Neolithic

The earliest traces of human presence on the island of Karpathos date back to the end of the Neolithic Period (4,000-3,000 BC).

The first inhabitants seem to have come from Asia Minor and were related to the Pre-Hellenic peoples who lived in Crete and the other Greek islands (Kareš etc.).

The primitive Neolithic Culture of Karpathos continues and  in the 3rd millennium BC, but around 2,000, Minoan settlers from Crete brought new life and economic flourishing to the island.

New Palace Period

During the Neo-Palatial Period of Crete (around 1700-1450 BC), which is also known as the “Era of the Minoan Thalassocracy and Minoan Colonization”, Karpathos appears to have a purely Minoan character, is populous and developed economically and culturally.

The historian Diodorus Siculus mentions as the first inhabitants of Karpathos the Cretans, who were sent as settlers by King Minos, during the time of his thalassocracy.

Later, Argives (apparently Mycenaean) colonists followed, led by Ioklos, son of Demoleon.

Homeric years

Both Homer and the archeological evidence confirm the presence of the Achaeans (Greek Mycenaeans) on the island, although the Minoan character of its civilization continues until the end of the Bronze Age.

In the Trojan campaign, Karpathos takes part, under the command of Heraclides Phidipus and Antiphus.

Archaic Period

There is no evidence of the fate of the island from the end of the Bronze Age to the Archaic Period.

The Doric population seems to dominate the island at the time, and the four cities that Strabo alludes to may have existed since the Archaic Period, if not before.

Pigadia was in Antiquity, as until recently, the seaport of the city of Karpathos (today Aperiou) and was called Posidion.

The other three cities were Arceia, near present-day Arkasa, Vrykous (present-day Vroukounta, in the NW of Karpathos) and Nisyros, which may have been located in present-day Palaces of Sharia.

Sharia was, in ancient times, independent from Karpathos and was called Saros.

After 478 BC, Karpathos became a member of the First Athenian Alliance,  as shown by the taxes paid by its cities to the Allied Fund.

In 404, at the end of the Peloponnesian War, he submitted to the Spartans, but after the battle of Kindos (394 BC) he returned to the Athenians and later became a member of the Second Athenian League.

Classical–Hellenistic period

In the Classical and Hellenistic Period, Karpathos is presented economically vibrant and culturally flourishing. This is probably due, in large part, to the cultural and economic relations that it develops with the cities of Rhodes, mainly with Lindos.  Much of the island, if not the whole, was part of the Rhodian or, more specifically, of the Lindian state.

The main town of the island was probably Karpathos, which was probably located in today’s Aperi.

This village seems to have continued to be the capital of Karpathos in later years.

Roman period

With its submission to the Romans, Karpathos acquires great strategic importance, since it is one of the three major Roman naval bases in the Mediterranean.

This position will be retained later, under the Byzantine Empire: The sources mention characteristically that the ships of the naval base of Karpathos lead Nikiforos Fokas to Crete in 961 AD.

During the reign of Diocletian (284-305 AD), it was included in the “Province of the Islands” (ProvinciaInsularum) and during the reign of Heraklion (610-641) on the subject of Crete.

Pirates

It follows about three centuries (mid 7th to mid 10th AD) of decline and desolation.

Pirates from North Africa and Asia are spreading terror and destruction in the abandoned coastal settlements. The place of the latter is taken by the medieval mountain villages that are preserved until today.

Between 1204 and 1312, Karpathos became the subject of rivalries between the Byzantines, Genoans, Knights of St. John and Venetians, who claimed it, each on his behalf.

The latter, with Andrea Cornaro, eventually prevailed and remained lords of Karpathos and Kasos until 1538, when Hayreddin Barbarossa seizes the islands on behalf of the Turks.

Ottoman Greece – Ottoman domination

During the Ottoman domination, Aperi continues to be the Capital until 1892, when its place was taken by the present day Pigadia.

 In 1821, Karpathos revolts and takes part in the struggle for independence.

With the end of the Revolution, however, it remains, along with the other Dodecanese, part of the Ottoman Empire, since for about ten years he fought for freedom and breathed the air of independence.

In 1912, the Turkish occupation was succeeded by the Italian.

In 1944, the Carpathians revolted against the Italians and called the English allies who occupied the island.

In March 1948, Karpathos, along with the rest of the Dodecanese, was incorporated into Greece.