administrative duties. This system was quite easy to introduce as the local Greeks were already used to the Byzantine pronoia.
Marco Sanudo gave away most of his captured islands to those who had assisted him in his endeavor as fiefs. His cousin Marino Dandolo received Andros, Andrew and Jeremiah Ghisi received Tinos, Mykonos and the Sporades, John Querini acquired Astympalaea, Jacob Berozzi received Thera and Leonardo Foscolo received Anaphi.
Other islands including Naxos, Paros, Milos, Sifnos, Kythnos and Syros remained under Marco’s power. Marco Sanudo died in 1227 and his reign was followed by that of twenty one dukes from the Sanudo and Crispo dynasties.
Naxos was one of Marco Sanudo’s favorite islands and he played a pivotal role in its subsequent history and culture. He made Naxos the administrative center of his duchy and it continued to be the state’s nerve centre until it fell under Ottoman rule in 1566 A.D. Sanudo, with the help of a group of trained engineers built a wonderful specimen of medieval architecture, the Kastro.
The Kastro was essentially a walled city within a pentagon shaped defensive wall. Marco chose the highest point above sea level, a site of an ancient citadel to build the Kastro. At the center was located the Catholic cathedral and the Cagellaria or administrative tower.
The nobles usually built their houses here. Originally there were five lookout towers of which only one remains today. The Kastro had three entrances, one to the north, one to the south and a third to the east of the Kastro.
After his death, his descendants invited locals to come and build houses near the Kastro establishing a new neighborhood that was called the Bourgos. As the Duchy expanded and the need for space grew, more and more houses were built with the Kastro as the center of this urban development.
Marco Sanudo was a wise ruler and truly cared about the well being of his subjects even though he was from a foreign land. He had thus rightfully earned love and respect from both his Venetian and Greek subjects.
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