“Venetian Reaya”
Greek Orthodox Zantiots in Cyprus in the Eighteenth Century
Abstract
Abstract This paper aims to study the ‘Zantiots’, Greek Orthodox Venetian subjects from the Ionian Islands, who settled in the port of Larnaca around the middle of the eighteenth century. Based on Italian, Greek and Ottoman sources from the State Archives of Venice, it explores the ways in which this group formed a distinct identity, straddling the limits between the reaya and the protégés. The paper also discusses other topics, such as Venetian and Ottoman perceptions of the Zantiots as a troublesome community, their assimilation into local society, as well as their role as social and cultural intermediaries.
Presentato: 23 Gennaio 2025 | Accettato: 17 Febbraio 2025 | Pubblicato 24 Luglio 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Intermediaries • Ottoman Empire • Venetian Consuls • Ionian Islands • Cyprus • Levantines • Larnaca • Zantiots
Copyright © 2025 Theoharis Stavrides. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-917-7/005