Apaliros Castle #1033

Description

The city was founded before the seventh century, based on the abundance of pottery remnants and coins that had been discovered , even though there is no written history of its establishment. The fortification's construction is most likely to have begun somewhat later, perhaps in the early years of Emperor Leo III's rule (717–741).

Situated at the base of Apaliros Hill, the fortress served as the Byzantine capital's acropolis during that era.
In 1207, following the collapse of Byzantium and the 4th Crusade, the Venetian Marco Sanudo besieged Apaliros for 40 days. The final stronghold held by the Greeks on Naxos, the castle's collapse signaled the start of the Venetians' protracted rule of Naxos and the rest of the Cyclades until the Ottomans arrived in 1537.

To be nearer to the sea, Sanudo chose to construct his fortress at Chora. Thus, Apaliros was ignored and eventually left behind. In order to stop other pirates or maybe the Byzantines from utilizing the castle as a bastion against the Venetians, one account claims that Sanudo burned the fortress right away after capturing it.