It is one of the few cases in Greece that there are many road signs leading to the castle, but when you reach the location there is nothing much to see (usually the opposite is true: no signs to an unexpectedly interesting castle).

The castle is there but the thick vegetation prevents the observation. Only a few scattered towers and walls are visible.

History

Xanthia is first mentioned by Strabo in the 1st century AD. However, maybe that place was not exactly where the castle and the town were developed later.

The first medieval mention of Xanthia is from 879 when bishop Georgios participated in the Synod of Constantinople. Much later, a document of 1083 describes Xanthia as a village. This means that it was neither important nor fortified.

More than a century later, it seems that Xanthia grew considerably and got a castle. We know this from the Byzantine historian historian Choniatis who narrates that in 1199 the Bulgarian usurper Ivanco had captured towns and fortress in Thrace, between Mosynopolis and Xanthia. Another Bulgarian ruler, Kaloyan of Skylogiannis, in 1206, fighting against the Latin conquerors of Byzantium, destroyed many forts in Thrace. We do not know if Xanthia was damaged then, but Mosynopolis, the most important medieval city of western Thrace, was completely destroyed and this triggered the elevating of other fortresses nearby like Xanthi and Komotini. In 1224, it was one of the towns liberated by the Despot of Epirus Theodore and in 1242 was retaken by the Byzantine emperor Ioannis Vatatzes.

There are several references to Xanthia from the sources of the 14th century, when the town was at the center of the region where the Byzantine civil wars of that era took place. In 1344-1345, Xanthia was the capital of a short-lived independent principality created by the Bulgarian robber, mercenary and adventurer Momcilo. Momcilo tried to play both parts of the civil war but he was defeated by Kantakouzenos and was killed in 1345. In 1347, after the end of the civil war, emperor Ioannis VI Kantakouzenos appointed his son Matthew governor of western Thrace including Xanthia. This lasted until 1355, when the fortresses of Thrace were surrendered to the emperor Ioannis V Paleologus (rival of Kantakouzenos). Between 1368 and 1371 the town was under the rule of the Serb Despot of Serres Jovan Ugleša who was killed in the battle of Maritsa against the Ottomans (1371).

Xanthia was captured by the Ottomans probably in 1373. Apparently, the castle was not used by the Turks and was deserted since Greeks were not allowed in fortified places.

Sources