Editing Chios (section)

===Byzantine period===
{{Further|Aegean Sea (theme)|Samos (theme)}}
[[File:Νέα Μονή Χίου - Καμπαναριό.jpg|thumb|[[Nea Moni of Chios]] (11th century)]]
[[File:Κάμπος Χίου - Παναγία Κοκοροβιλιά.jpg|thumb|Byzantine Panagia Kokorovilia Church (13th century) in [[Kampochora|Kampos]]]]

After the permanent division of the [[Roman Empire]] in 395 AD, Chios was for seven centuries part of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. This came to an end when the island was briefly held (1090–97) by [[Tzachas]], a Turkish bey in the region of Smyrna during the first expansion of the Turks to the Aegean coast.<ref>[[Lars Brownworth|Brownworth, Lars]] (2009) ''Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization'', Crown Publishers, {{ISBN|978-0-307-40795-5}}: "...the Muslims captured Ephesus in 1090 and spread out to the Greek islands.  Chios, Rhodes, and Lesbos fell in quick succession." p. 233.</ref> However, the Turks were driven back from the Aegean coast by the Byzantines aided by the [[First Crusade]], and the island was restored to Byzantine rule by admiral [[Constantine Dalassenos (thalassokrator)|Constantine Dalassenos]].

This relative stability was ended by the sacking of Constantinople by the [[Fourth Crusade]] (1204) and during the turmoil of the 13th century the island's ownership was constantly affected by the regional power struggles. After the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine empire was divided up by the [[Latin Empire|Latin emperors of Constantinople]], with Chios nominally becoming a possession of the [[Republic of Venice]]. However, defeats for the Latin empire resulted in the island reverting to Byzantine rule in 1225.