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Zakynthos

In 150 BC, general Fulvius vanquished the Aetolians and successfully re-conquered Zakynthos for Rome. During the early Christian years, piracy in the Ionian brought a number of invasions to the island and after several hundred years of Roman rule the island gained independent governance with the taxes which were paid to Rome.

Zakynthos gained cultural respectability in the region and was a regular host to Roman scholars and intellectuals. Following the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the region succumbed to the greed of pirates. In the decades that followed, Vandals, Huns, Goths and Barbary Corsairs plundered the Ionian islands.

Constantine the Great founded the Byzantine empire and Zakynthos became part of the province of Illyria. Under the patronage of Constantinople, Zakynthos became less vulnerable to the invading forces of the region and enjoyed a period of cultural and economic regeneration.

During this period, it is believed that Christianity came to the island. Mary Magdalene allegedly visited the island in 34 A.D. via Jerusalem to Rome where she is believed to have imparted the teachings of Christ.

In 466 A.D., Zakynthos once again fell to destructive invaders. The African Vandal king Gizarich blockaded the island with sixty ships, plundered the island and razed Zakynthos Town to the ground.

As the Byzantine empire was fading from prominence, Crusader armies invaded in search of converts and the rich booties which lay to the East. In the period between 1147 and 1479, the island was ruled by aristocratic overlords who would eventually surrender the island to the Venetians in 1485.

After the Cretan War in 1669, the Republic of Venice was in decline and lost its overseas territories one by one. In 1797 the island was surrendered to the French.

In 1800, Russia and Turkey signed a treaty in Constantinople which founded the Eptanissos State of the Ionian Islands. This would be a self-governing part of the Russian Empire. The people of Zakynthos, haunted by the legacy of previous nobles, revolted and raised a Union Flag on Zakynthos fortress in the hope of attracting British forces to defend their independence. It was another nine years of instability before the British finally impacted upon the island's independence.

When the Greek revolution was declared, the people of Zakynthos found fresh force to fight on the side of the Greeks. In 1864, recognizing Free Greece, England abandoned her status as protector and the Greek flag was raised in Zakynthos Town.

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