Heraklion is the largest city in Crete with 140,730 inhabitants
(2011 census). It is the seat of the Decentralized Administration of
Crete, of the Region of Crete (returned as capital in 1971), as well
as the seat of the Church of Crete and its Archbishop. The
Municipality of Heraklion, as it emerged from the Kallikratis
program, is the fourth most populous in the country with 173,993
inhabitants. The city of Heraklion is famous for its resistance and
heroism during the German invasion and the Battle of Crete (1941),
it was honored with the First Class War Cross.
The main
economic sectors of the city are tourism, agriculture and trade. It
has an industrial area 4 km southeast of the center. Heraklion also
has one of the largest airports in Greece today (second in total
after Athens and first in charter flights), the airport "Nikos
Kazantzakis", as well as a port with heavy shipping mainly to
Piraeus and other islands. The city of Heraklion was named for the
year 2017 as the fastest growing tourist area in Europe. According
to the ranking, Heraklion emerged as the 20th most visited region in
Europe, the 66th region on the planet and the 2nd in Greece for the
year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors and the 19th in Europe for 2018
with 3.4 million visitors .
Apart from Athens and
Thessaloniki, Heraklion is the only city in Greece that includes
within the same urban fabric the seats of two different Kallikratika
municipalities. Heraklion, with a population of 140,730 inhabitants,
together with the city of Nea Alikarnassos (14,635 inhabitants) and
Gazi (12,606 inhabitants) by the Municipality of Malevizi, are one
of the largest urban complexes in the country.
City names
The city in its long history changed many names,
some of which were used in parallel. Some of the most important are:
Heraklion (Minoan Period, Mycenaean Period, Ottoman Empire, Cretan
State, Greece), Heraklion, Castle (Eastern Roman Empire -
Byzantine), Rabd Al Hadak (Arabs), Khandox (Arab), Khandax
(Byzantine) Candida (Latins), Candia (Venetians, Europeans), Chora
(Cretans), Piazza, Cantilier (Ottoman Empire).
The name
"Castle" was given during the First Byzantine Period (330-824 AD),
because that is what the Byzantines called the fortified cities, as
Crete was a Byzantine province with Gortyna as its administrative
center.
Regarding the origin of the name Heraklion, the
legend states that Rhea, the mother of Zeus, instructed the Kurites
to protect her son from Saturn.
One of the Kourites, Ideos
Iraklis, leaves for Olympia and organizes the road race together
with his brothers. It was the first road race in the world and
Idaios Iraklis crowned the winner with a wild olive branch and since
then it has been the custom to crown the winners of the Olympic
Games with wild olive wreaths. Ideos Iraklis himself gave his name
to today's Heraklion. Along with the mythological approach, the
historian attributes the name to the descent of the Dorians, that
is, the Heraclides who were considered descendants of Hercules.
The above myth wants to demonstrate Minoan Crete as a place
where sports were born. The Minoans know from archeological finds
and traces of frescoes in Knossos that they loved sports and engaged
in sports such as gymnastics, boxing and wrestling, and bullfighting
and were held mainly during religious festivals to honor or thank a
god.
From the time the first fortress was built by the exiles
of Andalusia and for the next thousand years the settlement is
mentioned in Greek-speaking sources as Chandakas, while in the
Frankish it is referred to as Kandia, and translated into Greek as
Chandakas. It has not been ascertained whether there was previously
a fortress or a small installation in the area, however it is
certain that there was no city and no ancient name for the area is
preserved. Today Heraklion extends far beyond the medieval walls of
the city, but those areas of Heraklion that are within the walls are
often referred to even today as Chandakas.
History
Minoan, Mycenaean, Greek, Roman Period (7000 BC - 330 AD)
Heraklion is located on the north coast of Crete, opposite the islet
of Zeus, at the exact same location as in antiquity the westernmost
of the three ports of Knossos, which during the Minoan civilization
had the largest population in Crete carrying the same name in honor
of the ancient sanctuary of Idea Heracles.
For the city of
Heraklion there is no exact information about its foundation. The
habitation, however, is considered to begin at least from the third
millennium BC, as a port (port) of Knossos. As a port it was a small
settlement. Finds have been found in various areas, on the natural
hill where the Archaeological Museum is located today. Traces of
habitation have been found during the classical, Hellenistic and
Roman times. The oldest evidence we have is from the ancient
historian and geographer Strabo (1st century BC). "..Knosos
Heraklion has a drink".
A Roman coin of 169 AD was found in a
trench 5m deep inside the church of Agios Petros. Protogeometric
pottery shells of the 10oy - 9th BC were also found in this pit.
century (excavation of George C Miles). Strabo, in his geographies
(X, 476, 7) mentions "Knossos has Heraklion as its port" (67 BC 23
AD). Pliny the Elder in 79 AD mentions the city of Heraclea. The
same is mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD). Two of the
Ten Saints who "martyred" in 249-251, Evarestos and Mobios (or
Pompey, or Pontius) were from Heraklion. In 348 the distances of
Astali Bali) - Heraklion and Heraklion - Herronissos (Hersonissos)
are mentioned in the stages of the great sea.
First Byzantine
period (330 AD - 823 AD) and Arab rule (823 AD - 961 AD)
In the Byzantine period, Heraklion was known as Kastro (probably
due to the fortification that surrounded it), although it also
mentions Heraklion (Stefanos Byzantios - Heraklion). It was a small
but walled city, but there is not much information. Remains of the
Byzantine or Roman wall have been found in the area of Agia
Aikaterini.
In 823 the Saracen Arabs under Abu Hafez
(Apocalypse of the Byzantines), originally from Cordoba in
present-day Spain, occupied Crete and destroyed the then capital of
the island of Gortyna. Seeking then a new coastal city for capital,
they chose Heraklion, which they began to fortify the following
year, 824, strengthening and expanding the former Hellenistic and
Byzantine walls further west as the city expanded and designated it
as the capital of their state, the Emirate of Crete. They built a
large fort, part of which survives to this day, within the city,
behind newer structures on sections of Chandakos, Daidalou and port
streets, with a large perimeter moat. From that fortified moat,
which stretched from sea to sea, the Saracens named this city بض
الخندق ربد ال حنداک (Fortress of the Trench), or simply Handak
(Hellenized Chandakas), creating a period of great prosperity and
civilization. But at the same time, they allowed pirates to camp in
the port, something that was widespread at the time, but which
created many problems and annoyed the neighboring states.
The
continuous pirate activity of the Saracens who, together with the
pirates of Cilicia, ravaged the islands and coasts of the Aegean and
the Mediterranean in general, having made Chandakas (Heraklion) a
warehouse of pirate booty and a center for the purchase and sale of
prisoners, especially women and children. (especially after the
occupation and conquest of Thessaloniki, Demitriados and other
cities by the Arabs and the fact that they reached the walls of
Constantinople threatening it). It was natural for Byzantine
politics to focus its interest on the recapture of Crete. After some
failed attempts, such as e.g. that of Goggilis, the Queen decided to
end the case of Crete. During the reign of Romanos II, with Joseph
Vriggas weak and asleep, the preparation and leadership of the
campaign was entrusted to Magister and General Nikiforos Fokas, the
later Emperor.
Second Byzantine Period (961 - 1204)
Thus,
in July 960, the Byzantines landed in the gulf of Heraklion (in
Ellinoperama), 3 km west of the city. An eight-month siege followed,
on March 6, 961 they captured (conquered) the city. The forces of
Nikiforos Fokas, carrying out massacres, looted and burned the city,
ending the Emirate of Crete. At first, the capital of Crete was
moved to the fortified two-peaked hill near the present-day Prophet
Elias, who became known as the Mosque. However, the new location did
not serve the needs of a city, and so the settlement in the ruins of
the Arab city began again and its name was Hellenized in Handax.
Nikiforos Fokas arranged for the establishment in Crete of
noble-feudal families from Constantinople for the elevation of the
Cretan mind, their control and the re-establishment of ties with the
Queen State. The same policy is ratified by the Decree of Alexios
II. Komninou (1182) with which the Mansion (Chief) Families of the
well-known "Twelve (12) Archontopoulos" ie of Ioannis Fokas (whose
name during the Venetian rule evolved into Kalliergi and then
Kallergi), Konstantinos Varouchas, officially settle in Crete.
Marinos Skordili, Leonta Mousourou, Filippou Gavalas, Andrea
Melissinou, Thomas Archoleos (Archoleontos), Dimitrios Vlastos,
Efstratios Chortatzis, Nikiforos Argyropoulos, Louka Litina and
Matthaios Kafatos (Kalafi). After this annexation, Chandakas
remained the capital of Crete, the seat of the General Commander who
bore the Byzantine title "Doux" as well as a metropolitan seat.
Around the same time, the church of Agios Titos (the first bishop of
Crete) was built, which had previously been destroyed by the
Saracens.
Venetian rule (1204 - 1669)
In 1204, after the conquest of
Constantinople by the crusaders, part of Crete was initially ceded
to Boniface the Momferatikos who sold it (sold) to the Venetians (to
Doctor Henry Dandolo). But before the Venetians could settle in
Crete and the capital Chandaka, the Genoese rushed and occupied it,
which the Venetians finally managed to drive out after a seven-year
war that followed, from 1204 to 1210. The Venetians established a
feudal and At the same time, a democratic system of government, by
their standards, maintained Chandakas, the capital of the island and
seat of the Duke, general governor of the Most Peaceful Republic,
paraphrasing the name of the city into "Kandika", "Kandiga",
"Kandida" and finally Candia. as it prevailed as the name of the
island with the official name "Kingdom or Duchy of Candia".
Then the Venetians erected great buildings that illuminated the city
such as the Ducal Palace, the Palace of the Archangel, the Palace of
the Archbishop, the Palace of the Latin Archbishop, the Church of
St. Mark, and other temples, such as St. Francis Our Lady of the
Crusaders etc. (more than 120 in total), the Venetian Club (which
was demolished in 1904 and then restored), the so-called Morosini
fountain (aqueduct), the orthodox church of St. Catherine with the
continuation of the Sinaitic School of scholars and painters, etc.
But the most important Venetian project was the famous mega wall of
Heraklion, or the Venetian walls of Heraklion that included the
whole city, as it had developed in the meantime, making it the
strongest fortress in the Eastern Mediterranean. Initially, the
Venetians improved the existing Arab and Byzantine fortifications,
but the great earthquake that occurred in 1303 and the discovery of
gunpowder, forced them to build this new wall, up to 40 m thick in
some places, "seven-walled" and "seven-gate ", being a perfect
fortification project. This began to be built after the Fall of
Constantinople (1453), in the year 1462. During its construction, in
1508 a new great earthquake occurred. Finally the project was
completed after 108 years, in 1570 by a Venetian engineer. Most of
it is preserved to this day.
From this great wall the Cretans
called the city Mega Kastro or "Megalo Kastro" or Kastro, a name
that was maintained for three centuries and the inhabitants of
Kastrinos or Megalokastrinos, a name that is preserved until today.
Another studied work of the Venetians was the construction of
the large port of Hadaka which was created in the ancient Minoan
port and later Byzantine and Arabic. The construction of the port
began in 1523 and was completed after 17 years, in 1540. The port
had two jetties, the largest to the right of the entrance, at the
edge of which was built a large tower called "Leo's Tower", or
"Great Kastelli", or " Rokka "which survives to this day with the
Turkish name Koules, or" Koules "and the smaller jetty, to the left
of the entrance that also ended in Mikros Koule. In the interior of
the port, 12 new settlements were built for the construction, repair
and storage of Venetian ships, their kits and supplies, some of
which survive to this day.
With the above basic works of the
Venetians, but also others that concerned both the landscaping of
the city, and the new administrative measures that were introduced
at the same time, Chandakas soon developed into a great shopping
center and gained so much glamor that he had never met before. From
its port, the largest artificial that had been built until then in
the eastern Mediterranean, all the trade of Crete was carried out,
mainly exported to Europe and Asia, thus revealing the great
commercial organization of the city, even reaching the point of
being called "soul of Venice".
By the middle of the Venetian
period, Chandakas already gathered almost 2/5 of the total
population of Crete. According to the systematic census of the
population of Megalonisos attempted by Petros Kastrofylakas, the
region of Chandakas, one of the four created by the Venetians,
numbered, in the year 1575, 84,158 inhabitants, compared to 48,790
in Chania, 46,400 in Rethymnon. and 22,312 of Sitia. The main
inhabitants of Chandakas were the Venetian nobles and other Latin
government officials as well as merchants, Greek natives, for the
most part, but also settlers from other areas of Venetian
possessions as well as some Jewish merchants. It is noted that the
population of Crete at that time fluctuated from various causes such
as epidemics but also from Greek settlements, which occurred
recently, from other Venetian possessions occupied by the Ottomans.
The city had about 25000 inhabitants inside the walls and 5000
outside the walls (Maroulas area).
In 1647 AD The siege of the city by the Ottoman Turks began,
which lasted 22 years and cost the lives of 30,000 Cretans,
Venetians and Europeans and 120,000 Ottomans and finally ended with
the surrender and capitulation of the city in 1669, to Kioproulou
Fazil Ahmet.
The siege of Heraklion, for the defense of which
all the Christian states of the time were united (under the orders
of the Pope of Rome, is the longest and uninterrupted recorded in
world history, remaining in history as an epic, with the title "
Siege of Candia "(Great Cretan War).
After the surrender
(September 6, 1669), almost all the inhabitants of the city left and
as refugees moved to the Ionian Islands, Venice, Dalmatia and
others.
First Ottoman Period (1669 - 1830), Egyptian
Occupation (1830-1841), Second Ottoman Period (1841 - 1896)
The
city was destroyed immediately after the fall, but the Ottomans
chose it as their new capital. During the Ottoman period the city
became known as "Great Castle" or "Castle". Periods of peace,
movements, revolutions and severe repressions by the Ottomans
(Turks) followed. For example, it is mentioned that "in the great
massacre of Heraklion, on June 24, 1821, which remained in the
memory of the people like the great lord, the enraged Turks
slaughtered the Metropolitan of Crete Gerasimos Pardalis and five
Bishops: Knossos Neophytos, Ierimos Herron , Zacharias of Sitia and
the titular Bishop of Diopolis Kallinikos, for two or more years the
Church of Crete remained headless.Due to the constant revolutions
and the constant demand for Union with the newly formed State of
Greece, the faltering Ottoman Empire (the Imperial Empire) in 1830
in Egypt under which it remained until 1841. This period was
smoother and many public works were carried out.In 1851, the capital
was moved by the Ottoman Administration, from Heraklion to Chania
for defense reasons (port of Souda), due to of the great pressure
received by the Ottoman Empire.
In 1856, Heraklion was
leveled by an earthquake. Of the 3,620 homes in the city, only 18
were deemed habitable.
Cretan State (1896 - 1913) - Union
with Greece
The Cretans, not enduring the Turkish occupation,
repeatedly revolted with major revolutions in 1770, 1821, 1841,
1858, 1866-1869 and 1897-1898. In 1897, fleets of Britain, France,
Russia and Italy sailed to Crete, dividing the island's
administration. The administration of Heraklion was taken over by
the British. On August 25, 1898, an attempt was made by a British
detachment to replace the executive officers in accordance with the
decision of the four Admirals, but the Turks of the city reacted
angrily, massacring Christians in the city, looting the city and
finally setting it on fire. . To stop the uprising, a British ship
bombed the city. Among the dead were Lysimachos Kalokairinos,
Britain's deputy consul in Heraklion, and 18 British soldiers, while
the total death toll was initially estimated at 1,000, but later
estimates put the death toll at around 450. For the incidents, 17
significant Turko-Cretans were sentenced to death, while the Great
Powers forced the removal of the Turkish army, which was the final
one. In December 1913, the union of Crete with Greece was officially
proclaimed. Thus, Crete is now an integral part of the Greek state.
Settlement of Asia Minor (1922-1924)
After the Asia Minor
Catastrophe of 1922 and the exchange of populations, Greek refugees
from Asia Minor settled in Heraklion and enriched the local culture.
They came from various regions of Asia Minor and most of them from
Smyrna, Vourla, Alatsata, Nymfaio of Ionia, the region of Ikonio,
Bursa etc. The families of Greek refugees who arrived also included
several from Eastern Thrace. They created the settlements that bear
the names of the cities of Asia Minor from where they came from,
such as Nea Klazomenes, Nea Alikarnassos, Nea Alatsata, Nea Vryoula.
The reception of the refugees by the Cretans was hospitable and the
coexistence peaceful.