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The
ancient writers make mention of Nauplion, as an important city,
that took part in the Argonautic Expedition and the Trojan war. In
the latter, there also participated Palamedes the sage, son to
the fifth founder of the city, called also Nauplius. This
Palamedes was falsely accused by Odysses of being a traitor and
was murdered at Troy, as we learn from the lost tragedy by
Euripides, bearing his name.
Until
the 7th century B.C. Nauplion was a small independent city, that
had developed along with Mycenae and Argos. During the second
Messenian war (middle of 7th century B.C.) the Nauplians had
al1ied with Sparta, Argos' opponent. This was the reason that the
king of Argos Democratidas occupied and devastated Nauplion during
this war. The Nauplians moved to Messenia then and the city became
Argos' naval yard and sea port.
It
was in the 11th century that Nauplion rose up again and started
acquiring historical
importance. A1ready in the 9th century it had acquired its own
diocese that was under the metropolis of Corinth, and its first
bishop was St. Peter of Argos. The Byzantine emperors discerned
the importance and the mercanti1e capabi1ities of the city's
position and so they reinforced it.
In
1180 A.D., the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenos appointed
Theodore Sgouros, a rich Nauplian, as the ruler of NauρΙίοn.
His son, Leo Sgouros, turned Nauplion into an important centre.
He fought against the invading crusaders, Montferrat, Champlitte
and Villehardouin. The latter occupied the city taking it from
Theodore Doukas Comnenos, Sgouros' Successor. In 1212
Villehardouin conceded the city to Otho de la Roche Master of
Athens. The city remained under the administration of the French
dukes of Athens for approximately a hundred years and was
fortified by them. Subsequently it came into Venetian hands.
In
the years 1396, 1463, 1502 the Turkish attacks were successfully
repelled. Ιn 1540 under a treaty the Venetians gave Nauplion
over to the Turks. Ιn 1686 Francesco Morosini the venetian
field marshal, after a 10ng siege occupied Nauplion and started
fortifying it. Nauplion then became the capital of the
prefecture of Romania and was called Napoli di Romania. The
general Augustine Sagredo and the prefect Jeronymus Delphinus
completed the fortifying works of the city that had now become
...Morea's
(J) boast and crown
and
everyone looked upon it with respect.
In
1715,
after a 10ng siege, Nauplion came into Turkish hands. The
besieger, Daout Pasha, gained entrance to the city, after the
treason of Sala, a French artillery colonel fighting at Palamidi. In
Αpril 1821 the Greeks started a siege of the city. On
November 30, 1822 Palamidi was taken by Staikos Staikopoulos and
a little later the city was handed over to Kolokotronis, a greek
hero and leader of the 1821 revolution.
At the beginning of 1823 Nauplion was appointed the capital of the
Liberation war and the government had its seat there. Then Greeks
from all the parts of the country started swarming in. Α
vivid picture of the time, with its confusion of different customs
and dialects is given in «The Babylonia»
by Byzantios. During the civil conflicts the city was the
battlefield of the dissenting groups of the Administrative
Committee and the Parliamentary one.
Ioannis
Kapodistria, after the liberation, arrived at Nauplion as the
Governor of Greece on January 8, 1828. It was here that he set out
the plans of the development of the country and it was here that
he found a tragic death on September 27, 1831, murdered by two
members of the Mavromichalis family, as he was entering St.
Spyridon's church. The 4th National Assembly (1832) approved of
the choice of Otho as King of Greece, who came to Nauplion
οη January 25, 1833. On December 1, 1834 the capital was
transferred in Athens.
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