Thessaly
Thessaly (Θεσσαλία; modern Greek
ThessalÃa; see also
List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13
peripheries of
Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4
prefectures. The capital of the periphery is
Larissa. The prefecture lies in central Greece and borders
Macedonia on the north,
Epirus on the west,
Sterea Hellas or
Central Greece on the south and the
Aegean Sea on the east.
Its geography consists of a ring of mountains surrounding a central plain:
Trikala and
Larissa lowlands. It has a distinct summer and winter season, with summer rains augmenting the fertility of the plains. This has led to Thessaly occasionally being called the
breadbasket of Greece.
The region is well delineated by topographical boundaries. The
Khásia and
Cambunian mountains lie to the north, the
Olympus massif to the northeast. To the west lies the
Pindus mountain range, to the southeast the coastal ranges of
Ã"ssa and
Pelion.
Several tributaries of the
Pineios river flow through the region.
There are a number of highways and the main railway from
Athens to
Thessaloniki (Salonika) crosses Thessaly.
Main article: History of Thessaly
.
Thessaly was home to an extensive
Neolithic culture around
2500 BC.
Mycenaean settlements have also been discovered, for example at the sites of
Iolcos,
Dimini and
Sesklo (near
Volos). Later, in
ancient Greek times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, such as the Aleuads of Larissa or the Scopads of Crannon. These baronial families organized a federation across the Thessaly region, later went on to control the
Amphictyonic League in northern Greece. The
Thessalians were renowned for their cavalry.
During the
Greco-Persian Wars the Aleuads joined the Persians. In the
4th century BC Thessaly became dependent on
Macedon and many served as vassals. In
148 BC the Romans formally incorporated Thessaly into the province of
Macedonia, but in AD
300 Thessaly was made a separate province with its capital at Larissa. It remained as a part of the east
Roman empire until the 13th century, when large portions of it were controlled by Vlach herdsmen (see
Great Walachia).
In the aftermath of the
Fourth Crusade Thessaly fell under the control of the
Kingdom of Thessalonica, but in
1215 it was coquered by
Theodore Komnenos Doukas and became one of the independent territories governed by that family. The dynasty ended in
1318 and was followed by a period of Byzantine and Serbian domination. After another period of independence, Thessaly was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire in
1394. In
1881 the Ottoman Empire ceded most of Thessaly to Greece.
Thessaly is divided into 4 prefectures:
*
Karditsa*
Larissa*
Magnesia*
Trikala
