Post-Byzantine Privileged Legal Regime During Turkish Dominance: The Paradigm of the ‘Non Spear-Fallen’ (mē doryalōtē) Island of Thassos
Post-Byzantine Privileged Legal Regime During Turkish Dominance: The Paradigm of the ‘Non Spear-Fallen’ (mē doryalōtē) Island of Thassos

Summary/Abstract: This study explores the legal and administrative status of the island of Thassos under Ottoman rule, focusing on its unique designation as a “non spear-fallen” (mē doryalōtē) community – i.e., one that surrendered peacefully rather than through military conquest. This designation served as the legal basis for a distinctive regime of local autonomy, characterized by exemptions from taxation, administrative oversight, and judicial subordination. Unlike most regions in the Greek world, Thassos maintained a notable degree of self-governance throughout the Ottoman period. Drawing on historical sources and archival documents, this study highlights the broader legal and political implications of Thassos’s privileged status. It argues that the island’s post-Byzantine privileges represent a form of proto-constitutional localism and offer valuable insight into the premodern roots of modern Greek legal and administrative structures.

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