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History of Xanthi

"Study the past if you want to define the future"

Confucius, 551-479 B.C.

¨Lordess of Thrace¨ or ¨City of a thousand colors¨

Xanthi geographically belongs to Thrace and is built at the foot of Achladovouno. It is crossed by the Kosynthos River and is located between Lake Vistonida from the east and the river Nestos from the west. It is the capital of the municipality of Xanthi with a population of about 75,000 inhabitants.

During Antiquity, the city of Xanthi was the base of Ares, Dionysus, Orpheus and Boreas. There are three different versions of the name of the city: The first refers to Xanthi, one of the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. The second comes from an Amazon named Xanthi who reigned in the region and the third comes from the 8th feat of Hercules. According to mythology, Hercules created Lake Vistonida to defeat King Diomedes and the name of Xanthi comes from Xanthos, the King's horse.

10.000 to 7.000 BC.

Finds in the surrounding area testify that Xanthi was inhabited since Neolithic times.

3.000 to 1.100 BC.

The Bronze Age finds the region influenced by Lesbos, Lemnos and Troy.

1.100 to 1.001 BC.

In the 11th century the settlement of the Thracian tribes (Thrace) began.

656 BC.

The foundation of Avdira is established and the plain flourishes. Abdera plays a catalytic role in the penetration of the Greek culture and the Hellenization of the Thracians.

300 - 201 BC.

Hecataeus the Abderite in his work "On Hyperboreans", mentions the locals with the name "Xanthians".

100 BC - 300 AD.

The city then Xanthia is mentioned by Strabo (1st century BC). The city was not mentioned in any historical writings until the 3rd century AD and is presumed to have been destroyed.

330 AD.

Due to the Barbarian raids in 300 AD, the inhabitants of the wider area were forced to move to the mountainous area for safety and as a result, Xanthia was inhabited again. In 330 AD, with the beginning of the Byzantine period, the city experienced a new and greater prosperity.

700 - 799 AD.

Xanthi is completely destroyed by unknown causes.

879 AD.

Xanthi has been built again and is a centre of Byzantine history. As Bishop George mentions, Xanthias at that time participated in the Fourth Council of Constantinople.

1.000 - 1.350 AD

Until the end of the Byzantine period Xanthi continued to prosper and its population increased. Testimony, the event from 1,300 to 1,345 AD when the bishopric of Xanthi became an Archbishopric and then a Metropolis.

1.375 AD.

At the end of the 14th century, the city was occupied by the Ottomans and its Islamization began.

1.600 - 1.700 AD.

Thrace flourished with tobacco cultivation and many tobacco warehouses were established throughout Thrace.

1.821 AD.

Xanthi participates in the Greek revolution and is defeated as it is very close to the Turkish base.

1.829 - 1.845 AD.

The Xanthians who lived in the past began to return. In 1.830 AD the building of the present old city began.

1.891 AD.

Completion of the railway line connecting Thessaloniki with Constantinople and the city continues to prosper.

1.912 AD.

On November 8, another Calvary begins for the city with the Bulgarian occupation.

1.919 AD.

Liberation of Xanthi and its incorporation into the rest of Greece with the Treaty of Sevres (28 July 1.920).

1.936 - 1.944 AD.

Once again, while the city with a population of 32,000 is flourishing, war breaks out and Xanthi is occupied by the Germans and then by the Bulgarians.

1.945 AD and onwards

Xanthi is transformed, leaves the wars behind and becomes a cultural centre. The population today exceeds 60,000 inhabitants. The Democritus University of Thrace has been operating in the city since 2000 and the city plays a leading role with the annual Carnival and the Old Town festivities.