Sfakians - Peace in Byzantine Crete

Peace in Byzantine Crete

At the dawn of the second Byzantine period in Crete (961 - 1204), the island itself was in a state of devastation. Many of the inhabitants were sold to slave markets, the economy was in ruins, and the administrative structure of government had no presence on the island. The Byzantines immediately started to rebuild fortifications on the island in order to guard against future attacks. Also, they placed a new administrative system that divided the island into a number of provinces that appointed their own governors.

A new period of cultural and economic renewal began to emerge in Crete. Christianity in Crete was undergoing a revival thanks to missionaries such as Saint Saint Nikon the Metanoeite ("The Repenter") and Saint Ioannis Xenos ("John the Stranger"). The local population grew and further assistance was provided by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. In 1080, the emperor ordered the migration and settlement of Greek Byzantine families in Crete.

Emperor Alexius II Comnenus, grandson of Alexius I Comnenus, issued an imperial order that divided the island into twelve provinces and appointed twelve princes from the Byzantine Empire to govern them. Each prince was known as an archondopoulon ("petty lord"; cp. English baron) and he would arrive with his extended family to settle in the area allocated to him. From this event, a number of great aristocratic families of Crete emerged, some of them still in existence today. The archondopoula of Crete entailed the families of Kallergis, Skordilis, Melisseni, Varouchi, Mousouri, Vlasti, Hortatzi, and others.

Sfakia itself was allocated to the emperor's nephew, Marinos Skordilis, who came to Crete with nine of his brothers who also brought over their sons and families. The borders of Skordilis's territory ranged from Askyfou east to Koustogerako and along the south coast to Agia Roumeli, Omprosgialos (today's Hora Sfakion) and to Frangokastello (the largest town in Skordilis's territory was Anopoli and many Sfakian families today claim to be direct descendants of the original Skordiles).

John Phocas, a direct descendant of the emperor who freed Crete from the Arabs, was considered to be the most senior member of the twelve archontopoula. His territory was one of the largest, which covered the greater part of today's province of Rethymno, all the way south to the coast and westward up to the valley of Askyfou, where the border of the Skordilis' territory was located (the name of the family changed a few years later under the Venetians to Kallergis and families that today claim to be direct descendants of the Phocas-Kallergis dynasty are one of the largest family groups in Crete, including a number from Sfakia).