Naxos Venetians

Venetian Arsenal and captured the island. He did this independently without the approval of the Latin Emperor, Henry of Flanders. Accompanying him were Marino Dandolo and Andrea and Geremia Ghizi, as well as Ravano dalle Carceri, lord of Euboea, and Philocalo Navigaioso, lord of Lemnos. The Naxiotes tried to put up a battle with the assistance of the foremost enemies of the Venetians, the Genoese and established a base around the fortress of Apalyros/Apalire. They fought for forty days but failed to drive Sanudo back and he eventually got hold of the fortress after a six week siege. He slowly moved on to conquer the whole of Naxos as well as other Cyclades islands, eventually pronouncing himself the Duke of the Duchy of Archipelago (The Byzantine name for the Aegean) in 1210 with Naxos as its capital.

Marco Sanudo fortified the island and built a powerful magnificent castle which consisted of seven towers of which only two remain as of today. He burned the ships of his men so that they wouldn't attempt to leave the island. He also divided the island into 56 provinces and distributed these provinces as fiefdoms among his officers. He brought about a feudal system in Naxos which was easily accepted by the natives as they were already used to the system of pronoia under Byzantine rule. Historical proof shows that there was little conflict between the islanders and their Venetian rulers. Infact, while the Venetians lived in towns, the natives tended to live closer to the countryside.

The Venetians were also responsible for bringing the Roman Catholic religion to the island. For the centuries that followed, Greek Orthodox people co-existed without any problems with those that had converted to Christianity. Proof of this is seen in that some churches that were built around that time had dual altars, one for the Orthodox natives and the other for the Roman Catholics of the island.

Naxos is located in the centre of the Cyclades. This location made it a very crucial trade route and the Venetians recognized that. They could now control trade with islands off of Anatolia. Besides providing safe routes to Venetian ships, they could also now easily export corundum and marble mined on Naxos to Venice. They also opened up the island to trade with countries in Western Europe.

Marcos Sanudo ruled for a period of twenty years. He owned the islands of Paros, Antiparos, Milos, Sifnos, Kithnos, Ios, Amorgos, Kimolos, Sikinos, Syros, and Pholegandros besides Naxos. His reign was followed by that of twenty one dukes from the Sanudo Dynasty and the Crispo Dynasty who ruled as vassals of the Latin Emperors of Constantinople. By the end of the 13th Century, many of the islands barring Naxos and Paros were won back by the Byzantine Empire. In 1383, the Crispo family overthrew the heirs of the Sanudo Dynasty to become Dukes of Archipelago. In 1566, the Crispos were overthrown by the Sultan of Ottoman, Salim II and a Portuguese Jew by the name of Joseph Nasi was appointed by him to become Duke. However, it was not the end of Latin Christian for the Gozzadini, a family of Bolognese origins, survived as lords of Siphnos, Cythnos and five other little islands in the Cyclades until 1617. Also the island of Tenos remained Venetian till 1714. The last Venetian ports in Morea were captured as late as in 1718.

All in all, Venetian rule in Naxos lasted for about 300 long years and their influence is prevalent till date. Christianity is still a widespread religion on the island. Also the architecture found in Naxos is also quite Venetian by nature. This can be seen in the Kastro built in 1207 at Hora within which are a number of Venetian buildings including a 13th Century Catholic Cathedral and a French School and other Venetian towers that are found by the hillside. Although Naxos came under many rulers from across the globe over the years, none has influenced and inspired the people, the culture and the city of Naxos by itself as much as the Venetians have.