History of Crete

Crete had the first European civilization over 4000 years ago with the Minoans. Once this civilization came to an end around 1400 BC. The reason why is still not clear and there are many theories to be found. Crete was then invaded many times by the majority of it's neighbours, starting with the Mycenean, then the Dorians and later the Romans. The fall of the Roman Empire put Crete under the rule of the Byzantine Empire and Christianity was further established. In the 8th - 9th century, the Arabs invaded and conquered Crete, but was eventually sold to the Venetians in the early 13th century. The rule of the Venetians prevailed until 1669 when the island surrendered to the Turks. Turkish rule lasted until 1898 when Crete was placed under international administration. In 1913, Crete was officially attached to Greece.

The first human settlement in Crete dated to the aceramic Neolithic and although there have been some claims for Paleolitithic remains, none of these have been convincing. The native fauna of Crete included pygmy hippo, pygmy elephant, dwarf deer and giant rodents. Most of these animals died out at the end of the last ice-age.

In 1908, the Young Turkish revolution enabled the Cretans to declare their union with Greece, and in 1909 foreign occupation troops were withdrawn. Cretan representatives were admitted to the Greek parliament in 1912, and in 1913, as a result of the Balkan Wars, Crete was officially incorporated into Greece.

During World War II, Crete was used as a British military and naval base late in 1940. The British and Greek forces on the Greek mainland evacuated to Crete in 1941, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the Germans in a large-scale airborne invasion, the first of its kind. Late in 1944, British ships isolated the German occupation troops, who eventually surrendered.