1800 AD – today In 1821, Greece raised arms against the Turks, after 400 years of slavery and was closely followed by Crete. The Sfakians were the first to join the uprising, which then expanded throughout Crete. The battle was savage on both sides. It was however unequal. The Turks were continuously boosted with forces,…
1000 – 1800 AD With the fall of Constantinople to the Franks (beginning of the 13th century), Crete was given to Bonifacius (one of the chiefs of the Fourth Crusade) who immediately sold it to the Venetians for 10,000 silver marks. The Cretans did 27 revolutions throughout the approximate 4.5 centuries of domination. Actually, the…
1000 BC – 1000 AD The colonisation of Crete began in the 9th century BC, especially its western parts, by the Dorians who came down from mainland Greece (Spárti – Árgos). The regime set up on the island was distinctly Spartan (“Politiká” by Aristotélis). That is to say, every town was governed by ten “kósmoi”…
7000 – 1100 BC Crete was inhabited from 7000 BC and possibly even before that. Its inhabitants were Pelasgens who came from Pelopónnisos. The Neolithic civilisation that developed there was wiped out around 3000 BC and a unique civilisation evolved (2800 – 1100 BC) now known as Minoan (it was so characterised by Evans, the…