sea very early. The
disciples of Christ and the apostles of the Christian Church,
primarily Saint Paul, worked for the propagation of the faith.
At the time, the Aegean was under Roman rule and was a
peaceful sea where most ancient Greek cities prospered
along with newly developed settlements.
The transfer of the Roman empire’s capital city to the East
in 324, when Constantinople was founded, was a historic
milestone considered to mark the beginning of the Byzantine
empire. These new conditions were to favour the islands,
as the most important seaways that supplied the imperial
capital now passed through the Aegean. Commercial ships
transferred goods from Egyptian and Syrian provinces via the
busy route between the Asia Minor coastline and the islands.
All along this way port-cities flourished as lively commercial
hubs, retaining their old urban lifestyle. Financial activity
was intense, its most impressive legacy the large number
of basilicas established from the 4th c. onwards, even on
the smallest islands. Their decoration, with sculpted marble
architectural elements, mosaic floors and wall-paintings,
followed the artistic influences from major centres of the
empire. For the Aegean world, the Early Christian period (4th-
7th c.) was a time of general prosperity − with the exception of
the many coastal cities in mainland Greece that were hit by
barbarian raids in the 4th c. and by destructive earthquakes
in the 6th c.
Regarding the administration of the Aegean at this time, the
coastline and islands were divided between the Prefecture
of Illyricum and the Prefecture of the Oriens: the European
coastline and neighbouring islands belonged to the former
and the Asia Minor coastline (along with the nearby islands,
including many of the Cyclades) to the latter. Ecclesiastical
jurisdiction over the Greek coastline and islands was with the
Pope of Rome. The Church established a plethora of sees
and bishops participated in Church developments from the
First Ecumenical Council (325).
The fate of the Aegean world and of the empire was bound to
change significantly from the early 7th c. due to Slavic raids.
Slavs were found all over mainland Greece and many coastal
cities were destroyed and deserted. Some of the islands also
suffered invasions. But a new, vigorous threat made itself felt
in about the same period and affected the Aegean even more
than the Slavic raids. It was the fierce Arabs who overthrew
the long-lasting Byzantine domination in Egypt and Syria in
just a few years and then continued at sea. In the mid-7th
c. the Arab fleet formed by Muawiyah attacked and looted
prosperous islands, such as Rhodes and Chios. For the
next three centuries the islands and coastline lived with the
menace of the Arabs.
Slavic raids and Arab attacks terminated the prosperity of the
Early Christian Aegean and indicated the start of the medieval
period. This important historical turning point can be traced
in finds and monuments associated chronologically with
this critical period, characterised by makeshift fortresses
and castles that were built in haste in the islands’ interiors
so that inhabitants could be protected. Destruction layers
detected via excavation in cities that were thriving until then
have been associated with the violent attacks that ruined
them. Important settlements were reduced or deserted as
populations moved to safer locations. Urban living, which
maintained many elements from its ancient origins, was
brought to an end (with the exception of few large cities).
Insecurity was prolonged as the navy of Arab and Saracene
pirates settled in Crete in the 9th c., from where they attacked
islands and coastline.
Despite the great convulsions, life did not cease to exist
in the Aegean. Written sources, as well as archaeological
evidence, state that the Aegean was not deserted: the state
kept most of the islands under its control, sea routes remained
open and the Church continued its activity. Important
for the support of the islanders was the administrative
rearrangement in the Aegean with the establishment of the
theme of the Karabisianoi, in the early 7th c., which was later
divided into the themes of the
Cibyrrhaeots
(SE Aegean),
and of the Aegean Sea (NE Aegean). In roughly the same
period all of the state’s provinces that were ecclesiastically
under Rome were passed to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox
Ecumenical Patriarchate. The islands were also affected by
T H E C H R I S T I A N A E G E A N
Historical Overview
