Three documents control entry and use of Mt Athos.
The first document basically assigns ownership of the peninsula to the monks. This was done 885 when the Emperor Basilios the 1st issued a *Chrysobullo * (imperial edict) officially recognising Athos as a territory belonging exclusively to monks. It declared that only religious men should live there and all other laymen, shepherds etc, were forbidden to enter the “Garden of the Virgin”.
The second document covering rules and disciplines of Athanasios were formulated in the time of Byzantine Emperor Ioannis Tsimiskis who through his representative Euthymios confirmed the powers of the big monasteries.
This second document Typikon (Charter) was written in 971 AD and it still governs life on Athos today. It was written on a goat skin and for that reason it was called Tragos (Billy-goat).
The final document formalises controls over entry to Athos. These are defined in a Chrysobullo (edict) which was issued by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomahos, in 1060 AD. It is still valid and decrees that:
(a) Women are never admitted into Mount Athos,
(b) a permit is required for anyone entering the territory and
© overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven religious or scientific interests and are over 18 years old.
The reference to the 1045 date may well relate to an administrative decision, but the Emporer’s Chrysobullo of 1060 is the defining legal document