European Kingdoms

Kingdom of Greece
AD 1830 - 1974

Ancient Greece was conquered piecemeal by the Roman republic in the last two centuries BC, with Macedonia arguably being the last major power to be defeated. From then until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Greece was part of the Roman empire, through to its division as the Eastern Roman empire (or Byzantium). Then the Ottoman empire controlled it until, during the early years of the nineteenth century, the Greeks revolted against the fading power of the Turks.

The stage was set by the founding of the Filiki Eteria in 1814, a secret organisation which had the independence of Greece as its aim. One of its leaders was Alexander Ypsilanti, grandson of a former prince of the the Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Several revolts were planned across Greece and the first of them was launched on 6 March 1821, in the Danubian principalities. It was put down by the Ottomans, but the torch had been lit and by the end of the same month the Peloponnese was in open revolt.

With the Greeks finding a good deal of success in their fight against the Turks, it was the modernised Egyptian army under Muhammed Ali that was ordered by Constantinople to sail to Greece to put a stop to their efforts. Popular European support of the revolt led the Russians, French and British to send a fleet which sank the Egyptians at Navarino in 1827. This was the last serious threat to the Greeks' efforts and independence was fully established by 1830. Modern Greeks are partial descendants of the Ancient Greeks, but infused with Roman and Turkic settlers from throughout these empires and with a large addition of barbarian Celts, Germanics, and probably some Slavs as well.

1821 - 1827

The Greek War of Independence (otherwise known as the Greek Revolution) begins against rule by the Ottoman empire. Open revolt in the Peloponnese in March 1821 swiftly turns into a declaration of war against the occupiers. Revolts quickly spring up in Central Greece, Crete, and Macedonia, although these are suppressed, but a makeshift Greek navy prevents Ottoman reinforcements from being landed in the country. Muhammed Ali brings Egyptian forces into the conflict in 1825 and much of the revolt is put down. However, the Egyptian fleet is sunk at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 by a fleet consisting of Russians, French and British.

1821 - 1823

Alexander Ypsilanti

Led the early revolt. Grandson of Alexander Ypsilanti of Wallachia.

1826 - 1827

Georgios Karaiskakis

Commander-in-chief. Killed in action on 23 April.

1827

The Treaty of London is signed, in which Britain, France and Russia support Greek independence, and following the freeing of Central Greece in 1828, the beginnings of an independent state are created. The Greek National Assembly elects Count Ioannis Kapodistrias as regent (head of state) of the country while its political future is negotiated in Europe and the fighting against the Ottoman empire continues. In Greece itself, conflicts have already sprung up between various factions, resulting in two minor civil wars.

'The Camp of Georgios Karaiskakis' as depicted in 1855 by Theodoros Vryzakis

1827 - 1830

Count Ioannis Kapodistrias

Regent.

1828 - 1829

The Russo-Turkish War, triggered by the fighting in Greece and the Danubian principalities, ends in the Peace of Adrianople. The London Conference in 1830 recognises Greek independence. The regent, Ioannis Kapodistrias of Corfu, is selected as the first governor of the new republic, but he is soon assassinated.

1830 - 1831

Count Ioannis Kapodistrias

First governor of Greece. Assassinated.

1831 - 1832

Augustinos Kapodistrias

Brother. Succeeded as governor. In office for six months.

1832

Under the terms of the Convention of London, Prince Otto of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs ascends the newly-created throne of Greece while still a minor, carrying the title 'King of the Hellenes'. He initially rules under the guidance of a three-man regency council, but they prove unpopular and are dismissed. Otto then rules as an absolute monarch.

1832 - 1862

Otto of Bavaria

Brother of the king of Bavaria. First king of Greece. Dethroned.

1843

An armed but peaceful uprising forces the authoritarian king to grant the country a constitution and a parliament. The country is proving to be difficult to govern thanks to its financial impoverishment and the conflicting interests of its protectors, the Great Powers.

1862

Otto's authoritarianism and his poor standing amongst Greeks leads to him being dethroned by the Greek National Assembly while he is in the countryside and a replacement is selected. The young Prince William of Denmark ascends the throne as George I and brings with him the Ionian Islands as a gift from Great Britain.

1863 - 1913

George I of Denmark (Prince William)

Elder brother of King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Assassinated.

1877

The power of the monarchy is diminished when Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis curbs its power to interfere in the workings of the assembly. During the course of several short-lived, unstable governments, the prime minister is also able to initiate reforms that herald the start of modern parliamentary politics in the country.

1905 - 1906

Eleutherios Venizelos, the 'Lion of Crete', wins the independence of his island from Turkey in 1905. With support from Great Britain, which maintains close and friendly relations with Greece, George's son, also George, has been governor-general of Crete between 1897-1906. He resigns in 1906 following a campaign by Venizelos, the leader of the Cretan Assembly. Crete votes for union with Greece in 1908.

1913

The First Balkan War brings Greek victory in the capture and permanent possession of Salonika (modern Thessaloniki - the second largest city in Greece), just beating a Bulgarian force which had also aimed at capturing it. The area and population of Greece is doubled by its gains. After the longest reign of any Greek monarch, while walking in the city George I is assassinated on 18 March.

1913 - 1917

Constantine I

Son. Abdicated.

Andrew

Brother. m Alice of Hessen-Battenberg.

1915

Persuaded to join the Allied cause of Britain, France and Russia, the Greek prime minister, Eleutherios Venizelos, attempts to end Greek neutrality. However, he has overestimated the strength of his position at home. On 5 October he is dismissed from office by the king who, apart from being the German kaiser's brother-in-law, wishes to preserve Greece's neutrality. That neutrality cannot be enforced militarily, though, and Britain and France land an expeditionary force which turns Salonika into a vast Allied base from which they can attack the Austrian forces in Serbia.

1916 - 1917

Venizelos returns to politics, forming a government at Salonika which Britain recognises as legitimate. The following year, King Constantine abdicates in favour of his son, and Venizelos is able to resume his post with popular support.

1917 - 1920

Alexander

Second son of Constantine I. Died after a freak accident.

Philip Mountbatten

Son of Andrew. m Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

1920 - 1922

Constantine I

Restored. Abdicated 17 Sept 1922. Died in exile 4 months later.

1920 - 1922

Continuing attempts to seize a large section of western Anatolia from the Ottoman empire, Venizelos prolongs a war that lasts for eight years. Turkish troops capture Smyrna on 10 September 1922, massacring the Greek population and ending the Greek-Turkish War. After having colonised western Turkey some three thousand years before, at the end of the Mycenaean period, all Greeks are expelled from Turkey, many of them having been Turkish in all but name for generations and not being able to speak Greek at all. Greece's population suddenly increases by about a million and-a-half, which brings with it problems of its own. The unpopular Constantine abdicates in favour of another of his sons.

1922 - 1924

George II

First son of Constantine I.

1924 - 1935

A failed coup in October 1923 results in the king being requested to leave the country by the Revolutionary Committee. He does so, and a republic is proclaimed on 25 March 1924 which abolishes the monarchy and confiscates its property. George moves first to Rumania, his wife's home, and then to Great Britain. In his absence, Greece remains unstable, with frequent changes of government (twenty-three) and thirteen coups. Finally, in 1935 a general seizes control and ends the republic, establishing the restoration of the monarchy.

1926

Theodoros Pangalos

Military officer. Led a coup, but overthrown by Kondylis.

1935

Georgios Kondylis

Military officer. Re-established the monarchy. Killed in 1936.

1935 - 1941

George II

Restored.

1940

George II and his prime minister have overseen the creation of a strongly fascist state which has links to Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. However, the king also has links to Great Britain, and when Italy demands to be allowed to station troops in Greece, he refuses. The resultant Greco-Italian War is a victory for Greece, with southern Albania also being occupied.

While the war against the Italians was a resounding success, German involvement brought a completely new level of warfare to Greece, one which it could not resist at first

1941 - 1944

Nazi Germany is forced to intervene thanks to the poor showing by its unreliable Italian ally, and the Greeks, aided by British Expeditionary troops, cannot match the firepower of the invaders. Greece is occupied. The king is evacuated first to Crete and, when that falls to Germany, to Egypt. From there he returns to Britain.

1944 - 1947

Following the German withdrawal in 1944, the Greek Civil War is triggered. It is fuelled partly by the poverty endured by the ex-Turkish Greeks and the grievances they have brought with them, and partly by tensions between Communists and their opponents. The Greek monarchy is only just about reinstated and George II sits on the throne for a third time.

1946 - 1947

George II

Restored.

1947 - 1964

Paul

Brother, and third son of Constantine I. Died in Athens.

1952

Greece becomes a member of NATO during its transition from political association to integrated military structure, a necessity made apparent by the perceived increase in threat level from Communist states during the Korean War.

1964 - 1973

Constantine II

Son. Became an exile in 1967. Deposed 1973.

Sophia

Sister. Married King Juan Carlos of Spain.

1967

Backed by the United States, the army leads a coup which establishes a dictatorship. Georgios Zoitakis, Georgios Papadopoulos, and Dimitrios Ioannides are all leading figures in the coup, but the latter prefers to take a back seat, becoming instead the chief of the military police. Constantine II tries to organise a counter-coup. When this fails he is forced to flee the country. The monarchy is abolished in 1973 by Georgios Papadopoulos, but the king continues to claim an hereditary title in Greece.

1967 - 1972

Georgios Zoitakis

Military officer. Regent.

1972 - 1973

Georgios Papadopoulos

Military officer. Regent (1972-1973). President (1973).

1973

The Athens Polytechnic uprising which shows popular support for ending the rule of the Greek military junta is brutally suppressed on 17 November. The levels of violence used to end the uprising send shockwaves through Greece. A counter-coup is organised against Papadopoulos and Dimitrios Ioannides becomes dictator.

1973 - 1974

Dimitrios Ioannides

Military officer. Began moves towards reintroducing democracy.

1974

Following a failed attempt to invade Cyprus and bring it under direct Greek rule (thereby prompting the Turkish invasion of eastern Cyprus), the dictatorship is quashed and a democratic Greek republic is declared.

Modern Greece
AD 1974 - Present Day

King Constantine II went into exile on 13 December 1967, with his constitutional role being taken by 'regents' (in effect dictators) who were appointed by the military junta in Greece. It wasn't until 1 June 1973 that the junta abolished the monarchy, replacing it with a republic headed by a president. Constantine has never officially abdicated his throne, but today he is allowed free access into and out of Greece.

The dictatorship established in his place made a failed attempt to conquer Cyprus by invading it in 1974. Not only did the invasion fail, it prompted the Turkish government to invade the eastern side of Cyprus. The fallout created by all this brought down the dictatorship and a democratic Greek republic was declared. Known as the Hellenic Republic, it was brought into being on 11 June 1975, following a referendum which confirmed the abolition of the monarchy. Modern Greece borders Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria to the north (which incorporates much, but not all, of ancient Thrace), while Turkey faces it across the Aegean Sea. The Ionian Islands and most of those in the Aegean are also part of the Greek state.

1974 - Present

Constantine II

Exile. Born 2 June 1940. Former king of Greece.

1981

Greece becomes a member of the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Community.

1999

On 7 September a massive earthquake, registering 6.0, strikes from a previously unknown geological fault at a point approximately seventeen kilometres north of Athens. It causes widespread structural damage and kills 143 people. Taking place less than a month after a similar earthquake in Turkey, the Turks supply aid and rescue teams, which contributes significantly to a thaw in relations between the two countries.

From the ruins of the 1999 earthquake came improved relations with neighbouring Turkey

Crown Prince Paul / Pavlos

Son and heir. Born 20 May 1967.