Chios, also known as Scio, is a Greek island located in the northern Aegean Sea, separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island was named for a son of Poseidon by a nymph, and it was ruled by a Lelegian monarchy by the 11th century BC before being conquered by invading Ionians and colonized by Euboean and Cypriot Greeks during the 9th century AD. Chios was one of the original twelve member states of the Ionian League, and it came under democratic rule during the 6th century BC. In 546 BC, the Achaemenid Persians conquered the island, which participated in the Ionian Revolt in 499 BC. In 479 BC, Chios was liberated from Persian rule and joined the Athenian-led Delian League, supplying ships to the alliance. By the 4th century BC, Chios had a population of 120,000 people, and it revolted against Athens in 412 BC and once again obtained its independence during the War of the Allies in 357-355 BC. In 333 BC, Chios became part of Alexander the Great's Macedonian empire, and it became the largest exporter of Greek wine, trading with Gaul, Upper Egypt, and Southern Russia. Chios became part of Roman Asia during the 2nd century BC, and Saint Paul stopped on Chios during his journey from Lesbos to Samos during the 1st century BC. From 1090 to 1097, the Turks seized the island from the Byzantines, but it was recaptured by the Byzantines during the First Crusade. From 1204 to 1225, the island was under Venetian rule before the return of Byzantium, and it was ceded to the Republic of Genoa in 1261. The island became a battleground between the Byzantines, Turks, and Genoese during the early 14th century, and, in 1566, the Ottomans conquered Chios from Genoa. In 1822, the island's reluctant participation in the Greek War of Independence resulted in the infamous Chios massacre, wiping out whole villages and undermining the legitimacy of Ottoman rule over Greece. In 1881, much of the island was destroyed by an earthquake, which also killed up to 10,000 Chians. In 1912, following the First Balkan War, Chios became part of Greece, and it was occupied by the British in 1916 during World War I. By 2015, Chios had become a major transit point for Middle Eastern and African refugees. In 2020, Chios had a population of 54,030 people.
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