1. The Greek and the Biblical chronology

14.3. The mediaeval Navarrans as the “ancient” Spartans. The mediaeval Catalan state in Athens as the “ancient” Athenian state

78a. The military state of the Navarrans in the XIV century a.d. The Navarrans are known in the history of mediaeval Greece as “a gang of warlike daredevils” ([195], page 265). Moreover, they had founded a military state in Elis ([195], page 274). Mediaeval chroniclers often emphasize the outstanding military skills of the Navarrans. Apparently, certain “ancient sources” had called them Spartans.

78b. “Ancient” Greece. The famous Sparta as a military state. Sparta had been a member of the Peloponnesian Union – a military state with a very special militarized lifestyle. We know Spartans as a belligerent people; their military skills and professional army organization are also of great renown.

Commentary. Thus, according to the “ancient” version, two main forces collided in the Peloponnesian War: the military state of Sparta and the more democratic Athens, whereas the mediaeval duplicate tells us of the Navarrans with their military state opposing the Athenian state of the Catalans.

79a. The war was devastating; we learn the following about it: “all the resources of the Duchy became completely depleted. Attica and Beotia had been devastated to such an extent that the king ordered the Greeks and the Albanians to settle there” ([195], page 274).

79b. “Ancient” Greece. The brutality of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides often refers to the Peloponnesian War as a completely devastating one ([923; see also [258], page 280 ff.)

14.4. The mediaeval Nerio as the “ancient” Lysander. The end of the Peloponnesian War

80a. Nerio Acciaiuoli in the XIV century a.d. Nerio Acciaiuoli a key figure of the Navarran-Corinthian Union in the war of the XIV century a.d., especially its final phase. Nerio is a very felicitous commander, and also a skilled diplomat. We can confidently consider him the absolute protagonist of the war ([195], page 280). The war ends when Nerio leads the Navarran troops to Athens and captures the city ([195], p. 280).

80b. Lysander in the “ancient” Greece. Lysander, the Spartan navarch, gains prominence in the Peloponnesian Union by the end of the Peloponnesian War ([258], page 338). A fortunate and innovative military commander as well as an outstanding diplomat, he strives for absolute monocracy. He brings the war to an end when he destroys the Athenian state ([258], pages 342-343).

81a. Nerio as the winner of the XIV century war. The sequence of events had been as follows: the Navarran troops have held Athens under siege for several months. After several months of being under siege, Athens capitulate; in 1387 a.d. Nerio enters the conquered city. The Catalan state in Athens ceases to exist ([195], page 280).

81b. “Ancient” Greece. Lysander the victor. Lysander wins the Peloponnesian War. The war ended as follows: the Peloponnesians, most of them Spartans, had surrounded Athens, advancing from both the sea and dry land. The siege of Athens ensued. The city fell in a few months. Its fortifications were brought down, and the role of Athens diminished drastically ([258], pages 342-344). The Athenian state had ceased to exist in its former condition. The Peloponnesian War marks a breakpoint in the history of the “ancient” Athens.

82a. The coup d’état of the XIV century in the Athenian Duchy. After the fall of the mediaeval city of Athens, the political life of Greece changes drastically. F. Gregorovius, for instance, refers to this period as to that of “Nerio’s coup d’état in the Duchy of Athens” ([195], page 281).

82b. “Ancient” Greece. The period of reactionary rule. The fall of Athens marks the beginning of a reactionary rule in Greece. This changes the country a great deal; for instance, we learn that “the entire country had been swept over by a wave of exiles and mass murders” ([258], page 343).

Commentary. Let us peruse a more detailed account of the XIV century events for better knowledge of the facts pertaining to the end of the mediaeval Peloponnesian War. Bear in mind that the mediaeval Athenian state of the Catalans serves as the “original” of the “ancient” Athens. The commentary of F. Gregorovius is as follows:

“The Catalan state was done with. The mechanisms of power were completely rebuilt by the Florentine conqueror [Nerio – A. F.] over an amazingly short period of time… the Spaniards [Catalans – A. F.] abandoned their fiefs and estates and returned to Sicily and Aragon. We don’t find any information about their disappearance from Greece in any chronicle at all… even the most meticulous research cannot reveal a single trace of their existence” ([195], page 280).

The single reason for this is the fact that the mediaeval documents describing the events in question were misdated and cast into distant past, creating a vague phantom image of the “ancient” Athenian state in the Scaligerian chronology. The respective period in the Middle Ages was stripped bare of events, which had led to “Dark Ages” replacing it.

Historians tell us the following:

“It is amazing how a party of brave mercenaries could hold out for seventy years in the noble land of the Hellenes, their numerous foes notwithstanding, and immortalize themselves in the history of Athens. Of all the mercenary armies, renowned and feared in Europe, not one could equal the glory of the Catalans… the Catalans left no traces of their reign in either Athens or any other part of Greece; it is also possible that such relics did exist, but were destroyed [nevertheless, there are plenty of monuments ascribed to the “ancient” Athenians – A. F.]. Even the Acropolis, which they would doubtlessly modify, in particular by erecting additional fortifications, doesn’t yield a single trace of the latter. There are no coins of the Campaign [although there are “ancient” coins – A. F.] They weren’t minted by either the Catalans in general, or the Sicilian dukes of Athens in particular” ([195], page 280). Let us reiterate – all the mediaeval traces of the Catalan state exist until the present day misnamed “ancient relics”.

83a. Nerio’s tyranny in the XIV century a.d. After the fall of Athens, Nerio the victor establishes a new political regime – the tyranny. Nerio himself receives the title of “the tyrant of Athens” ([195], page 282).

83b. “Ancient” Greece. Tyranny of the thirty. After the defeat of Athens, Lysander the victor establishes the “tyranny of the thirty” in the city. This period in the history of Athens is called “the reign of the thirty tyrants” ([258], page 344). We still see a very obvious parallelism with the Middle Ages.

84a. Belligerent Navarrans coming to power in the XIV century a.d. After the invasion into Athens, the actual rule in the city and the state went to the belligerent Navarrans, who have become reflected as the “Spartans” in the “ancient sources”, as we understand now. As a result, the leading position in Greece under Nerio’s rule is occupied by Athens. In 1392 a.d. the Navarrans sign a truce with the Turks (who serve as the prototype for the “ancient” Persians, as we have already seen. It happened as follows: “The Navarrans summoned the Turks to Greece. Sultan Bajazet… signed a truce with him [Emperor Manuel – A. F.], and sent Eurenosbeg, his pasha, to Thessalia, accompanied by troops… Nerio, who was vainly calling upon the Venetians for help, only managed to save himself by proclaiming himself a vassal, and the Sultan his liege” ([195], pages 290-291).

84b. “Ancient” Greece. The leadership of Sparta. After the fall of the Athenian oligarchy, Sparta assumes a leading position in Greece under the rule of Lysander. In the alleged year 401 b.c. Sparta becomes an ally of Persia, providing support to the Persian king Cyrus ([258], pages 402-403). Apparently, the Persians can be identified as the Ottoman Turks and the P-Russians, and a shift of 1810 years transforms the “ancient” dating of 401 b.c. into the mediaeval year 1409 a.d., which is very close to 1392 a.d. All of this serves as brilliant proof of our parallelism. A shift of 1800 years gives us the dating of 1399 a.d., which makes the concurrence even better. One has to bear in mind that our movement forward along the time axis brings us to the XV century a.d., which demonstrates to us that the “ancient” Sparta and Athens are really located in the XIV-XV century a.d.

85a. The death of Nerio. Nerio dies in 1394 a.d. ([195], page 292).

85b. “Ancient” Greece. The death of Lysander. Lysander dies around 395 b.c. ([258], page 407). A shift of 1810 years shall transform the “ancient” dating of 395 b.c. into 1405 a.d., and a somewhat smaller shift of 1800 years leaves us with 1395 a.d. Both datings are sufficiently close to 1394 – the year of Nerio’s death.

86a. Middle Ages in the XIV century a.d. What we know about Nerio. Nerio is characterized as follows: “Nerio, the first Athenian duke from the House of Acciaiuoli, died in September of 1394. This talented Florentine was fortunate and insightful, and possessed a great political talent which raised him from a mere adventurer to a very high rank that was achieved under the least favourable circumstances imaginable. Had Machiavelli known his biography, The Prince would contain its rendition in one of the chapters” ([195], page 292).

We see a familiar sight – mediaeval Greek history is known us to a very small extent, remaining shrouded in obscurity for the most part, unlike its “ancient” counterpart. Thus we learn, for instance, that the mediaeval “portraits of Nerio and his Athenian successors… are more than doubtful” ([195, page 292, comment 2).

86b. “Ancient” Greece. What we know about Lysander. Lysander, the most prominent figure of this epoch, is described in the following terms: “Such… were the intentions of Navarch Lysander, a valiant man and an expert diplomat… after the defeat of Athens, Lysander gained such power that none of his predecessors could dream of… he was the first to be deified by the Greeks, who built altars in his honour… there was even a special festivity introduced on the Isle of Samos to celebrate the genius of Lysander” ([766], page 206).