| Crete Κρήτη (Krḗtē) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||||||
| c. 297 –c. 824/827 961–1205 | |||||||||||||
 Diocese of Macedonia,c. 400 | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Gortyn (until 820s) Chandax (from 961) | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| c. 297 | |||||||||||||
| c. 824 or 827 | |||||||||||||
• Byzantine reconquest | 960–961 | ||||||||||||
| 1205 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Greece | ||||||||||||
The island ofCrete came under the rule of theByzantine Empire in two periods: the first extends from the late antique period (3rd century) to the conquest of the island byAndalusian exiles in the late 820s, and the second from the island's reconquest in 961 to its capture by the competing forces ofGenoa andVenice in 1205.
UnderRoman rule, Crete was part of the jointprovince asCrete and Cyrenaica. UnderDiocletian (r. 284–305) it was formed as a separate province, whileConstantine the Great (r. 306–337) subordinated it to theDiocese of Moesiae (and later theDiocese of Macedonia) within thepraetorian prefecture of Illyricum, an arrangement that persisted until the end oflate antiquity.[1][2][3] Some administrative institutions, like the venerableKoinon of the island, persisted until the end of the fourth century,[4] but as elsewhere in the empire these provincial civic institutions were abandoned in face of the increasing power of imperial officials.[citation needed]
Few contemporary sources mention Crete during the period from the 4th century to the Muslim conquest in the 820s. During this time, the island was very much a quiet provincial backwater in the periphery of the Greco-Roman world.[5] Its bishops are even absent from theFirst Council of Nicaea in 325, in contrast to neighbouring islands likeRhodes orKos.[6] With the exception of an attack by theVandals in 457 and the great earthquakes of9 July 365, 415, 448 and 531, which destroyed many towns, the island remained peaceful and prosperous, as testified by the numerous, large and well-built monuments from the period surviving on the island.[7][8][9] In the 6th-centurySynecdemus, Crete is marked as being governed by aconsularis, with capital atGortyn, and as many as 22 cities.[4] The population in this period is estimated as high as 250,000, and was almost exclusively Christian, except for some Jews living in the main urban centres.[10]
This peace was broken in the 7th century. Crete suffered a raid by theSlavs in 623,[7][11] followed by Arab raids in 654 and the 670s, during the first wave of theearly Muslim conquests,[12][13] and again during the first decades of the 8th century, especially under Caliphal-Walid I (r. 705–715).[14] Thereafter the island remained relatively safe, under the rule of anarchon appointed byConstantinople.[2][15] In ca. 732, the emperorLeo III the Isaurian transferred the island from the jurisdiction of thePope to that of thePatriarchate of Constantinople.[7] Astrategos of Crete is attested in 767, and a seal of atourmarches of Crete is known. This has led to suggestions that the island was constituted as atheme in the 8th century, perhaps as early as the 730s.[16][17] Most scholars however do not consider the evidence conclusive enough and think it unlikely that the island was a theme at the time.[1][2]
Byzantine rule lasted until the late 820s, when a large group of exiles fromMuslim Spain landed on the island and began its conquest. The Byzantines launched repeated expeditions to drive them back, and seem to have appointed astrategos to administer what parts of the island they still controlled. The successive campaigns were defeated however, and failed to prevent the establishment of theSaracen stronghold ofChandax on the northern coast, which became the capital of the newEmirate of Crete.[2][7][18] The fall of Crete to the Arabs posed a major headache for Byzantium, as it opened the coasts and islands of theAegean Sea to piracy.[7]
A major Byzantine campaign in 842/843 underTheoktistos made some headway, and apparently allowed for the re-establishment of the recovered parts of the island as atheme, as evidenced by the presence of astrategos of Crete in the contemporaryTaktikon Uspensky. However Theoktistos had to abandon the campaign, and the troops left behind were quickly defeated by the Saracens.[2][19][20] Further Byzantine attempts at reconquest in 911 and 949 failed disastrously,[21][22] until in 960–961 the generalNikephoros Phokas, at the head of a huge army, landed on the island andstormed Chandax, restoring Crete to Byzantium.[7][23]
After the reconquest, the island was organized as a regular theme, with astrategos based at Chandax. Extensive efforts at conversion of the populace were undertaken, led byJohn Xenos andNikon the Metanoeite.[7][23] A regiment (taxiarchia) of 1000 men was raised as the island's garrison, under a separatetaxiarches and subdivided intotourmai.[2]
UnderAlexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118), the island was ruled by adoux orkatepano. By the early 12th century, it came, along with southern Greece (the themes ofHellas and thePeloponnese) under the overall control of themegas doux, the commander-in-chief of theByzantine navy.[2][7] Aside from the revolt of its governor, Karykes, in 1092/1093, the island remained a relatively peaceful backwater, securely in Byzantine hands until theFourth Crusade.[2][7] During the Crusade, Crete appears to have been granted toBoniface I, Marquess of Montferrat as apronoia by the emperorAlexios IV Angelos.[24] Boniface however, unable to extend his control to the island, sold his rights to the island to theRepublic of Venice. In the event, the island was seized by the Venetians' rivals, theRepublic of Genoa,[25] and it took Venice until 1212 to secure her control over the island and establish it as a Venetian colony, theKingdom of Candia.
According to theNotitia Dignitatum and theSynekdemos, Crete was governed by aconsularis belonging to the senatorial rank ofclarissimus between the 4th and 6th centuries. It was one of only four provinces of this rank or higher in the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum, the other eight being of lower rank.[26] In 539, there is a lone attestation of aproconsul with the rank ofspectabilis, suggesting that the province had been upgraded.[27]
The status of the province afterearly Muslim conquests, when the theme system was being instituted is unclear. It may have been part of the theme ofHellas orPeloponnese.[28] It was a separate province governed byarchons (anarchontia) from the first half of the eighth century. These are mostly known from seals and can be ordered and dated only approximately.[29] Anarchontia lacked the military resources of a theme and Crete's lower status relative to the themes was probably a factor in its inability to resist the Arab incursions without major expeditionary forces sent from elsewhere.[30]
Crete is not included in any surviving list of themes, either Byzantine or Arab. In theTaktikon of 842/843, there is reference to both a "patrician and strategos of Crete" and an "archon of Crete", implying that Crete had recently been raised to a theme and its governors from archon tostrategos.[31] This was probably a response to the Arab invasion. According to theContinuations of Theophanes, the EmperorMichael II (820–829) appointedPhoteinos "to govern the affairs of Crete",[32] probably around 828. He was probably the firststrategos, although his authority would have been limited by the Arab conquests. With the failure of the campaign of Theoktistos in 843, the theme of Crete ceased to exist.[29]
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