The fortifications of Ano Syros and the pirate invasions

                                                                                                                                                        

Ever since the Byzantine period, the Aegean Archipelagos was the scene of action for pirates of every description and nationality who contributed to the islands’ depopulation. Piracy was significantly reduced during the first two years of Frankish supremacy, thanks to the powerful fleets of the Franks and the Venetians. With the decline, however, of the small island hegemonies, piracy expanded throughout the Aegean to the point where the Dukes of Naxos imposed a special tax at the expense of the islanders, the so-called Turkish-tax (‘tourkoteli’), which the Duke of Naxos paid to the Turks and Algerian pirates  so that they would not harass the island. The danger of pirate invasion was the major reason that all the settlements both before and during Frankish rule, were built at points distant from the sea and with the proper elevation.

 

So, too, the township of Syra was built on the hill overseeing the ancient city, with fortifications built which encircled the settlement and which were maintained during the years of the Ottoman Occupation. Those fortifications, called ‘mouragio’, were repaired in the middle of the 18^th century and they had eight gates: 1) The Shore Gate (‘Porta tou Yalou’) leading down to the harbour 2) at the locality Vornas, to the city’s north 3) at the locality of Vourgo or Bourgo 4) at the locality of Portara 5) at Katifora 6) at Alonia 7) at Seferli and at Persino. The gates remained open during the day and were closed at night-time with the exception of the Shore Gate, which remained open until nine in the evening. At that time, the ‘castellano’ (commander) of the community announced with a particular signal, the closing of the gate. Thus, when there was imminent risk of a pirate invasion, the particular signal was sounded, the gates were closed and those of the inhabitants who were able, took up arms to fend off the enemy. Outside the gates, the islanders also used another system to notify each other about the sighting of pirates, the so-called friktories or vigles. This was the burning of dry leaves at appointed places on the island so that neighbouring islands were able to see the flames at night and the smoke in the daytime. When those appointed to man the fires (the viglatori) saw a pirate ship approaching, or were notified by the viglatori of a nearby island, they immediately notified the Overseer (Epitropos) who took all possible precaution. During the Ottoman Occupation, the pirates were Franks and Muslims. The Frankish pirates, as a rule, treated the Syrians with clemency and merely obtained food provisions or arrested Turks who were on the island. The pursuit of mainly Turks was not merely due to the difference in religious creed but also, to the belief that the arrest of a high-standing Turk, a ‘kadi’ or an ‘aga’, was likely to incur a handsome ransom, in contrast to that of a poor Syriot. Despite this, the Syriots were oftentimes obliged to put up themselves the ransom for the Turks arrested by the pirates. Certainly, the sums involved were neither negligible nor easy for a poor community to put together, though the Syriots preferred this added burden, to the risk of exile with which they were faced in older times. Due to its geographic location, the port of Syra was in the way of ships heading for the big Eastern ports and was frequently used as a stopover for a variety of vessels headed for the Bosporus Straits. This fact was known to the pirates who entered the port in order to loot the docked ships. Many such cases are described in the Comunal Archives of Syros. In addition, the Abbot Della Rocca (Traité complet sur les abeilles …t. 1) narrates many such incidents were the Syrians faced pirate attacks.

       (in Andreas Drakakis, Syros during the Turkish Occupation, t. 1, p.89-100)