Thessaloniki zealots of Byzantium
Zealots are usually understood to be those who fanatically observe the tenets of a particularly religious doctrine. In Thessaloniki, however, the name was adopted by a major religious-political movement that appeared in the Late Byzantine period (14th century) and which rallied poor and destitute victims of Byzantine civil conflict. It grew into a political party that prevailed in the city for five years, seized large landholdings from the nobility and organized a system of justice and social freedom.
