Arta is one of the top 3 or 4 modern cities in Greece with the most interesting Byzantine monuments. Among these monuments is its castle, a representative sample of Byzantine fortification architecture.

The castle received many modifications and repairs at different times. Today it is preserved in relatively good condition.

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History

The medieval fortification was built (or rebuilt) by the Byzantine rulers of Epirus in the 13th century, when Arta was the capital of the Despotate of Epirus. The city appears for the first time in historical sources as “Arta” in the 11th century, while it seems that it had a relatively rapid growth in the 12th century.
There was probably an early wall that protected the city before the construction of the castle in the 13th century, but that first fortification must have been simply additions and repairs to the wall of the ancient city, since the great city of Amvrakia existed in the place where Arta is today.

Antiquity

Ancient Amvrakia was founded by Gorgos, son of the tyrant of Corinth Kypselos, around 625 BC. Its location is described by ancient writers: built on the northern side of the Perranthi hill, on the banks of the river Arachthos and at a distance of 80 stadia (16 km.) from the sea.
The best period of the ancient city was during the early Hellenistic era, when the king of Epirus Pyrrhus made it the capital of his kingdom in 295 BC. The result of this change was that Amvrakia experienced a long period of growth and prosperity, which lasted until the Roman conquest.

Amvrakia suffered a first great destruction by the Romans in 189 BC, when in the war between the Aetolian League and Rome it was plundered by the consul Marcus Fulvius who seized whatever statues and works of art he found in Amvracia and brought them to Rome. Among them was a painting depicting the Muses, created by the famous painter Zeuxis. The spoils of Fulvius made a deep impression on Rome and thus began the fashion of seizing the works of Ancient Greece by the Romans. Also, with Fulvius was his protégé, the poet Ennius, who composed a work on the subject of the conquest of Amvracia (the Romans were obsessed with Amvracia, because of their old great enemy, Pyrrhus).

In 167 BC when the general Emilius Paulus occupied Epirus for Rome, the city was plundered and its walls were torn down, as happened to 70 other cities of Epirus.
From 146 BC it belonged to the Roman province Epirus Vetus (Old Epirus).

The decline of Amvracia accelerated after the founding of Nicopolis around 29 BC. by Octavian. Then, the inhabitants from the cities of Epirus, and especially from Amvrakia, were forced to move to the newly founded city.
However, Amvrakia was not completely abandoned then. There are archaeological finds that show that it was inhabited until the 4th AD. century. From the 5th century, however, and for the following dark centuries, no trace of habitation has been found. It seems that the various raiders of the 5th century (Visigoths, Huns, Vandals), but also of the following centuries (Avars, Slavs, etc.) completed the ravage.
In this way the glorious ancient city of Amvrakia ceased to exist.

Late-Middle Byzantine Period

Arta is mentioned for the first time by the sources in 1082. Specifically, it is mentioned by the Norman historian Goffredo Malaterra in the description of a painful defeat of the emperor Alexius I Comnenus by the Normans under Bohemund (later prince of Antioch). Strangely, neither the Alexiada of Anna Komneni nor the Gesta Roberti Wiscardi of William of Apulia (which recount the events of the Norman invasion in the period 1081-1085) mention Arta by name, even though they describe the battle. The lack of any mention in these important texts, at a time of many events in the region, is an indication that Arta was still far from being a place worth mentioning.
The origin of the new name is not certain. It is most likely that it arose from a corruption of the unpronounceable name Arachteia that was used for the area. Other hypotheses are that it comes from the Latin artus (= limp) or from the word αρτος (=bread, because of the fertility of the soil and the rich production of grain) or from the Slavic arda meaning swamp.

The next mention of Arta is found in Venetian documents of 1131. Arta began to develop rapidly in the 12th century, favored by trade with the West and especially with Venice and Ragusa (Dubrovnik). Thanks to its two ports (Salaora and Kopraina) and the good communication with the inland, Arta became the western gate of Byzantium for the Italian maritime republics. Also, it may have been “favored” by another 10-year war with the Normans, who invaded again in 1147. At that time, important cities in Greece suffered great destruction (e.g. Athens, Thebes) and it seems that this created opportunities for the emergence of some hitherto unknown cities, such as Arta.
In 1156, Arta is mentioned for the first time as the seat of a diocese under the Nafpaktos Metropolis.
A chrysovoulon of 1198 records the provinces into which the Thema of Nicopolis is divided and one of them is Episkepsis of Arta. In fact, Arta is mentioned as the seat of the Thema (=province), replacing Nafpaktos (Nicopolis itself had declined and deserted long ago).
As a Thema seat, Arta certainly had some sort of fortification since then.

Late Byzantine Period

After the fall of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins of the Fourth Crusade, Epirus was assigned according to the Partitio Terrarum to Venice. But the Venetians were slow to take control and were overtaken by Michael Angelos (first cousin of the deposed emperor Alexius III) who was invited by the nobles of Arta and became ruler of the region. Very soon he expanded throughout western Greece, from Nafpaktos to Durres in Albania. Arta became a refuge for many Greeks who wanted to escape from the Frankish conquerors.

This was the beginning of the Despotate of Epirus founded by the despot Michael A' Angelos Komnenos Doukas in 1204. Arta was the capital of the Despotate.

Michael I ruled until his assassination in 1215. After a series of events, he was succeeded in 1230 by his son Michael II Angelos Komnenos Doukas (1230-1268), who was confined to a much smaller dominion than his father.
It is believed that Michael II is the one who built the castle of Arta.
A part of the walls of ancient Ambrakia was incorporated into the late Byzantine castle, but it must be pointed out that the ancient walls protected a much larger area than the Byzantine ones (parts of the ancient wall are also preserved outside the castle).

In the French version of the Chronicle of Morea, the castle is mentioned as "noble" (which means that it was a notable castle, but inferior to the Ioannina castle which is labeled "noble" and "royal").

After the battle of Pelagonia in 1259 in which Michael II and his Frankish allies were defeated by the Byzantines of Nicaea, the Nikiotes attacked Arta and occupied it, while Michael II had taken refuge in the Ionian Islands. The Byzantines treated the population with cruelty. This caused the hatred of the locals and facilitated the successful intervention of the son of Michael II, John Komnenos Doukas who soon liberated the city. (John after his father's death became ruler of Thessaly/Great Wallachia.)

The castle of Arta is not very large (for an importan city). For this reason it is certain that during the 13th century most of the city was outside the castle. This is also inferred from the number of churches of that time that are outside the castle (e.g. Panagia Parigoritissa which began to be built in 1285).
The outer city must not have had any fortification. When the decline of the despotate began in the 14th century and external threats intensified, the castle became densely populated.

In the center of the castle, the ruins of a large building with Byzantine masonry are preserved. The building may have been the Palace of the despots and a center of administration. But it is equally possible that the palace was located outside the castle in the 13th century. Inside the castle must have been the mint of the despotate, which is known to have operated in Arta at least until the end of the Orsini era, in 1338.

The dynasty of the Angeli-Komninoi-Doukes reigned in the Despotate for 114 years. In 1318, the count of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Niccolo Orsini murdered in Arta his cousin and last of the Greek despots Thomas I, and the Despotate (without Ioannina) passed to the Orsini family, who were Italians, subject to the king of Naples, but were gradually hellenized. In order to be accepted by their Greeek subjects, Niccolo Orsini and his successors became Orthodox.

The Orsini era was relatively short, it lasted until 1338, when Epirus was conquered by the forces of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos.

In 1348 the Serbian ruler Stefanos Dusan, who had already conquered many lands in Northern Greece, conquered Epirus as well. Dusan's half-brother, Simeon Uresis (Uros) was appointed despot and settled in Arta.
In 1355 Stefanos Dusan died and his kingdom was fragmented. Simeon Uresis attempted to claim the Serbian throne and made an ill-advised campaign in Serbia.

The absence of Simeon Uresis gave the deposed despot Nikiforos II Orsini the opportunity to return to Arta in 1356 and take over the despotate for a while.

At that time, Epirus was facing serious problems with various Albanian tribes that had invaded and raided. In 1359 Nikiforos Orsini was killed in a battle in Acheloos against the Albanians. Thus the Albanian warlords prevailed in the region and given the decline of Byzantium and the reluctance of Simeon Uresis to get involved, they created in 1260 two despotates of their own: One based in Angelokastro (Aitoloakarnania) and the other based in Arta, with Petros Liosa as ruler, who was succeeded in 1374 by Ginis Buas Spata (despot until 1399). The rule of the Albanians in Arta (who were orthodox and presented themselves as Roman lords) would last 56 years.

In 1416, Carolo I Tocco , Count Palatine of Kefallinia and Zakynthos, who had taken power in Ioannina at the invitation of the inhabitants, defeated the Albanians and put an end to their rule in Arta. Tocco took the expanded title “Despot of Arta and Ioannina”. In this new form of the Despotate of Epirus, the city of Ioannina rather than Arta was the capital.
In 1430 the successor of Carolo I, Carolo II Tocco was forced to become a vassal of the Turkish sultan. The agreement he made with the Turks was that he would surrender Ioannina, remain only with Arta and pay 500 ducats annually to the sultan. Thus the once mighty despotate manged to survive a little longer as subordinate to the Turks and with Arta as its capital again.

In 1436, the Italian traveler Ciriaco di Ancona passed through Arta and was impressed by the walls of the city, which he reports as "Arachtheia".

In 1449, Carolo II Tocco died, while his son Leonardo III was a hostage in Thessaloniki. Arta was left without a head and when a large Turkish expeditionary force landed in Preveza with the aim of conquering Epirus, the city surrendered (March 24, 1449). This was the official end of the Despotate of Epirus and the beginning of the Turkish rule for Arta.
The Turks called Arta "Narda".

After the Middle Ages

The Turks made serious repair works in the castle and added some towers. The tower of the inner citadel (the "goula") was used as a prison during the Turkish occupation.
Arta passed in 1788 to the jurisdiction of Ali Pasha, during whose days important additions were made to the castle, and among others the massive southwestern polygonal bastion behind the clock.

In 1697 the Maniot Liberakis Gerakaris, pirate, bey of Mani and opportunistic ally of the Venetians in the Sixth Venetian-Turkish War, captured Arta and looted it.

In 1820, the Greek fighter Makrygiannis was imprisoned for a few months in the castle of Arta. In the revolution of 1821, the Greeks led by Karaiskakis, Markos Botsaris and others captured the city on November 17, 1821, but were unable to hold it.
Arta was finally liberated in 1881.

The old Turkish prisons in the goula of the castle continued to be used as prisons by the Greek State as well. At some point, a new building was built in the middle of the castle to house the prison.

In 1958, the prison building inside the castle was demolished and a “Xenia” Hotel was built in its place (now abandoned since 1992).

In the period 2011-2015, restoration and reconstruction works were carried out on the castle. As part of the project, stone-paved paths were created for the visitors.

Every summer the Castle of Arta hosts various cultural events.

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Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The castle has a trapezoidal shape with a perimeter of 790 m and an area of 37,000 sq.m. The walls are preserved all around the perimeter. The upper part of the walls is crowned by battlements, behind which there is the parapet (photos 16, 15, 14) for the movement of the defenders.

Sections of the walls on the north and east side are built on the walls of ancient Amvrakia. The ancient remains are distinguishable as they consist of large boulders.

The fortification is strengthened by 18 towers placed every 25 meters or so. The eastern side of the castle has no towers except at the corners. The towers are of various shapes and represent the various times that the castle received repairs. Of all the towers, the rectangular and semicircular ones date back to the Byzantine era. The triangular and polygonal ones belong to a newer period and more specifically to the end of the 17th century or at the beginning of the 18th century. As mentioned, the large SW bastion is probably from the time of Ali Pasha, when many repairs and constructions of castles were done in Epirus.

There are two gates: The central one (photos 5, 7, 8) is on the southwest side and there is a small gate (photos 21, 24) on the north side.

The thickness of the wall is 2.50 meters. The masonry is simple, with irregular small stones and interspersed plinths, invisible on most of the wall because they were covered by mortar later.

The Citadel

The keep of the castle of Arta (photos 2, 3, 4), known as Uts Kale or Kastraki or Goulas was the last refuge of the defenders. It is located on the southwest side of the Castle and has the peculiar characteristic of not being at the highest point, as is the case with other castles.
Its entrance (photos 8, 9) is to the left of the central gate and leads to an inner tower.
The buildings inside the keep, although they have received many repairs and modifications, probably date back to the Byzantine period in their first phase.

Above the entrance to the largest building is a marble slab with a representation of a lion. Perhaps it is from a church that existed inside the castle.

Southwest, near the large bastion, there is a rectangular well mouth with a relief coat of arms attributed to the house of the Orsini.
Today inside the keep there is an outdoor theater of the municipality where cultural events are held. Otherwise the area of the citadel is usually closed.

The South Side

On the south side (photos 6, 1, 13) there is the central gate, from where the castle is accessible from the city of Arta. The total length of this side is about 247m. and includes 6 towers: 2 circular 2 triangular, 1 square and 1 pseudo-tower. A large part of this side was protected by a 5m-high external wall.
Today a part of this external fortification is preserved (photo 12) outside the keep.
Three main building phases can be observed: the Middle Byzantine period in the lower part of the wall, the Late Byzantine period which also includes the external wall and, in places, the Ottoman period.

The West Side

The western side (photo 27) of the Castle of Arta is preserved at a height ranging from 8.3m up to 11.0m.
Extends to a length of 178m. roughly between the rectangular tower and the large polygonal bastion. Unlike other sides of the fortification, no parts of the wall of ancient Amvrakia are preserved here.
It includes 6 towers of different dimensions and typology (rectangular, semicircular, polygonal, triangular). Internally, the wall runs along its entire length.
The western side was the only side that was protected by a moat according to Evliia Tselepi (17th century). The moat is not preserved today.

The Eastern Side

The eastern side of the castle (photo 25) is visible from the city's ring road, while a large part of it is parallel to it. It extends for a length of about 200m and has a maximum height of 11.5m. On this side there are two small breaks as the wall follows the curved relief of the ground.
The eastern side had natural protection from the river Arachthos which reached the roots of the hill.
Due to the existence of the ancient walls and due to the proximity to Arachthos, the Byzantine fortification of the eastern side is not particularly well-built. At its two ends it is defined by two towers with a rectangular plan and a semicircular one (17, 18), which is based on the foundations of an ancient tower.
On the eastern side there are also remains of an external wall.

The North Side

The northern side (photos 21, 33) extends 170m in length, with a maximum height of 9.5m, and includes 4 towers: 3 semicircular and one triangular. Here there was a small gate leading to the river Arachthos. This side includes parts of the wall of ancient Amvrakia.

Byzantine building

In the center of the castle, next to the abandoned Xenia, are the ruins of a building measuring approximately 40✖8m (photos 28, 29, 30). It is a rectangular building with many openings (so it was not a tower) which is estimated to have been built during the late Byzantine era, as its masonry is typical of that period.
The excavation research did not provide evidence regarding its use.
Inside the Castle there were many more buildings of which almost nothing survives.

The imposing clock tower in front of the castle was built in the last years of the Turkish occupation (1875) with care, so that it seems like a natural extension of the wall.

Το Κάστρο της Άρτας ΑΝΩΘΕΝ - Aerial Video by drone Dji Phantom 4 (Άγγελος Αρναουτέλης)

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First entry in Kastrologos:	April 2012
Last update of info and text:	May 2023
Last addition of photo/video:	February 2024

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Sources