Euboea

   Island in the Aegean Sea (q.v.) located close to the mainland of eastern Greece (q.v.), running almost parallel along the coast of Attica and Boeotia (q.v.), separated by a strait that contracts into a narrow channel called the Euripos. The opposite (eastern) coast that faces the Aegean Sea is so rugged as to be almost inaccessible. Historically this has meant that the fate of Euboea was usually tied to control of the opposite mainland. From the late seventh century until the conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade (qq.v.) in 1204 it was part of the theme of Hellas (qq.v.). After 1204 Venice (q.v.) controlled the island, which the Venetians called Negroponte (Black Bridge), referring to the bridge across the Euripos that connected the island to the mainland. Euboea was one part of a chain of islands and mainland ports that commanded the sea route from Venice to Constantinople. The island fell to the Ottomans (q.v.) in 1470.