16 Facts About Venetian Crete

Island of Venetian Crete had formed part of the Byzantine Empire until 1204, when the Fourth Crusade dissolved the empire and divided its territories amongst the crusader leaders .

Venetian Crete was initially allotted to Boniface of Montferrat, but, unable to enforce his control over the island, he soon sold his rights to Venice.

Thereafter, and despite occasional revolts and Turkish raids, the island largely prospered, and Venetian Crete rule opened up a window into the ongoing Italian Renaissance.

Attempts to recover Candia during the Morean War failed, and these last Venetian Crete outposts were finally taken by the Turks in 1715, during the last Ottoman–Venetian Crete War.

The Genoese however, who already had a colony on Venetian Crete, moved more quickly: under the command of Enrico Pescatore, Count of Malta, and enjoying the support of the local populace, they soon became masters over the eastern and central portions of the island.

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Venetian rule over Crete proved troubled from the beginning, as it encountered the hostility of the local populace.

The rebellion soon spread throughout the eastern part of Venetian Crete, capturing the forts of Sitia and Spinalonga, and was only suppressed through the intervention of Marco I Sanudo, the Duke of Naxos.

Venetian Crete even seized Candia, while Tiepolo escaped to the nearby fortress of Temenos disguised as a woman.

The arrival of a Venetian Crete fleet allowed Tiepolo to recover the capital, and Sanudo agreed to evacuate the island in exchange for money and provisions; twenty Greek lords who had collaborated with him accompanied him to Naxos.

Once again, the Venetian Crete authorities concluded a treaty with the rebel leaders, conceding them two knightly fiefs.

The Venetian Crete authorities tried to capture Kallergis and the other leaders, but without success.

Venetian Crete's intervention prevented another revolt from breaking out in 1303, following the destructive earthquake of that year, that had left the Venetian authorities in disarray.

Venetian Crete's enemies continued to try to assassinate him, but only managed to kill his son, Andreas, with many of his entourage.

Venetian Crete reprisals were extensive, leading to the virtual destruction of the native nobility.

Venetian Crete had always been of particular importance among Venice's colonies, but its importance increased as the Ottomans started wresting away Venice's overseas possessions in a series of conflicts that began after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Conquest of Venetian Crete brought Venice its first major colony; indeed, the island would remain the largest possession of the Republic until its expansion into the northern Italian mainland in the early 15th century.