North Aegean islands

Shipping, trade, economy, culture and social interactions developed in the archipelago and surrounding areas on the basis of communication and contact between the inhabitants.

The growth of settlements such as Poliochnis in Lemnos, Emporiou in Chios and Heraion of Samos, amongst others, are evidence of the importance of these centers at this time.

[citation needed] In the late 12th and early 11th centuries BC, a time when vast numbers of the people moved to Greece, the Aeolians arrived in Lesbos.

After the conquest of Constantinople by the Franks in 1204, the islands found themselves shared amongst the Venetians, Genoese and "Frankish" princes (Frankokratia).

The inhabitants of the islands were actively involved in the Greek War of Independence, and the emergence of leaders in the struggle, such as Lykourgos Logothetis, Konstantinos Kanaris and Dimitrios Papanikolis, brought about reprisals from the Turkish authorities.

[citation needed] It was not until 1912, when the islands of the north Aegean were finally incorporated into the Greek state, during the First Balkan War.