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review May 2026

Revolutionary waves in imperial waters

Review by Paul Csillag
Sepia-toned historical illustration of the Greek island of Syros, labeled “Syra.” The scene looks across a calm harbor with small rowboats and larger sailing ships anchored in the water. In the foreground, several groups of people sit and row in wooden boats, while others gather in nearby craft. Across the harbor, a densely built hillside town rises in tiers, with tightly packed buildings climbing toward a prominent structure at the summit. Mountains rise behind the town, and light clouds stretch across the sky.
In The Island of the Pope (Beghahn, 2025), Dimitris Kousouris demonstrates how global power relations, regional struggles, and local renegotiations were deeply intertwined, and how Syros was caught in the maelstrom of history. Paul Csillag writes that the book is an exciting and immersive addition to the literature, which makes politics and conflicts in the nineteenth-century Cyclades palpable, personal, and engaging.
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