by admin | Apr 24, 2015 |
Second Byzantine Period The Byzantine General Nikiforos Fokas liberated Crete from the Arab occupation in 961 AD. Christianity flourished again and Heraklion became the seat of the Archbishop, while churches and monasteries were built. Many churches of this period are preserved throughout the island. Several churches of this period are found in the Minoan Plain, the most important of which are the following: • The Temple of Christ the Saviour in Kassanoi, built around 1260 at the place of an older church. • The Byzantine Monastery of Saint Paraskevi, the Archangels and Saint Mark in Demati. • The Church of St. Panteleimon in Bitzariano, the initial phase of which dates back to the 11th century AD. In addition, according to unconfirmed evidence, the Monastery of Agarathos was built in the 10th century by Nikiforos Fokas...
by admin | Apr 24, 2015 |
Arab Rule In 824 AD Arabs (Saracens) conquered the island, destroyed the capital Gortyn and built a new one in the present site of Heraklion. The Arab rule thus began and lasted half a century, during which Crete was the center of Saracen pirates in the eastern Mediterranean. The local Christian population was driven away from the big cities but continued to survive, especially in mountain...
by admin | Apr 24, 2015 |
First Byzantine Period The first Byzantine period lasted from 395 AD until 824 AD. During this period Crete was a part of the Byzantine Empire, which had Constantinople as its capital. Christianity spread and established itself on the island. Magnificent churches, mostly basilicas, were built. In the area of the Municipality of Minoan Pediados ruins of the basilicas were found in the location of Prophet Elias at Arkalohori, where the ancient Arcadia used to be. Also at Ini and on the banks of the river Mintri near Tsoutsouros, where the Ancient Inatos has been...
by admin | Apr 24, 2015 |
Roman Period Crete was a strategic point in the eastern Mediterranean and it was a challenge for the Roman Empire. In 74 BC Mark Antony started a military campaign against the island, but the Cretans were well-prepared and defeated him at sea. Later in 69 BC the Romans conquered Crete and it became a Roman province until 369 AD. A lot of Roman remains are found in archaeological sites of the Minoan Plain, such as a Roman bridge over the River Mintri, a Roman farmhouse in the village Smari and a Roman aqueduct in Ancient...
by admin | Apr 24, 2015 |
Post Minoan and Hellenistic Period The Minoan civilization went into decline after 1400 BC after new earthquakes and fires that struck the island. The next wave of invaders, the Dorian Greeks, destroyed Mycenae in central Greece and then settled on the island of Crete around 1100 BC. The Dorians established an aristocratic form of rule. For a certain period around the 7th century BC Crete became an important center for Greece, but it declined again when more emphasis on Greek culture was given at the centers of Athens, Sparta and Macedonia. The Cretan states, such as Lato, Gortyn, Praisos, Itanos, Kydonia, Aptera and Knossos were in constant conflicts and wars among the states were conducted on the whole...
