Royal Exile in Proti (Kınalıada), 1072, June 29
After meeting Alparslan at Manzikert (1071) and having been defeated, on Romenes Diogenes IV's return to Constantinople a fight for the throne erupted. He had been defeated a second time in his capital this time. Defeat brought punishment of blinding by cauterization and exile to the nearest island to Constantinople. This rusty looking island was called Proti (First). Later the Turks called it Kınalıada (Henna Island) referring to its color.
It must be an interesting feeling. You are exiled but you can see home from the beach. I wonder if it mitigates the pain or on the contrary, enhances it
ReplyDeleteThat's a very nice question in fact and one hard to answer. Answering the question within the context of modern times must be different compared to back then. At those times the island must have been seen as still something remote even though you can see where you had lived before. Today the island is in so our daily reach it may not have the exile effect it had back then. Today it can more serve as a prison if you are kept on that island.
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