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ROMAN
PERIOD (67 B.C. -330) In 67 BC, Crete was conquered by the
Romans after two years of siege. This was followed by a period of peace
during
which the cities, Gortys being the capital, flourished. Luxurious roman
buildings, temples, stadiums and baths were built. The population by
then was numbering 300.000 inhabitants. The biggest cities were Knossos,
Cydonia, Aptena, Ierapetra, Phaestos, Littos and Eleftherna. The presence
of Romans did not influence the daily life and habits of Cretans who
retained their language and worshipping customs. This is the time when
Crete first heard about Christianity and the first church was founded
by Agios Titus, the islands' protector saint and apostle Paul's student.
In 330 AD after the roman empire was divided in the eastern and western
parts Crete became part of Byzantium.
From 'Travels
and Researches in Crete', Vol. II, Captain Spratt, London 1865
St. Pauls ship caught in the Euroclydon storm (Meltemi); Mt. Ida and
Paximadi islands in the back
PROTOBYZANTINE
PERIOD (330-824) The Byzantine Empire’s history officially
commences with the founding of Constantinople in 330 AD by the Roman
Emperor Constantine the Great. Crete was governed by the Romans as
part of the administrative imperial unit of Illyricum, as the southern
part of the Balkan peninsula was known. When the Roman empire was divided
in 395 AD, during the last days of the emperor Theodosius the Great,
Crete became part of Byzantium.
During this period Christianity was spreading rapidly throughout
both the Eastern and Western parts of the old Roman Empire.
Despite the
fact that the administrative control of Crete was from Constantinople,
the control of the archdiocese of Crete remained under the see of
Rome, with the exception of a short period after 476 AD when
Rome was taken
over by the Visigoths, until 754 AD when finally it was brought under
the church of Constantinople. Many churches were built in Crete during
this time with more than 40 early Christian churches having been
uncovered by archaeologists to date. Some of the biggest churches
of the island
were the basilica of Agios Titus in the area of Gortyn, the basilica
of Panormos near Mylopotamos and the basilica of Almyrida Apokoronou.
The first three centuries of this period were quite unusual for
Crete in that they were peaceful years, although the island
was hit by
a number of severe earthquakes, one of which in 415 destroyed Gortyn,
and the plague afflicted the island quite frequently. But from
the middle of the seventh century the Arab pirate fleet started
attacking
the coastline and islands of the Byzantine Empire with Crete becoming
a regular target. The Byzantine fleet was ineffective in protecting
its coastal territories and these attacks intensified during the
eighth
century with the eventual control of the island falling to the
Arabs in 824 AD.
ARAB
RULE (824-961) The Arabs that took control of Crete
in 824 AD were Saracen Arabs from Cordoba in Spain led by Abu
Haffs. They
were forced out of Spain by the Moslem rulers of Andalusia around 813,
and after seeking a new home in Egypt and capturing Alexandria in 818,
they were again expelled from there and were forced to seek a new home
and that’s how they eventually arrived in Crete.
They
were initially just a few thousand only, but due to the decline of
Byzantine military presence in Crete, they eventually managed
to take control of the whole island although this conquest
occurred over
a period of time. They soon established a new fortress surrounded
by a deep trench (Chandax) which soon became the capital of
the new Arab
state at the location of today’s Heraklion and it was from
here that the conquest of the whole island took place.
Although there are no significant instances of resistance or rebellion
of the population during this period against the Arabs, there is
evidence that significant parts of the island never experienced
the Arab rule,
and one of those areas was Sfakia. The mountainous areas of Sfakia
provided the safety needed by all those that managed to escape
from the coastal plains and it was only the Sfakian villages
in the south
that experienced regular harassment from Arab raiders. During this
period an unusual form of self-government emerged in Sfakia, the
Gerousia, with its members, the Gerontes or Dimogerontes, selected
by general
consensus by the members of the community. This form of self-government
has continued in Sfakia over the centuries but its influence today
has been reduced considerably.
During
the Arab rule, Byzantium tried to take back Crete initially in 825-826
AD under General Photeinos and in 826 AD, General Krateros caused
severe casualties to the Arabs, but he was eventually defeated, captured
and executed. A third campaign soon after also failed. Numerous further
attempts failed until Nikiforos Phokas, a general with proven experience
in dealing with Arabs, was appointed to the task of recapturing the
island. A huge force was put together, numbering possibly over one
hundred thousand soldiers, carried there by a large fleet, and after
a protracted period of fighting Chandax fell on 7 March 961.
Large
numbers of Sfakian warriors joined General Phokas who, during the
siege of Chandax, appointed them to guard his rear from possible
attacks from the south while he concentrated on Chandax. The Sfakians
not only defended his troops from attacks from the south but also
many joined the siege of Chandax and the general’s gratitude
and admiration for their contribution was shown later through
presents of weapons,
ammunition and lavish clothing for the Gerontes. He also gave them
the right to continue with their own form of self-government and
exempted them from all taxes.
When Phokas became Emperor a couple of years later he reconfirmed
these privileges he had given previously to the Sfakians.
NEOBYZANTINE
PERIOD (961- 1204) The second Byzantine Period begins with
Crete’s liberation by Nikiforos Phokas on the 7th of March 961
after 147 years of Arab rule.
The
country had been devastated by the Arabs and many of its inhabitants
had been sold as slaves in the slave markets of the east. The economy
was in ruins and the administrative structure of government was non
existent. The Byzantines immediately started rebuilding the fortifications
of the island to guard against future attacks, introduced a new administrative
organization dividing the island into a number of provinces and appointing
their own governors.
Thus
began a new period of cultural and economical renewal and the revival
of Christianity in Crete. Missionaries spread the
word of
Christianity again around the island which was so affected by the
147 years of Arab
Muslim rule; two of them were Saint Nikon 'Metanoite' (‘Repent’)
and Saint Ioannis Xenos. The local population grew and to further
assist the Emperor Alexios Komnenos the first, ordered the migration
and
settlement of Byzantine families in Crete around 1080.
This
administrative arrangement and the new Byzantine settlers does not
appear to have worked successfully because one hundred
years
later under Emperor Alexios Komnenos the second, grandson of
the first, an
imperial order was issued appointing 12 princes from Byzantium
to govern Crete and gave each an extensive area to own and control,
thus dividing
Crete into 12 separate areas. Each prince, known as “Archondopoulo”,
arrived with his extended family and settled in the area allocated
to him. From this event, a number of great aristocratic families
of Crete emerged, some of them still in existence today.
Sfakia
was allocated to Marinos Skordilis, nephew of the Emperor who came
together with 9 of his brothers and sons and their families. His
territory’s borders were from Askyfou east to Koustogerako,
and along the south coast to Agia Roumeli, Omprosgialos (today’s
Chora Sfakion) and to today’s Frangokastello. The largest town
in the centre of this area was Anopoli and there are a number of
ruins in the area that are attributed to the Archondopoulo and his
family. A large number of today’s Sfakian families also claim
to be direct descendants of the original Skordilises.
Ioannis
Phokas, a direct descendant of the General who freed Crete from the
Arabs
and later
on became the Emperor Nikiforos Phokas was considered to be the most
senior amongst the twelve Archontopoula. His territory was one of
the largest ones, covering the greater part of today’s
Nomos of Rethymno, all the way south to the coast and West
up to the valley of Askyfou, where the border of the Skordilis
territory was. The name of the family changed a few years later
under the Venetians to Kallergis and families
that today claim
to be direct descendants of the Phokas / Kallergis dynasty are one
of the largest family groups in Crete, including a number from Sfakia.
While
the new order under the Archondopoula was settling-in in Crete, two
separate events were unfolding to the north of Crete
that would
eventually result a few years later in Crete being taken away from
Byzantium for ever. In Rome Pope Innocent the third who ascended
the papal throne in 1198 immediately proclaimed an other Crusade.
And in
Constantinople the decline of the Byzantine Empire had commenced
in 1180 following the appointment of a very young Emperor, Alexios
Komnenos
the second, who was deposed a couple of years later, followed by
a very unstable period that saw three new Emperors over the
next twenty
years.
The
Fourth Crusade eventually got ready to sail out of Venice in November,
1202, under funded and in heavy debt to the Venetians
who provided
the fleet to transport them to the Holy Land. But at the same
time, Alexius, the son of the recently deposed and blinded
Byzantine
Emperor Isaac Angelus, negotiated with the leader of the Crusade,
Marquis
Boniface of Montferrat, that if the Crusaders were to escort
him to Constantinople
and enthrone him there, he would part finance the Crusade and
also give them an additional 10,000 soldiers to assist them
in capturing
Egypt.
In
the end the Crusaders after enthroning him but not being paid, attacked
and took over Constantinople in April 1204, and as
part of the sharing
of the spoils of war, Crete was allocated to Boniface. Boniface
who did not have the means to take control of the island accepted
an
offer from the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, and sold Crete
to Venice on
the 12 August 1204 for what was seen at the time the very small
amount of 1,000 silver marks.
VENETIAN RULE (1204 - 1669) The Venetian Rule
began with the occupation of Constantinople by the Franks of the Fourth
Crusade in 1204 and the sale of Crete by the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat
to the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo on 12 August 1204. In addition
to Crete, and in accordance with the treaty the Venetians had with
the Crusaders, they got control of the western coast of the Greek mainland
and the Ionian islands, all of Peloponnese, Euboea, Naxos, Andros,
the main ports of Hellespond, the Thracian seaboard and the city of
Adrianopole, as well as part of Constantinople. Thus the Venetians
emerged as the main beneficiaries of the overthrow of Byzantium by
the Fourth Crusade, having secured the crossroads of trade in eastern
Mediterranean.
Venice was not prepared for such a big expansion and became preoccupied
by problems it encountered in Peloponnese and the Aegean, and was unprepared
to take full control of Crete. Its Genoese long term enemy, Enrico
Pescatore, Count of Malta, took the opportunity to move onto Crete,
where not only he did not encounter any resistance from either Venetian
troops or the local inhabitants, but he was even assisted by Cretans
who were bitter about the fall of Constantinople and the sale of the
island to the Venetians. Soon he was able to take control of large
parts of
Crete and commenced fortifying Chandax, Rethymnon and Siteia and other
parts of the island.
The Venetians soon sent additional troops and commenced with their
attempt to push the Genoese out of the island. Numerous battles were
fought
during the next few years and eventually the Venetians managed to take
full control of the island in 1212, although some smaller parts remained
under Genoese control until 1217.
During the next 420 years and until the Ottoman Empire commenced with
its campaign to take over the island from the Venetians, the Cretans
rebelled
against the Venetian rule no fewer than 27 times, without counting
any other smaller local uprisings. Some of those revolutions lasted
for years and were eventually suppressed by the Venetians with great
brutality. Many of these revolutions sprang out of the Lefka Ori or
the White Mountains, the stronghold of Sfakia. Many of them were led
by members of the Archondopoula families, and especially members of
the Sfakian based families of Skordilis and Kallergis. But before looking
at some of the more noteworthy of these revolutions and their brutal
suppression, a brief look at the military, religious and administrative
controls and taxes over the island’s inhabitants will assist
in better understanding why this remains the most torturous period
in the history of Crete.
In order to take firm control over the island Venice started resettling
numerous noble families from Venice, starting in 1212 and continuing
with this resettlement over the next few decades, resulting in about
10,000 Venetians moving to Crete by the end of the century, representing
about one sixth of the population of Venice. Chandax was renamed Candia
(today’s Heraklion) and became the seat of the Duke of Candia,
appointed for a two year period by Venice, and the island became known
as the Regno di Candia, the Kingdom of Crete. During the same period,
in 1252, Chania was built on the site of the ancient city of Kydonia.
Crete was divided into six provinces (“sexteria”), and,
later, in four counties, but Sfakia remained out of the direct control
of the Venetians who maintained only a small garrison at the castle
at Omprosgialos (Chora Sfakion today), who rarely ventured out of their
castle walls.
Military control
One of the first activities that the Venetians embarked was to build
fortifications throughout the island and form a readily mobile army
that could quickly move and attack the latest insurrection. Venetian
nobles were obliged to maintain war horses and armour and make themselves
and a number of soldiers available to fight uprisings, when requested
by the Capitano di Candia or the Proveditor General who were in command
of the army.
The fortifications built during the Venetian period can still be seen
throughout Crete, at Heraklion, Rethymno, Chania, Souda, Kasteli, Gramvousa,
Spinalonga, Sitia, Ierapetra, Sfakia, and many others. They were built
through the compulsory labour of both men and women who were conscripted
from
lists of those liable to compulsory service which were maintained at
each village.
One of particular interest from a Sfakian history viewpoint is the
Frangocastelo at Sfakia. The Venetians who were experiencing ongoing
incursions on the south coast of the island from pirates, some of whom
were Sfakians, and to protect the Venetian nobles and their properties
decided to build a castle on the fertile plains east of Sfakia where
they intended to locate a strong army contingent. The castle would
also protect them from the Sfakians who lived in the mountains north
and west of the plains and who also were harassing the Venetian nobles.
A Venetian fleet with soldiers and builders arrived there in 1371 and
they started the construction of the castle, but the local Sfakians
who were against such a castle in their territory, with the leadership
of the 6 Patsos brothers from the nearby settlement of Patsianos, were
destroying every night what the Venetians and their builders were building
during the day. Eventually the Venetians were obliged to bring additional
troops that surrounded the whole area during the whole period while
the castle was being built.The Patsos brothers, who were betrayed,
were arrested and hanged at the site of the castle. The building of
the castle was eventually completed in1374 but the Sfakians were never
threatened in their stronghold by the Venetian troops who were stationed
there and who preferred to stay in the castle looking out for pirates
rather than try and bring any control over the Sfakians.
The Navy remained under the control of the Admiral of the fleet of
Venice, the Capitano General da mar, but a large number of Venetian
ships were stationed and maintained in Crete where significant facilities
were built, some of which are still in existence today in both Chania
and Heraklion, known as the Arsenali.
Thousands of Cretans were conscripted annually to man the hundreds
of Venetian galleys as rowers, each ship requiring about 200 to 240
rowers. Many died due to the abhorrent conditions, drowned as the ships
sank, were killed during battles that the Venetians fought and many
more were captured by pirates and sold in the slave markets of the
east, never to see Crete again. The impact of this contribution to
the Venetian maritime supremacy in Cretan human lives was reflected
in part in the reduced numbers of the inhabitants at the end of the
Venetian rule.
The Church during the Venetian rule
The closeness between the state and church in Crete under the Byzantines
was something of great concern to the Venetians who although Catholics,
were at a distance in their relations with Rome. For them Venice
and its interests were paramount and the interests of the Catholic
church came a distant second. Immediately they set themselves to
break up the unity that they observed in the Cretan relationship
of the people and their church. And they started this process by
removing all the Orthodox clergy and banning the visit of any Orthodox
priests to the island. At the same time they encouraged Catholic
monastic orders to come to the island to proselytise and convert
Cretans to the catholic faith and appointed a Catholic Archbishop
in charge of the church in Crete from one of the wealthy families
of Venice. A new order of Orthodox priests was created to head
the Orthodox church in major population centres, known as Protopapades
(head priests) who were of the Uniate faith, i.e. Orthodox in favour
of amalgamation with the Catholic church and who conducted services
alongside Catholic priests.
This situation continued until the later part of the 16th century and
resulted in considerable deterioration of the influence that the Orthodox
faith had over the population of the island. Moral standards fell,
both within the clergy but also throughout the Christian community
and many conversions for opportunistic purposes took place. The only
areas that managed to maintain Orthodoxy and its strict moral standards
were
the few Orthodox monasteries on the island that became the bastions
of Byzantine Orthodoxy.
Towards the end of the 16th century and as Venice started becoming
concerned about the threat of the Ottoman Empire, they started becoming
more tolerant towards Orthodoxy on the island with the hope of gaining
an ally against the possible invasion of the island by the Ottomans. Administration and Taxes
A centralised administrative control similar to that in existence in
Venice was immediately installed in Crete. A large number of bureaucratic
layers were established manned by newly arrived Venetians responsible
for all matters relating to law and order, tax gathering, imports
and exports, ship berthing, storage, and all other activities that
the new state saw as necessary to extract maximum benefit from its
new acquisition. Substantial salaries were being paid for all this
bureaucratic machinery making it imperative that a regular guaranteed
tax income stream is maintained.
Property previously belonging to Cretans that offered any resistance
was allocated to the new Venetian nobles, together with all buildings,
animals and furnishings belonging to any villagers living on those
properties, who were considered as slaves. The new Venetian owners
were liable to taxes on the produce generated on their properties as
well as the maintenance of military horses, armour and the provision
of fighting men whenever they were requested to do so. The Cretan nobles
that did not resist the arrival of the new order were allowed to keep
their properties but faced similar taxes, but were not required to
contribute to the fighting capacity of the new state as only Venetians
were allowed to be members of the army. Head taxes and other revenue
raising mechanisms were imposed upon the population, some of them arbitrarily
by nobles that wanted to raise their own level of income. Soon a tax
farming system emerged where rights to tax gathering were being sold
to higher bidders who were prepared to pay amounts that would guarantee
them the ability to raise taxes over and above those required by the
state. A large number of the revolutions were triggered by extortionate
levels of taxes as villagers reached to the point where life was not
worth living any more as nothing was left to them to sustain life for
themselves and their families.
The problems created by the very hight level of taxes and associated
corruption was a matter of concern to Venice who twice sent commissions
of inquiry, the first in 1413 who reported back of “nobles plundering
the population and tax gatherers pocketing one third of all tax collected” while
a second one in 1574 similarly pointed out that the continuing unrest
and never-ending revolutions reflected the extreme exploitation of
the farming population.
As an example of a reaction to the heavy taxation regime it will be
mentioned here only in passing that one of the revolutions in Crete
was by the Venetian nobles themselves against Venice. Having complained
at length about the oppressive levels of tax they decided to rebel
when Venice imposed an additional tax in 1363 to upgrade the port of
Candia. They arrested the duke and his officials and declared Crete
a new state, the Republic of St Titus, in honour of the patron saint
of Crete. Less than twelve months later the revolution was put down
by a large force of mercenaries that Venice gathered and sailed to
Crete.
Revolutions against the Venetians
As mentioned previously during the first 420 years of Venetian rule
there were no less than 27 revolutions by the Cretans, not counting
smaller local insurrections and other resistance activities. Some
of these revolutions lasted quite a few years, and Western Crete
and the Sfakian district was where quite a few of them started and the
Archondopoula families and their descendants featured prominently
in most of them. As mentioned above, most of them reflected the extortionate
level of taxes and the brutal treatment the Cretans were receiving
from the Venetian occupiers.
Here we will provide details of only three of them who were more colourful
from a Sfakian historical viewpoint. But as Sfakia was considered an
ungovernable and unconquerable district, these revolutions did not
have the tax as the prime motive as far as the Sfakians were concerned.
The
Chrysomalousa revolution
One revolution that occurred in 1319 was typical Sfakian in its nature, as
it involved honour and pride, and was contained in the Sfakia district alone.
The garrison which the Venetians maintained at Omprosgialos at Sfakia, consisted
of only 15 soldiers and an officer, who were keeping an eye on the Sfakians
but rarely ventured outside and never interfered with what was going on in
the area. One day the officer in charge, Capuleto, attracted by a young girl
at the well of the village approached her and kissed her. She slapped his face
but he pulled his dagger and cut some of her golden hair. Her name was Chrisi
Skordili, (Chrisi = Golden) from the Archondopoula family of Skordilises, known
by all as Chrisomalousa, the Golden hair girl, due to her blond hair. Immediately
her relatives killed the offending officer and most of the guards. Venetian
troops arrived soon from Chania and the locals fought the Venetians bravely
throughout their district. The revolution went on for more than one year, until
finally through the intervention of Archondas Kallergis, who at the time had
reached a peace treaty with the Venetians, agreement was reached for the withdrawal
of the Venetian forces from the area and an end to the hostilities.
The war of the chickens
An
other revolution that was sparked by a typical Sfakian reaction
to an increasing pressure by the Venetians
to extract additional taxes from the long suffering
Cretans occurred in 1470 and has remained known in Cretan history as the “Ornithopolemos” or
the war of the chickens. A new tax was introduced requiring all Cretan families
to provide one well fed chicken every month to the Venetian in charge of
their area. As time went by and families multiplied, the number of chickens
demanded
was increasing and arguments started about what the correct number should
be. Some villages started giving eggs rather than chickens on the basis that
the
Venetians could hatch the eggs themselves instead! Legal action was taken
by the Venetians against the villagers for short payment as well as against
the
Sfakians who were refusing to pay this tax all together and more than 10,000
indictments were issued. The Sfakians in return compiled a report charging
the Venetian authorities of corruption and sent the report to Chania for
despatching to Venice. The authorities at Chania imprisoned the Sfakian who
brought the
report and that got the Sfakians to declare a revolution and encouraged the
rest of the Cretans to refuse the tax. The revolution and the fighting lasted
for three years and at the end the Venetians agreed to withdraw the tax from
the whole island and also withdraw all outstanding legal actions.
Kantanoleon’s revolution and the Cretan
weddings
This revolution has become part of the Cretan mythology
since the publication in 1872 of a book, “The Cretan weddings” by
a Cretan writer and historian, Zambelios. The full historical
events have never been proven but
there are Venetian records that substantiate large parts of the story but they
do not fully explain why the wedding was proposed in the first place and by
whom.
The protagonists of this revolution that took place in the Western part of
Crete in 1527 (or 1570 according to an other source) are George Kantanoleon,
from the small village of Koustogerako, just north of Sougia, his son Petros,
Francesco Molino, a Venetian noble from Chania and his only daughter Sophia.
Although Kantanoleon came from Koustogerako, a small village just outside today’s
Sfakia eparhia, this was on the border of Archondopoulo Skordilis Sfakian territory.
Kantanoleon was also from the family of Skordilis, some sources also claim
that his correct surname was Skordilis, and Kantanoleon was a name attributed
to him by the Venetians. Finally a large number of Sfakian families were involved
in this revolution, and that’s why the Kantanoleon revolution is included
here as a predominantly Sfakian instigated revolution.
Some time before 1527, and in reaction to unbearable taxes and the
brutal treatment of the people of the country, a large number of
families of Western Crete decided
at a meeting at the monastery of Saint John at Akrotiri to revolt against
the Venetian rulers. There they elected George Kantanoleon as head
of a new government.
Following a number of successful battles against the Venetians at Impros
gorge, Samaria gorge, near Rethymno and at Lasithi, the Venetians
withdrew at Chania,
allowing the new Cretan independent government total freedom in governing
all Western Crete. Kantanoleon established his headquarters at
Meskla at the foot
of the Lefka Ori, about 15 km south of Chania and set up proper government
processes including the collection of taxes, although at a more acceptable
level than previously.
The events that followed are subject to debate. Zambelios, in his book claims
that Petros, Kantanoleon’s son, fell in love with Sophia, Molino’s
only daughter, and Molino conspired with the Duke of Candia to trap and exterminate
all the revolutionaries by proposing and arranging for a marriage of his
daughter and Kantanoleon’ son
at who’s wedding all invited will be arrested and the protagonists
of the rebellion killed. A Venetian historian, some time later
in
his version of events says that it was Kantanoleon that tried to impose a
reconciliation between Cretans and the noble Venetian families of Western
Crete by imposing
the marriage of his son to Molino’s daughter thus trying to establish
a new dynasty to govern Western Crete. Where the two historians agree is
in the
events that followed.
At the wedding where a large number of Cretan guests were invited, following
traditional festivities where large amounts of wine were consumed (spiced
with opium according to Zambelios) all guests were surrounded by Venetian
troops
that came secretly from Chania, Rethymno and Candia, arrested Kandanoleon
and his son and hanged them on the spot together with more than thirty other
Cretan
nobles. The rest of the prisoners, in their hundreds, were divided into four
groups and one was hanged at the gates of Chania, one at Koutsogerako, one
on the road from Chania to Rethymno and the fourth at Meskla, the headquarters
of the rebel government. But the atrocities did not stop there, whole villages
were destroyed including Koustogerako, Meskla, and a few others. Atrocities
continued for some time and quite a few leaders and their families fled up
in the mountains for some time until eventually an amnesty was given. |
What has remained imprinted in the minds of Cretans for generations
now is the fact that this was the closest they got to independence
during the Venetian rule and that this taste for independence was
taken away from them through treachery and the brutality that followed.
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