A tale of two cities: Thebes and Chalcis in a world of change (ninth to fifteenth centuries)

Abstract

Central Greece during the Byzantine era has often been summarily and perhaps simplistically considered by earlier historians as a primarily agrarian backwater, coming to forefront only. Chalcis gradually came under Venetian rule, and served as an international maritime colony. These divergent political conditions also gradually influenced the civic conditions and the urban fabric of both cities. Between the ninth and the twelfth centuries, the “special bond” between two cities was achieved through a matrix of economic, social, and political features, which can be traced down to the level of urban neighbourhoods. In both cities, similar patterns emerge on the basis of material culture and the concentration of activities. The establishment and continuous use of Byzantine neighbourhoods despite the deficiencies in our knowledge of their boundaries, organization, and exact size seem to represent a conscious choice on the part of the inhabitants. Defensive walls played a primary role, defining the walled area as primary and that outside the walls as secondary.