[Illustration: FIG. 3.--LARGE OIL-JARS IN EAST MAGAZINES (CNOSSUS).]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--GYPSUM THRONE (FRESCO PAINTING VISIBLE ON WALL)
(CNOSSUS).]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--BASE OF WEST WALL NEAR ROYAL ENTRANCE (CNOSSUS).]
(_By permission of Dr A. J. Evans._)
_Gournia._--Near this hamlet on the coast of the Gulf of Mirabello in
east Crete, the American archaeologist Miss Harriet Boyd has excavated
a great part of another Minoan town. It covers the sides of a long
hill, its main avenue being a winding roadway leading to a small
palace. It contained a shrine of the Cretan snake goddess, and was
rich in minor relics, chiefly in the shape of bronze implements and
pottery for household use. The bulk of the remains belong here, as at
Hagia Triada, to the beginning of the Late Minoan period, but there
are signs of reoccupation in the decadent Minoan age. The remains
supply detailed information as to the everyday life of a Cretan
country town about the middle of the second millennium B.C. (H. Boyd,
_Excavations at Gournia_).
_Zakro._--Near the lower hamlet of that name on the S.E. coast
important remains of a settlement contemporary with that of Gournia
were explored by D. G. Hogarth, consisting of houses and pits
containing painted pottery of exceptional beauty and a great variety
of seal impressions. The deep bay in which Zakro lies is a well-known
port of call for the fishing fleets on their way to the sponge grounds
of the Libyan coast, and doubtless stood in the same stead to the
Minoan shipping (D. G. Hogarth, _Annual of the British School_, vii.
121 sqq., and _Journ. of Hellenic Studies_, xxii. 76 sqq. and 333
sqq.).
_Dictaean Cave._--Near the village of Psychro on the Lassithi range,
answering to the western Dicte, opens a large cave, identified with
the legendary birthplace of the Cretan Zeus. This cavern also shared
with that of Ida the claim to have been that in which Minos,
Moses-like, received the law from Zeus. The exploration begun by the
Italian Mission under Halbherr and continued by Evans, who found here
the inscribed libation table (see above), was completed by Hogarth in
1900. Besides the great entrance hall of the cavern, which served as
the upper shrine, were descending vaults forming a lower sanctuary
going down deep into the bowels of the earth. Great quantities of
votive figures and objects of cult, such as the fetish double axes and
stone tables of offering, were found both above and below. In the
lower sanctuary the natural pillars of stalagmite had been used as
objects of worship, and bronze votive objects thrust into their
crevices (Halbherr, _Museo di antichita classica_, ii. pp. 906-910;
Evans, _Further Discoveries_, &c., p. 350 sqq., _Myc. Tree and Pillar
Cult_, p. 14 sqq.; Hogarth, "The Dictaean Cave," _Annual of British
School at Athens_, vi. 94 sqq.).
_Pseira and Mochlos._--On these two islets on the northern coast of E.
Crete, R. Seager, an American explorer, has found striking remains of
flourishing Minoan settlements. The contents of a series of tombs at
Mochlos throw an entirely new light on the civilization of the Early
Minoan age.
Third Late Minoan period.
The above summary gives, indeed, a very imperfect idea of the extent to
which the remains of the great Minoan civilization are spread throughout
the island. The "hundred cities" ascribed to Crete by Homer are in a
fair way of becoming an ascertained reality. The great days of Crete lie
thus beyond the historic period. The period of decline referred to above
(Late Minoan III.), which begins about the beginning of the 14th century
before our era, must, from the abundance of its remains, have been of
considerable duration. As to the character of the invading elements that
hastened its close, and the date of their incursions, contemporary
Egyptian monuments afford the best clue. The Keftiu who represented
Minoan culture in Egypt in the concluding period of the Cnossian palace
(Late Minoan II.) cease to appear on Egyptian monuments towards the end
of the XVIIIth Dynasty (c. 1350 B.C.), and their place is taken by the
"Peoples of the Sea." The Achaeans, under the name _Akaiusha_, already
appear among the piratical invaders of Egypt in the time of Rameses III.
(c. 1200 B.C.) of the XXth Dynasty (see H. R. Hall, "Keftiu and the
Peoples of the Sea," _Annual of British School at Athens_, viii. 157
sqq.).
Greek settlementsin Crete.
About the same time the evidences of imports of Late Minoan or
"Mycenaean" fabrics in Egypt definitely cease. In the _Odyssey_ we
already find the Achaeans together with Dorians settled in central
Crete. In the extreme east and west of the island the aboriginal
"Eteocretan" element, however, as represented respectively by the
Praesians or Cydonians, still held its own, and inscriptions written in
Greek characters show that the old language survived to the centuries
immediately preceding the Christian era.
The dark ages.
The mainland invasions which produced these great ethnic changes in
Crete are marked archaeologically by signs of widespread destruction and
by a considerable break in the continuity of the insular civilization.
New burial customs, notably the rite of cremation in place of the older
corpse-burial, are introduced, and in many cases the earlier tombs were
pillaged and re-used by new comers. The use of iron for arms and
implements now finally triumphed over bronze. Northern forms of swords
and safety-pins are now found in general use. A new geometrical style of
decoration like that of contemporary Greece largely supplants the Minoan
models. The civic foundations which belong to this period, and which
include the greater part of the massive ruins of Goulas and Anavlachos
in the province of Mirabello and of Hyrtakina in the west, affect more
or less precipitous sites and show a greater tendency to fortification.
The old system of writing now dies out, and it is not till some three
centuries later that the new alphabetic forms are introduced from a
Semitic source. The whole course of the older Cretan civilization is
awhile interrupted, and is separated from the new by the true dark ages
of Greece.
It is nevertheless certain that some of the old traditions were
preserved by the remnants of the old population now reduced to a subject
condition, and that these finally leavened the whole lump, so that once
more--this time under a Hellenic guise--Crete was enabled to anticipate
mainland Greece in nascent civilization. Already in 1883 A. Milchhofer
(_Anfange der Kunst_) had called attention to certain remarkable
examples of archaic Greek bronze-work, and the subsequent discovery of
the votive bronzes in the cave of Zeus on Mount Ida, and notably the
shields with their fine embossed designs, shows that by the 8th century
B.C. Cretan technique in metal not only held its own beside imported
Cypro-Phoenician work, but was distinctly ahead of that of the rest of
Greece (Halbherr, _Bronzi del antro di Zeus Ideo_). The recent
excavations by the British School on the site of the Dictaean temple at
Palaikastro bear out this conclusion, and an archaic marble head of
Apollo found at Eleutherna shows that classical tradition was not at
fault in recording the existence of a very early school of Greek
sculpture in the island, illustrated by the names of Dipoenos and
Scyllis.
The Dorian dynasts in Crete seem in some sort to have claimed descent
from Minos, and the Dorian legislators sought their sanction in the laws
which Minos was said to have received from the hands of the Cretan Zeus.
The great monument of Gortyna discovered by Halbherr and Fabricius
(_Monumenti antichi_, iii.) is the most important monument of early law
hitherto brought to light in any part of the Greek world.
Greek remains.
Among other Greek remains in the island may be mentioned, besides the
great inscription, the archaic temple of the Pythian Apollo at Gortyna,
a plain square building with a _pronaos_ added in later times, excavated
by Halbherr, 1885 and 1887 (_Mon. Ant._ iii. 2 seqq.), the Hellenic
bridge and the vast rock-cut reservoirs of Eleutherna, the city walls of
Itanos, Aptera and Polyrrhenia, and at Phalasarna, the rock-cut throne
of a divinity, the port, and the remains of a temple. The most
interesting record, however, that has been preserved of later Hellenic
civilization in the island is the coinage of the Cretan cities (J. N.
Svoronos, _Numismatique de la Crete ancienne_; W. Wroth, _B. M. Coin
Catalogue, Crete, &c._; P. Gardner, _The Types of Greek Coins_), which
during the good period display a peculiarly picturesque artistic style
distinct from that of the rest of the Greek world, and sometimes
indicative of a revival of Minoan types. But in every case these
artistic efforts were followed at short intervals by gross relapses into
barbarism which reflect the anarchy of the political conditions.
Roman remains.
Under the _Pax Romana_, the Cretan cities again enjoyed a large measure
of prosperity, illustrated by numerous edifices still existing at the
time of the Venetian occupation. A good account of these is preserved
in a MS. description of the island drawn up under the Venetians about
1538, and existing in the library of St Mark (published by Falkener,
_Museum of Classical Antiquities_, ii. pp. 263-303). Very little of all
this, however, has escaped the Turkish conquest and the ravages caused
by the incessant insurrections of the last two centuries. The ruin-field
of Gortyna still evokes something of the importance that it possessed in
Imperial days, and at Lebena on the south coast are remains of a temple
of Aesculapius and its dependencies which stood in connexion with this
city. At Cnossus, save some blocks of the amphitheatre, the Roman
monuments visible in Venetian times have almost wholly disappeared.
Among the early Christian remains of the island far and away the most
important is the church of St Titus at Gortyna, which perhaps dates from
the Constantinian age.
LITERATURE.--See the authorities already quoted, for further details.
Previous to the extensive excavations referred to above, Crete had
been carefully examined and explored by Tournefort, Pococke, Olivier
and other travellers, e.g. Pashley (_Travels in Crete_, 2 vols.,
London, 1837) and Captain Spratt (_Travels and Researches in Crete_, 2
vols., London, 1865). A survey sufficiently accurate as regards the
maritime parts was also executed, under the orders of the British
admiralty, by Captain Graves and Captain (afterwards Admiral) Spratt.
Most that can be gathered from ancient authors concerning the
mythology and early history of the island is brought together by
Meursius (_Creta_, &c., in the 3rd vol. of his works) and Hoeck
(_Kreta_, 3 vols., Gottingen, 1823-1829), but the latter work was
published before the researches which have thrown so much light on the
topography and antiquities of the island. Much new material,
especially as to the western provinces of Crete, has been recently
collected by members of the Italian Archaeological Mission (_Monumenti
Antichi_, vol. vi. 154 seqq., ix. 286, 1899; xi. 286 seqq.). (A. J.
E.)
_History._
_Ancient._--Lying midway between three continents, Crete was from the
earliest period a natural stepping-stone for the passage of early
culture from Egypt and the East to mainland Greece. On all this the
recent archaeological discoveries (see the section on ARCHAEOLOGY) have
thrown great light, but the earliest written history of Crete, like that
of most parts of continental Greece, is mixed up with mythology and
fable to so great an extent as to render it difficult to arrive at any
clear conclusions concerning it. The Cretans themselves claimed for
their island to be the birthplace of Zeus, as well as the parent of all
the other divinities usually worshipped in Greece as the Olympian
deities. But passing from this region of pure mythology to the
semi-mythic or heroic age, we find almost all the early legends and
traditions of the island grouped around the name of Minos. According to
the received tradition, Minos was a king of Cnossus in Crete; he was a
son of Zeus, and enjoyed through life the privilege of habitual
intercourse with his divine father. It was from this source that he
derived the wisdom which enabled him to give to the Cretans the
excellent system of laws and governments that earned for him the
reputation of being the greatest legislator of antiquity. At the same
time he was reported to have been the first monarch who established a
naval power, and acquired what was termed by the Greeks the
_Thalassocracy_, or dominion of the sea.
This last tradition, which was received as an undoubted fact both by
Thucydides and Aristotle, has during the last few years received
striking confirmation. The remarkable remains recently brought to light
on Cretan soil tend to show that already some 2000 years before the
Dorian conquest the island was exercising a dominant influence in the
Aegean world. The great palaces now excavated at Cnossus and Phaestus,
as well as the royal villa of Hagia Triada, exhibit the successive
phases of a brilliant primitive civilization which had already attained
mature development by the date of the XIIth Egyptian dynasty. To this
civilization as a whole it is convenient to give the name "Minoan," and
the name of Minos itself may be reasonably thought to cover a dynastic
even more than a personal significance in much the same way as such
historic terms as "Pharaoh" or "Caesar."
The archaeological evidence outside Crete points to the actual existence
of Minoan plantations as far afield on one side as Sicily and on the
other as the coast of Canaan. The historic tradition which identifies
with the Cretans the principal element of the Philistine confederation,
and places the tomb of Minos himself in western Sicily, thus receives
remarkable confirmation. Industrial relations with Egypt are also marked
by the occurrence of a series of finds of pottery and other objects of
Minoan fabric among the remains of the XVIIIth, XIIth and even earlier
dynasties, while the same seafaring enterprise brought Egyptian fabrics
to Crete from the times of the first Pharaohs. Even in the Homeric
poems, which belong to an age when the great Minoan civilization was
already decadent, the Cretans appear as the only Greek people who
attempted to compete with the Phoenicians as bold and adventurous
navigators. In the Homeric age the population of Crete was of a very
mixed character, and we are told in the _Odyssey_ (xix. 175) that
besides the Eteocretes, who, as their name imports, must have been the
original inhabitants, the island contained Achaeans, Pelasgians and
Dorians. Subsequently the Dorian element became greatly strengthened by
fresh immigrations from the Peloponnesus, and during the historical
period all the principal cities of the island were either Dorian
colonies, or had adopted the Dorian dialect and institutions. It is
certain that at a very early period the Cretan cities were celebrated
for their laws and system of government, and the most extensive monument
of early Greek law is the great Gortyna inscription, discovered in 1884.
The origin of the Cretan laws was of course attributed to Minos, but
they had much in common with those of the other Dorian states, as well
as with those of Lycurgus at Sparta, which were, indeed, according to
one tradition, copied in great measure from those already existing in
Crete.[2]
It is certain that whatever merits the Cretan laws may have possessed
for the internal regulation of the different cities, they had the one
glaring defect, that they made no provision for any federal bond or
union among them, or for the government of the island as a whole. It was
owing to the want of this that the Cretans scarcely figure in Greek
history as a people, though the island, as observed by Aristotle, would
seem from its natural position calculated to exercise a preponderating
influence over Greek affairs. Thus they took no part either in the
Persian or in the Peloponnesian War, or in any of the subsequent civil
contests in which so many of the cities and islands of Greece were
engaged. At the same time they were so far from enjoying tranquillity on
this account that the few notices we find of them in history always
represent them as engaged in local wars among one another; and Polybius
tells us that the history of Crete was one continued series of civil
wars, which were carried on with a bitter animosity exceeding all that
was known in the rest of Greece.
In these domestic contests the three cities that generally took the
lead, and claimed to exercise a kind of _hegemony_ or supremacy over the
whole island, were Cnossus, Gortyna and Cydonia. But besides these
three, there were many other independent cities, which, though they
generally followed the lead of one or other of these more powerful
rivals, enjoyed complete autonomy, and were able to shift at will from
one alliance to another. Among the most important of these were--Lyttus
or Lyctus, in the interior, south-east of Cnossus; Rhaucus, between
Cnossus and Gortyna; Phaestus, in the plain of Messara, between Gortyna
and the sea; Polyrrhenia, near the north-west angle of the island;
Aptera, a few miles inland from the Bay of Suda; Eleutherna and Axus, on
the northern slopes of Mount Ida; and Lappa, between the White Mountains
and the sea. Phalasarna on the west coast, and Chersonesus on the north,
seem to have been dependencies, and served as the ports of Polyrrhenia
and Lyttus. Elyrus stood at the foot of the White Mountains just above
the south coast. In the eastern portion of the island were Praesus in
the interior, and Itanus on the coast, facing the east, while Hierapytna
on the south coast was the only place of importance on the side facing
Africa, and on this account rose under the Romans to be one of the
principal cities of the island. (A. J. E.)
_Medieval to 19th Century._--Though it was continually torn by civil
dissensions, the island maintained its independence of the various
Macedonian monarchs by whom it was surrounded; but having incurred the
enmity of Rome, first by an alliance with the great Mithradates, and
afterwards by taking active part with their neighbours, the pirates of
Cilicia, the Cretans were at length attacked by the Roman arms, and,
after a resistance protracted for more than three years, were finally
subdued by Q. Metellus, who earned by this success the surname of
Creticus (67 B.C.). The island was now reduced to a Roman province, and
subsequently united for administrative purposes with the district of
Cyrenaica or the Pentapolis, on the opposite coast of Africa. This
arrangement lasted till the time of Constantine, by whom Crete was
incorporated in the prefecture of Illyria. It continued to form part of
the Byzantine empire till the 9th century, when it fell into the hands
of the Saracens (823). It then became a formidable nest of pirates and a
great slave mart; it defied all the efforts of the Byzantine sovereigns
to recover it till the year 960, when it was reconquered by Nicephorus
Phocas. In the partition of the Greek empire after the capture of
Constantinople by the Latins in 1204, Crete fell to the lot of Boniface,
marquis of Montferrat, but was sold by him to the Venetians, and thus
passed under the dominion of that great republic, to which it continued
subject for more than four centuries.
Under the Venetian government Candia, a fortress originally built by the
Saracens, and called by them "Khandax," became the seat of government,
and not only rose to be the capital and chief city of the island, but
actually gave name to it, so that it was called in the official language
of Venice "the island of Candia," a designation which from thence passed
into modern maps. The ancient name of Krete or Kriti was, however,
always retained in use among the Greeks, and is gradually resuming its
place in the usage of literary Europe. The government of Crete by the
Venetian aristocracy was, like that of their other dependencies, very
arbitrary and oppressive, and numerous insurrections were the
consequence. Daru, in his history of Venice, mentions fourteen between
the years 1207 and 1365, the most important being that of 1361-1364,--a
revolt not of the natives against the rule of their Venetian masters,
but of the Venetian colonists against the republic. But with all its
defects their administration did much to promote the material prosperity
of the country, and to encourage commerce and industry; and it is
probable that the island was more prosperous than at any subsequent
time. Their Venetian masters at least secured to the islanders external
tranquillity, and it is singular that the Turks were content to leave
them in undisturbed possession of this opulent and important island for
nearly two centuries after the fall of Constantinople. The Cretans
themselves, however, were eager for a change, and, disappointed in the
hope of a Genoese occupation, were ready, as is stated in the report of
a Venetian commissioner, to exchange the rule of the Venetians for that
of the Turks, whom they fondly expected to find more lenient, or at any
rate less energetic, masters. It was not till 1645 that the Turks made
any serious attempt to effect the conquest of the island; but in that
year they landed with an army of 50,000 men, and speedily reduced the
important city of Canea. Retimo fell the following year, and in 1648
they laid siege to the capital city of Candia. This was the longest
siege on record, having been protracted for more than twenty years; but
in 1667 it was pressed with renewed vigour by the Turks under the grand
vizier Ahmed Kuprili, and the city was at length compelled to surrender
(September 1669). Its fall was followed by the submission of the whole
island. Venice was allowed to retain possession of Grabusa, Suda and
Spinalonga on the north, but in 1718 these three strongholds reverted to
the Turks, and the island was finally lost to Venice.
From this time Crete continued subject to Ottoman rule without
interruption till the outbreak of the Greek revolution. After the
conquest a large part of the inhabitants embraced Mahommedanism, and
thus secured to themselves the chief share in the administration of the
island. But far from this having a favourable effect upon the condition
of the population, the result was just the contrary, and according to R.
Pashley (_Travels in Crete_, 1837) Crete was the worst governed province
of the Turkish empire. In 1770 an abortive attempt at revolt, the hero
of which was "Master" John, a Sphakiot chief, was repressed with great
cruelty. The regular authorities sent from Constantinople were wholly
unable to control the excesses of the janissaries, who exercised without
restraint every kind of violence and oppression. In 1813 the ruthless
severity of the governor-general, Haji Osman, who obtained the
co-operation of the Christians, broke the power of the janissaries; but
after Osman had fallen a victim to the suspicions of the sultan, Crete
again came under their control. When in 1821 the revolution broke out in
continental Greece, the Cretans, headed by the Sphakiots, after a
massacre at Canea at once raised the standard of insurrection. They
carried on hostilities with such success that they soon made themselves
masters of the whole of the open country, and drove the Turks and
Mussulman population to take refuge in the fortified cities. The sultan
then invoked the assistance of Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, who
despatched 7000 Albanians to the island. Hostilities continued with no
decisive result till 1824, when the arrival of further reinforcements
enabled the Turkish commander to reduce the island to submission. In
1827 the battle of Navarino took place, and in 1830 (3rd of February)
Greece was declared independent. The allied powers (France, England and
Russia) decided, however, that Crete should not be included amongst the
islands annexed to the newly-formed kingdom of Greece; but recognizing
that some change was necessary, they obtained from the sultan Mahmud II.
its cession to Egypt, which was confirmed by a firman of the 20th of
December 1832. This change of masters brought some relief to the
unfortunate Cretans, who at least exchanged the licence of local misrule
for the oppression of an organized despotism; and the government of
Mustafa Pasha, an Albanian like Mehemet Ali, the ruler of the island for
a considerable period (1832-1852), was more enlightened and intelligent
than that of most Turkish governors. He encouraged agriculture, improved
the roads, introduced an Albanian police, and put down brigandage. The
period of his administration has been called the "golden age" of Crete.
In 1840 Crete was again taken from Mehemet Ali, and replaced under the
dominion of the Turks, but fortunately Mustafa still retained his
governorship until he left for Constantinople to become grand vizier in
1852. Four years later an insurrection broke out, owing to the violation
of the provisions of an imperial decree (February 1856), whereby liberty
of conscience and equal rights and privileges with Mussulmans had been
conferred upon Christians. The latter refused to lay down their arms
until a firman was issued (July 1858), confirming the promised
concessions. These promises being again repudiated, in 1864 the
inhabitants held an assembly and a petition was drawn up for
presentation at Constantinople by the governor. The sultan's reply was
couched in the vaguest terms, and the Cretans were ordered to render
unquestioning obedience to the authorities. After a period of great
distress and cruel oppression, in 1866, on the demand for reforms being
again refused, a general insurrection took place, which was only put
down by great exertions on the part of the Porte. It was followed by the
concession of additional privileges to the Christians of the island and
of a kind of constitutional government and other reforms embodied in
what is known as the "Organic Statute" of 1868. (J. H. F.)
Pact of Halepa.
Insurrection of 1896-97.
_Modern Constitutional._--Cretan constitutional history may be said to
date from 1868, when, after the suppression of an insurrection which had
extended over three years, the Turkish government consented to grant a
certain measure of autonomy to the island. The privileges now accorded
were embodied in what is known as the Organic Statute, an instrument
which eventually obtained a somewhat wider importance, being proposed by
Article XXIII. of the Berlin Treaty as a basis of reforms to be
introduced in other parts of the Ottoman empire. Various privileges
already acquired by the Christian population were confirmed; a general
council, or representative body, was brought into existence, composed of
deputies from every district in the island; mixed tribunals were
introduced, together with a highly elaborate administrative system,
under which all the more important functionaries, Christian and
Mussulman, were provided with an assessor of the opposite creed. The new
constitution, however, proved costly and unworkable, and failed to
satisfy either section of the population. The Christians were ready for
another outbreak, when, in 1878, the Greek government, finding Hellenic
aspirations ignored by the treaty of San Stefano, gave the signal for
agitation in the island. During the insurrection which followed, the
usual barbarities were committed on both sides; the Christians betook
themselves to the mountains, and the Mussulman peasants crowded into the
fortified towns. Eventually the Cretan chiefs invoked the mediation of
England, which Turkey, exhausted by her struggle with Russia, was ready
to accept, and the convention known as the Pact of Halepa was drawn up
in 1878 under the auspices of Mr Sandwith, the British consul, and
Adossides Pasha, both of whom enjoyed the confidence of the Cretan
population. The privileges conferred by the Organic Statute were
confirmed; the cumbersome and extravagant judicial and administrative
systems were maintained; the judges were declared independent of the
executive, and an Assembly composed of forty-nine Christian and
thirty-one Mussulman deputies took the place of the former general
council. A parliamentary regime was thus inaugurated, and party warfare
for a time took the place of the old religious antagonism, the Moslems
attaching themselves to one or other of the political factions which now
made their appearance among the Christians. The material interests of
the island were neglected in the scramble for place and power; the
finances fell into disorder, and the party which came off worst in the
struggle systematically intrigued against the governor-general of the
day and conspired with his enemies at Constantinople. A crisis came
about in 1889, when the "Conservative" leaders, finding themselves in a
minority in the chamber, took up arms and withdrew to the mountains.
Though the outbreak was unconnected with the religious feud, the latent
fanaticism of both creeds was soon aroused, and the island once more
became a scene of pillage and devastation. Unlike the two preceding
movements, the insurrection of 1889 resulted unfavourably for the
Christians. The Porte, having induced the Greek government to persuade
the insurgents not to oppose the occupation of several strategic posts,
despatched a military governor to the island, proclaimed martial law,
and issued a firman abrogating many important provisions of the Halepa
Pact. The mode of election to the assembly was altered, the number of
its members reduced, and the customs revenue, which had hitherto been
shared with the island, was appropriated by the Turkish treasury. The
firman was undoubtedly illegal, as it violated a convention possessing a
quasi-international sanction, but the Christians were unable to resist,
and the powers abstained from intervention. The elections held under the
new system proved a failure, the Christians refusing to go to the polls,
and for the next five years Crete was governed absolutely by a
succession of Mahommedan Valis. The situation went from bad to worse,
the deficit in the budget increased, the gendarmery, which received no
pay, became insubordinate, and crime multiplied. In 1894 the Porte, at
the instance of the powers, nominated a Christian, Karatheodory Pasha,
to the governorship, and the Christians, mollified by the concession,
agreed to take part in the assembly which soon afterwards was convoked;
no steps, however, were taken to remedy the financial situation, which
became the immediate cause of the disorders that followed. The refusal
of the Porte to refund considerable sums which had been illegally
diverted from the Cretan treasury or even to sanction a loan to meet
immediate requirements caused no little exasperation in the island,
which was increased by the recall of Karatheodory (March 1895). Before
that event an Epitrope, or "Committee of Reform," had appeared in the
mountains--the harbinger of the prolonged struggle which ended in the
emancipation of Crete. The Epitrope was at first nothing more than a
handful of discontented politicians who had failed to find places in the
administration, but some slight reverses which it succeeded in
inflicting on the Turkish troops brought thousands of armed Christians
to its side, and in April 1896 it found itself strong enough to invest
the important garrison town of Vamos. The Moslem peasantry now flocked
to the fortified towns and civil war began. Serious disturbances broke
out at Canea on the 24th of May, and were only quelled by the arrival of
foreign warships. The foreign consuls intervened in the hope of bringing
about a peaceful settlement, but the Sultan resolved on the employment
of force, and an expedition despatched to Vamos effected the relief of
that town with a loss of 200 men. The advance of a Turkish detachment
through the western districts, where other garrisons were besieged, was
marked by pillage and devastation, and 5000 Christian peasants took
refuge on the desolate promontory of Spada, where they suffered extreme
privations. These events, which produced much excitement in Greece,
quickened the energies of the powers. An international blockade of the
island was proposed by Austria but rejected by England. The ambassadors
at Constantinople urged peaceful counsels on the Porte, and the Sultan,
alarmed at this juncture by an Armenian outbreak, began to display a
conciliatory disposition. The Pact of Halepa was restored, the troops
were withdrawn from the interior, financial aid was promised to the
island, a Christian governor-general was appointed, the assembly was
summoned, and an imperial commissioner was despatched to negotiate an
arrangement. The Christian leaders prepared a moderate scheme of
reforms, based on the Halepa Pact, which, with a few exceptions, were
approved by the powers and eventually sanctioned by the sultan.
Greek Intervention.
Decision of the powers.
On the 4th of September 1896 the assembly formally accepted the new
constitution and declared its gratitude to the powers for their
intervention. The Moslem leaders acquiesced in the arrangement, which
the powers undertook to guarantee, and, notwithstanding some symptoms of
discontent at Candia, there was every reason to hope that the island was
now entering upon a period of tranquillity. It soon became evident,
however, that the Porte was endeavouring to obstruct the execution of
the new reforms. Several months passed without any step being taken
towards this realization; difficulties were raised with regard to the
composition of the international commissions charged with the
reorganization of the gendarmery and judicial system; intrigues were set
on foot against the Christian governor-general; and the presence of a
special imperial commissioner, who had no place under the constitution,
proved so injurious to the restoration of tranquillity that the powers
demanded his immediate recall. The indignation of the Christians
increased, a state of insecurity prevailed, and the Moslem peasants
refused to return to their homes. A new factor now became apparent in
Cretan politics. Since the outbreak in May 1896 the Greek government had
loyally co-operated with the powers in their efforts for the
pacification of the island, but towards the close of the year a secret
society known as the Ethnike Hetaeria began to arrogate to itself the
direction of Greek foreign policy. The aim of the society was a war with
Turkey with a view to the acquisition of Macedonia, and it found a ready
instrument for its designs in the growing discontent of the Cretan
Christians. Emissaries of the society now appeared in Crete, large
consignments of arms were landed, and at the beginning of 1897 the
island was practically in a state of insurrection. On the 21st of
January the Greek fleet was mobilized. Affairs were brought to a climax
by a series of conflicts which took place at Canea on the 4th of
February; the Turkish troops fired on the Christians, a conflagration
broke out in the town, and many thousands of Christians took refuge on
the foreign warships in the bay. The Greek government now despatched an
ironclad and a cruiser to Canea, which were followed a few days later by
a torpedo flotilla commanded by Prince George. The prince soon retired
to Melos, but on the night of the 14th of February a Greek expeditionary
force under Colonel Vassos landed at Kolymbari, near Canea, and its
commander issued a proclamation announcing the occupation of the island
in the name of King George. On the same day Georgi Pasha, the Christian
governor-general, took refuge on board a Russian ironclad, and, on the
next, naval detachments from the warships of the powers occupied Canea.
This step paralysed the movements of Colonel Vassos, who after a few
slight engagements with the Turks remained practically inactive in the
interior. The insurgents, however, continued to threaten the town, and
their position was bombarded by the international fleet (21st February).
The intervention of Greece caused immense excitement among the Christian
population, and terrible massacres of Moslem peasants took place in the
eastern and western districts. The forces of the powers shortly
afterwards occupied Candia and the other maritime towns, while the
international fleet blockaded the Cretan coast. These measures were
followed by the presentation of collective notes to the Greek and
Turkish governments (2nd March), announcing the decision of the powers
that (1) Crete could in no case in present circumstances be annexed to
Greece; (2) in view of the delays caused by Turkey in the application of
the reforms Crete should now be endowed with an effective autonomous
administration, intended to secure to it a separate government, under
the suzerainty of the sultan. Greece was at the same time summoned to
remove its army and fleet from the island, while the Turkish troops were
to be concentrated in the fortresses and eventually withdrawn. The
cabinet of Athens, however, declined to recall the expeditionary force,
which remained in the interior till the 9th of May, when, after the
Greek reverses in Thessaly and Epirus, an order was given for its
return. Meantime Cretan autonomy had been proclaimed (20th March). After
the departure of the Greek troops the Cretan leaders, who had hitherto
demanded annexation to Greece, readily acquiesced in the decision of the
powers, and the insurgent Assembly, under its president Dr Sphakianakis,
a man of good sense and moderation, co-operated with the international
commanders in the maintenance of order. The pacification of the island,
however, was delayed by the presence of the Turkish troops and the
inability of the powers to agree in the choice of a new
governor-general. The prospect of a final settlement was improved by the
withdrawal of Germany and Austria, which had favoured Turkish
pretensions, from the European concert (April 1898); the remaining
powers divided the island into four departments, which they severally
undertook to administer. An attack made by the Moslems of Candia on the
British garrison of that town, with the connivance of the Turkish
authorities, brought home to the powers the necessity of removing the
Ottoman troops, and the last Turkish soldiers quitted the island on the
14th of November 1898.
Prince George's administration.
On the 26th of that month the nomination of Prince George of Greece as
high commissioner of the powers in Crete for a period of three years
(renewed in 1901) was formally announced, and on the 21st of December
the prince landed at Suda and made his public entry into Canea amid
enthusiastic demonstrations. For some time after his arrival complete
tranquillity prevailed in the island, but the Moslem population, reduced
to great distress by the prolonged insurrection, emigrated in large
numbers. On the 27th of April 1899 a new autonomous constitution was
voted by a constituent assembly, and in the following June the local
administration was handed over to Cretan officials by the international
authorities. The extensive powers conferred by the constitution upon
Prince George were increased by subsequent enactments. In 1901 M.
Venezelo, who had played a noteworthy part in the last insurrection, was
dismissed from the post of councillor by the prince, and soon afterwards
became leader of a strong opposition party, which denounced the
arbitrary methods of the government. During the next four years party
spirit ran high; in the spring of 1904 a deputation of chiefs and
politicians addressed a protest to the prince, and early in the
following year a band of armed malcontents under M. Venezelo raised the
standard of revolt at Theriso in the White Mountains. The insurgents,
who received moral support from Dr Sphakianakis, proclaimed the union of
the island with Greece (March 1905), and their example was speedily
followed by the assembly at Canea. The powers, however, reiterated their
decision to maintain the _status quo_, and increased their military and
naval forces; the Greek flag was hauled down at Canea and Candia, and
some desultory engagements with the insurgents took place, the
international troops co-operating with the native gendarmerie. In the
autumn M. Venezelo and his followers, having obtained an amnesty, laid
down their arms. A commission appointed by the powers to report on the
administrative and financial situation drew up a series of
recommendations in January 1906, and a constituent assembly for the
revision of the constitution met at Canea in the following June. On the
25th of July the powers announced a series of reforms, including the
reorganization of the gendarmerie and militia under Greek officers, as a
preliminary to the eventual withdrawal of the international troops, and
the extension to Crete of the system of financial control established in
Greece. On the 14th of September, under an agreement dated the 14th of
August, they invited King George of Greece, in the event of the high
commissionership becoming vacant, to propose a candidate for that post,
to be nominated by the powers for a period of five years, and on the
25th of September Prince George left the island. He had done much for
the welfare of Crete, but his participation in party struggles and his
attitude towards the representatives of the powers had rendered his
position untenable. His successor, M. Alexander Zaimis, a former prime
minister of Greece, arrived in Crete on the 1st of October.
(J. D. B.)
On the 22nd of February 1907 M. Zaimis, as high commissioner, took the
oath to the new constitution elaborated after much debate by the Cretan
national assembly. His position was one of singular difficulty. Apart
from the rivalry of the factions within the Assembly, there was the
question of the Mussulman minority, dwindling it is true,[3] but still a
force to be reckoned with. The high commissioner, true to his reputation
as a prudent statesman and astute politician, showed great skill in
dealing with the situation. From the first he had taken up an attitude
of great reserve, appearing little in public and careful not to identify
himself with any faction. In such matters as appointments to the
judicial bench, indeed, his studied impartiality offended both parties;
but on the whole his administration was a marked success, and the
cessation of the chronic state of disturbance in the island justified
the powers in preparing for the withdrawal of their troops. In spite of
the admission of their co-religionists to high office in the government,
the Mussulmans, it is true, still complained of continuous ill-treatment
having for its object their expatriation; but these complaints were
declared by Sir Edward Grey, in answer to a question in parliament, to
be exaggerated. The protecting powers had fixed the conditions
preliminary to evacuation--(1) the organization of a native gendarmerie,
(2) the maintenance of the tranquillity of the island, (3) the complete
security of the Mussulman population. On the 20th of March 1908 M.
Zaimis called the attention of the powers to the fact that these
conditions had been fulfilled, and on the 11th of May the powers
announced to the high commissioner their intention of beginning the
evacuation at once and completing it within a year. The first withdrawal
of the troops (July 27), hailed with enthusiasm by the Cretan
Christians, led to rioting by the Mussulmans, who believed themselves
abandoned to their fate.
Meanwhile M. Zaimis had made a further advance towards the annexation of
the island to Greece by a visit to Athens, where he arranged for a loan
with the Greek National Bank and engaged Greek officers for the new
gendarmerie. The issue was precipitated by the news of the revolution in
Turkey. On the 12th of October the Cretan Assembly once more voted the
union with Greece, and in the absence of M. Zaimis--who had gone for a
holiday to Santa Maura--elected a committee of six to govern the island
in the name of the king of Greece.
Against this the Mussulman deputies protested, in a memorandum addressed
to the British secretary of state for foreign affairs. His reply, while
stating that his government would safeguard the interests of the
Mussulmans, left open the question of the attitude of the powers,
complicated now by sympathy with reformed Turkey. The efforts of
diplomacy were directed to allaying the resentment of the "Young Turks"
on the one hand and the ardour of the Greek unionists on the other; and
meanwhile the Cretan administration was carried on peaceably in the name
of King George. At last (July 13, 1909) the powers announced to the
Porte, in answer to a formal remonstrance, their decision to withdraw
their remaining troops from Crete by July 26 and to station four
war-ships off the island to protect the Moslems and to safeguard "the
supreme rights" of the Ottoman Empire. This arrangement, which was duly
carried out, was avowedly "provisional" and satisfied neither party,
leading in Greece especially to the military and constitutional crises
of 1909 and 1910. (W. A. P.)
AUTHORITIES.--Pashley, _Travels in Crete_ (2 vols., Cambridge and
London, 1837); Spratt, _Travels and Researches in Crete_ (2 vols.,
London, 1867); Raulin, _Description physique de l'ile de Crete_ (3
vols, and Atlas, Paris, 1869); W. J. Stillman, _The Cretan
Insurrection of 1866-68_ (New York, 1874); Edwardes, _Letters from
Crete_ (London, 1887); Stavrakis, [Greek: Statistike tou plethysmou
tes Kretes] (Athens, 1890); J. H. Freese, _A Short Popular History of
Crete_ (London, 1897); Bickford-Smith, _Cretan Sketches_ (London,
1897); Laroche, _La Crete ancienne et moderne_ (Paris, 1898); Victor
Berard, _Les Affaires de Crete_ (Paris, 1898); _Monumenti Veneti dell'
isola de Creta_ (published by the Venetian Institute), vol. i. (1906),
vol. ii. (1908). See also Mrs Walker, _Eastern Life and Scenery_
(London, 1886), and _Old Tracks and New Landmarks_ (London, 1897); H.
F. Tozer, _The Islands of the Aegean_ (Oxford, 1890); J. D. Bourchier,
"The Stronghold of the Sphakiotes," _Fortnightly Review_ (August
1890); E. J. Dillon, "Crete and the Cretans," _Fortnightly Review_
(May 1897).