Geographical & Historical Outline of Samothrace
Samothrace lies in the north-east Aegean opposite the coast of Thrace, 29 nautical miles from Alexandroupolis on Thrace.
The terrain is mountainous, the highest peak being Fengari (1448 meters) and richly wooded.
The island has an area of 178 square kilometers and 58 kilometers of coastline.
Administratively, Samothrace is a province of the prefecture of Evros.
Geographical & Historical Outline of Samothrace
The island has been inhabited since the Late Bronze Age, and the earliest inhabitants were Karians, followed later by Thracians.
It was called Saos, Lefkania, Saonisos, Dardania and Melite.
It was captured by the Persians and later became a member of the Athenian Confederacy.
After the Peloponnesian War it was captured by the Spartans.
Later it was subject to the Macedonians and the Romans.
The Romans declared it independent, as being sacred territory, on account of the Kabeirian mysteries.
In the Middle Ages and the Byzantine period the island fell into decline and suffered from pirate raids.
In 1430, it passed into the control of the Genoese, who fortified it, and in 1457, fell into the hands of the Turks.
It was united with Greece in 1912.
