Tsontos
05-03-2006, 10:07 AM
The last line of Defence
What has impressed everybody that has come into contact with the island of Crete and its rich history, either as a visitor to the island, or a student of history or even an occupier of the island, as the Venetians were during those 450 years, has been their fighting spirit and their willingness to endure unbelievable hardship in order to defend what they cherish most and that is freedom and honour. And they have fought not only in Crete but also in other lands defending the freedom and honour of other people who were similarly oppressed by the enemies of Orthodoxy.
One such historic event occurred during the Venetian rule era when Cretans went to the assistance of the Byzantine Emperor to defend Constantinople during its last few days in 1453.
In January 1453 Sultan Mehmed II who by then had surrounded Constantinople decided that he was going to attempt to take it over, either by breaking through its defences or by starving it into submission. He had the troops, he now had also an enormous fleet at his disposal and while the besieged Byzantines and their Christian allies were demoralized and divided amongst themselves he believed that now was his opportunity to take over the city and end the long and glorious history of the Byzantine Empire. Responding to a request for help from the Byzantine Emperor, the Sfakian leader Manousos Kallikratis gathered 300 Sfakian warriors and an other 760 Cretans from other parts of the island and sailed in 5 ships, of which 3 were Sfakian, to the aid of the besieged Emperor.
They fought valiantly by breaking through the Ottoman blockade and later on defending the city. Many Cretans died alongside the Byzantines and the few Genoese and Venetian co-defenders. When the city fell the only 170 surviving Cretans had been surrounded by Ottoman troops in one of the city’s towers and were refusing to surrender. The Sultan was so impressed by their courage and fierce fighting skills that he agreed to let them walk out of the city with their flags, arms and wounded and sail away to Crete in one of their ships.
A poet of the time has the Emperor saying as he is surrounded by the Ottomans “Christians, Greeks, cut off my head, take it, good Cretans, and carry it to Crete, for the Cretans to see it and be sad at heart”. Just a few words from an anonymous poet describe the deep impact that the fall of Byzantium had on the Cretans. They were to become the next home of the refugees from Byzantium and responsible for nurturing the rich heritage left to them by the collapsing Byzantine Empire.
What has impressed everybody that has come into contact with the island of Crete and its rich history, either as a visitor to the island, or a student of history or even an occupier of the island, as the Venetians were during those 450 years, has been their fighting spirit and their willingness to endure unbelievable hardship in order to defend what they cherish most and that is freedom and honour. And they have fought not only in Crete but also in other lands defending the freedom and honour of other people who were similarly oppressed by the enemies of Orthodoxy.
One such historic event occurred during the Venetian rule era when Cretans went to the assistance of the Byzantine Emperor to defend Constantinople during its last few days in 1453.
In January 1453 Sultan Mehmed II who by then had surrounded Constantinople decided that he was going to attempt to take it over, either by breaking through its defences or by starving it into submission. He had the troops, he now had also an enormous fleet at his disposal and while the besieged Byzantines and their Christian allies were demoralized and divided amongst themselves he believed that now was his opportunity to take over the city and end the long and glorious history of the Byzantine Empire. Responding to a request for help from the Byzantine Emperor, the Sfakian leader Manousos Kallikratis gathered 300 Sfakian warriors and an other 760 Cretans from other parts of the island and sailed in 5 ships, of which 3 were Sfakian, to the aid of the besieged Emperor.
They fought valiantly by breaking through the Ottoman blockade and later on defending the city. Many Cretans died alongside the Byzantines and the few Genoese and Venetian co-defenders. When the city fell the only 170 surviving Cretans had been surrounded by Ottoman troops in one of the city’s towers and were refusing to surrender. The Sultan was so impressed by their courage and fierce fighting skills that he agreed to let them walk out of the city with their flags, arms and wounded and sail away to Crete in one of their ships.
A poet of the time has the Emperor saying as he is surrounded by the Ottomans “Christians, Greeks, cut off my head, take it, good Cretans, and carry it to Crete, for the Cretans to see it and be sad at heart”. Just a few words from an anonymous poet describe the deep impact that the fall of Byzantium had on the Cretans. They were to become the next home of the refugees from Byzantium and responsible for nurturing the rich heritage left to them by the collapsing Byzantine Empire.