New Masters in Greece — Monemvasia under Turkish Rule (1540 — 1690)

On October 2, 1540, the city and fortress of Monemvasia surrendered to the Turks; thus began a new epoch in the city's changeable history. The Venetian podestà and garrison departed, taking their cannons and church bells with them.
The population of Monemvasia now had to make a very serious decision; as a result of the peace treaty, the residents could choose either to withdraw with the Venetians or to remain and become subjects of the Turkish sultans.

Numerous families,including some of the oldest aristocrats, decided to leave their home, and to resettle on Crete, Corfu, or on other Venetian possessions. This explains how the famous icon of the Blessed Virgin was moved from Monemvasia to Zacynthus, off of the west coast of Greece. Many of these emigrants, however, did not stay away from their home for long, preferring to return, even if it meant living under Turkish rule. The rocky fortress now underwent another name change; the Byzantine "Monemvasia" had become the Venetian "Napoli di Malvasia;" this now became the Turkish "Menefsche" or "Meneksche," that is, the "violet city." The countless cyclames that cover the plateau in late summer, and the colour of the cliffs in the late afternoon when the sun is setting both explain this poetic name.

The period of Turkish hegemony provides only scanty evidence for the history of Monemvasia. This, however, does not mean that during this time the city's history was uneventful or insignificant, as many Grecophile western historians assume. Rather, the Turkish sources and accounts are simply much less accessible to western writers than Italian or Greek documents. Various inscriptions record that the first period of Turkish hegemony saw residents in Monemvasia who were known for their cultural and scholarly significance, for example, the inventor Mohammed Ben Gassan, who lived and worked in Monemvasia in the year 1602. The rocky fortress also lost none of its strategic importance, as is evident from the fact that the Knights of St. John, led by their grand master, La Valetta, made a valiant attempt in 1554 to regain control of Monemvasia. However, like so many previous assailants, the Knights Hospitaler had to withdraw without achieving their goal. It is interesting to note that the populace apparently made not attempt to ally with the Christian "liberators". Apparently the residents of Monemvasia had become accustomed to their Turkish lords, who were tolerant in religious matters, and whose taxation, at least at this time, was not too oppressive. The unpleasant memory of the brief papal sovereignty may also have kept the city from supporting this Roman Catholic order.

During the next century there were repeated attempts to reconquer Monemvasia. Venetian ships and troops appeared before the city in 1653, 1654, 1655 and 1687. The assailants were always repulsed, sometimes by the residents of Monemvasia alone, without Turkish support. One must assume that the local populace did not have much sympathy for the former Venetian masters. The continual sieges and the destruction which they caused, together with the attempts to starve out the defenders, certainly did not help to create a friendly attitude toward the Venetians.

Pen-and-ink drawing by Vasieur for Grimani, 1701