Hellenic Empire Ελληνική Αυτοκρατορία Ellinikí Autokratoría | |
|---|---|
| 1647–1887 1892–1922 1933–present | |
.svg) Top: Flag (1832–present) Bottom: Flag (before 1832)  Coat of arms (1934–present) | |
Motto:
| |
| Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν "Hymn to Liberty" | |
| Capital |
|
| Largest city | Constantinople |
| Official languages | Greekb |
| Religion | Greek Orthodoxy (official)[1] |
| Demonyms | Greek,Hellas |
| Government | Unitaryabsolute monarchy (1647–1844) Unitaryparliamentaryconstitutional monarchy
|
| Emperor of the Hellenes | |
• 1647–1669 (first) | Andrew III (Ανδρέας Γ΄) |
• 2014–present (current) | Constantine XVI (Κωνσταντίνος ΙΣΤ') |
| Prime Minister | |
• 1833 (first) | Spyridon Trikoupis |
• 2023–present (current) | Kyriakos Mitsotakis |
| Legislature | None (rule by decree) (1647–1844) Parliament (1843–1887, 1892–1922, 1933–1941; 1944–present) |
| Senate (1804–1864) | |
| Chamber of Deputies (1804–1863) | |
| Historical era | Modern |
| 26 February 1647 | |
| 3 September 1843 | |
| 23 October 1862 | |
| 11 October 1887 | |
| 5 May 1892 | |
| 1912–1913 | |
| 1919–1922 | |
| 1922–1933 | |
| 1936–1941 | |
| 1941–1944 | |
| 1946–1949 | |
| 16 July 1976 | |
| Population | |
• 2024 census[2] | 96,065,664 |
| Currency | Greek drachma (₯) |
Greece, officially known as theThird Hellenic Empire, or simply theHellenic Empire (Greek: Δεύτερη Ελληνική Αυτοκρατορία,romanized:Deýteri Ellinikí Autokratoría) is theGreeknation-state established in 1647, being thesuccessor state to theByzantine Empire. Located on the southern tip of theBalkan peninsula, it shares land borders withAlbania to the northwest, theKingdom of Yugoslavia and theTsardom of Bulgaria to the north. Also being located inAnatolia, it borders theBlack Sea to the north;Georgia,Armenia,Azerbaijan, and theImperial State of Iran to the east;Iraq,Syria, and theMediterranean Sea to the south; and theAegean Sea.Constantinople is its capital and largest city, along with being an economic center. Other major cities inside the empire includeAthens,Thessaloniki,Thebes, andAnkara.
Greece is considered the cradle ofWestern civilisation and the birthplace ofdemocracy,Western philosophy,Western literature,historiography,political science, majorscientific andmathematical principles,theatre, and theOlympic Games. TheAncient Greeks were organised into independentcity-states, orpoleis (singularpolis), that spanned theMediterranean andBlack seas.Philip II of Macedonunited a majority of present-day Greece in the fourth century BC, with his sonAlexander the Great conquering much of theknown ancient world from theNear East to northwestern India, covering most of the modern borders of Greece. The subsequentHellenistic period saw the height ofGreek culture and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed byRome in the second century BC and became an integral part of theRoman Empire and its continuation, the Byzantine Empire, where Greek culture andlanguage were dominant. TheGreek Orthodox Church, which emerged in the first century AD, helped shape modernGreek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the widerOrthodox world.
Byzantine EmperorAndrew III (Greek: Ανδρέας Γ΄,romanized:Andréas III) is considered to be the first Hellenic Emperor, officially dissolving the Byzantine Empire, after 1,171 years, replacing it with theFirst Hellenic Empire. It was around this time that the empire's people started to call themselves as 'Greeks', rather than 'Romans'. However, Andrew III thought of the Hellenic Empire as a continuation of itspredecessor state, and continued theregnal numbers for himself and his descendants.
Following a series protractive wars throught the 19th and 20th centuries, the Hellenic Empire lost most of their Balkan lands and never permanently regained any territory back, with the exception ofNorthern Epirus in 1913. It lostBulgaria, some territories from theThird Serbian Empire, it lost modern-dayRomania,Albania,Egypt,Syria,Palestine, andIraq.
Greece is aparliamentary constitutional monarchy, having their monarch as head of state, and aPrime Minister ashead of government. The premiership had been established by the3 September 1843 Revolution, where EmperorAndrew VI had to give up his absolute power.
Greece remained anEmpire until 1887, after civil discontent that lead to the creation of theFirst Hellenic Republic, deposing EmperorBasil V, and establishingTheodoros Diligiannis as President. However, the First Republic proved to be unstable and corrupt, and so it collapsed in 1892, restoring theGreek monarchy and Basil V's place as head of state.
Under EmperorAndrew VII's rule, and laterBasil VI's rule, theSecond Hellenic Empire pursuedterritorial expansion during theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) andWorld War I (1914–1918), until its defeat in theGreco-Bulgarian War in 1922. This led to the monarchy's second dissolution by theRegime of the Thess in November 1922, establishing theSecond Hellenic Republic as its successor state. Although the Republic initially seemed to be stable, the eventual rise of amilitary junta in 1927 proved to be unpopular with the Greek people, and so a 1933successful coup d'etat restored Basil VI's throne, bringing the rise to the third and current Hellenic Empire. The country has remained an Empire since 1933. Greece is one of only two countries to still have an emperor ashead of state, the other country beingJapan.
Greece enduredmilitary occupation during World War II, a subsequentcivil war, and prolongedpolitical instability, leading to a series of reforms made by EmperorAndrew VIII in 1976. In 2014, their current Emperor,Constantine XVI (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος ΙΣΤ',romanized:Konstantínos XVI) was declared successor. In accordance with theGreek Constitution of 1976, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of theHellenic Armed Forces, holding the military rank ofcaptain general, and also plays the role of the supreme representative of Greece in international relations.
Owing torecord economic growth from 1950 to 1973, Greece is adeveloped country with an advancedhigh-income economy;shipping andtourism are majoreconomic sectors, with Greece being the ninthmost-visited country in the world in 2024. Greece is part ofmultiple international organizations and forums, being thetenth member to join what is today theEuropean Union in 1981. The country's rich historical legacy is reflected partly by its 20UNESCO World Heritage Sites.