Χαριζάνης Γεώργιος,
«Η Χρυσόπολις και ο Κρούσοβος στις εκβολές του ποταμού Στρυμόνα μέσα από τα αγιορειτικά έγγραφα», Βυζαντιακά 35 (2018-2019), σ. 87-103.
Θεσσαλονίκη 2019
The purpose of this article — based on the research and study of the Athonite documents — is to demonstrate the importance and the economic role of both Chrysoupolis and Krousovos in the region of the mouth of
the Strymon River during the last Byzantine centuries.Chrysoupolis, castron, fortress or city, was situated in a very significant spot, on the left/east bank of the Strymon River, near its mouth, as well as the sea i.e. the Strymonic or Orphanou gulf. A rich and fertile inland, the plain of Serres, reached the northern edges of the city. Chrysoupolis, which succeeded in the region during the Byzantine period the early Christian Amphipolis, had a skala/port and a saline for the production of salt. The Athonite monasteries (Lavra, Vatopedi, Esphigmenou and Pantocrator) obtained gradually in the region pieces of land and other properties inside the castle of Chrysoupolis. Chrysoupolis is mentioned in the documents of Athos of the Byzantine period until the end of the 14th century. After the Turkish conquest, Chrysoupolis continued to survive until the midst of the 16th century, when it was ruined and abandoned by its inhabitants.
On the other side, the chorion/village of Krousovos of the Katepanikion of Strymonos was situated on a hill, on the right/west bank of the Strymon River, 4km away from its mouth. Krousovos was a metochion, in the possession of the Esphigmenou monastery of Mount Athos; nowadays it is identified with the ruined and abandoned village of Palaia Ano and Kato Kerdyllia. Krousovos, as well as other villages of the Byzantine countryside, had a slight fall in its economic figures, as it is concluded from the praktika/records of 1318 and 1321 — an indication of the general decline of the Byzantine Empire that was evident at that time. Furthermore, the civil wars of Byzantium during the first half of the 14th century and the gradual conquest of Thrace and Macedonia by the Turks in the second half of the century onwards, worsened the situation and weakened economically the Byzantine cities and villages.
