Collection of Agia Aikaterini of Sinai

About

The name Herakleion (Ηράκλειον) is derived from an ancient port of Heracleium that served as the harbour for Knossos. The port, bearing the same name, was named in honour of the hero Heracles (Hercules). In antiquity, it was located about 20 stadia (approximately 3.7 kilometers) from Knossos. Strabo also confirms the connection between the two.

The site of the ancient port falls within the boundaries of the modern city, near today’s port area. Although ecclesiastical records do not list it as a bishopric, a bishop named Theodoros of Heracleopolis is mentioned at the Second Council of Nicaea.

The name was revived in the 19th century and was in use by locals as early as 1867.

1. In antiquity : The area that would later become the city of Heraklion served as the port for the ancient city of Knossos, one of the centers of the Minoan civilization. This strategic location facilitated trade and communication across the Mediterranean. Over time, as Knossos declined, the port area grew in significance, eventually becoming a prominent urban center.

2. Rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق): In 824 CE, Arab exiles from al-Andalus (Iberia) who conquered Crete and founded the Emirate of Crete moved the island's capital from Gortyna to a new castle they called rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat").

3. Chándax (Χάνδαξ) / Chándakas (Χάνδακας): The Arabic name rabḍ al-ḫandaq was Hellenized to Χάνδαξ ( Chándax ) or Χάνδακας ( Chándakas ).

4. Candia : This name, derived from Chándax, was Latinized as Candia and adopted into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia, in Spanish as Candía, in French as Candie, and in English as Candy. These names could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name for the city was Kandiye.

5. Megalo Kastro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο): After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete, the city was locally known as Megalo Kastro ( Μεγάλο Κάστρο, 'Big Castle' in Greek ) and its inhabitants were called Kastrinoi (Καστρινοί, "castle-dwellers").

1. In antiquity : The area that would later become the city of Heraklion served as the port for the ancient city of Knossos, one of the centers of the Minoan civilization. This strategic location facilitated trade and communication across the Mediterranean. Over time, as Knossos declined, the port area grew in significance, eventually becoming a prominent urban center.

2. Rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق): In 824 CE, Arab exiles from al-Andalus (Iberia) who conquered Crete and founded the Emirate of Crete moved the island's capital from Gortyna to a new castle they called rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat").

3. Chándax (Χάνδαξ) / Chándakas (Χάνδακας): The Arabic name rabḍ al-ḫandaq was Hellenized to Χάνδαξ ( Chándax ) or Χάνδακας ( Chándakas ).

4. Candia : This name, derived from Chándax, was Latinized as Candia and adopted into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia, in Spanish as Candía, in French as Candie, and in English as Candy. These names could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name for the city was Kandiye.

5. Megalo Kastro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο): After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete, the city was locally known as Megalo Kastro ( Μεγάλο Κάστρο, 'Big Castle' in Greek ) and its inhabitants were called Kastrinoi (Καστρινοί, "castle-dwellers").

Heraklion is home to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, located in the southern periphery of the city and part of the Heraklion municipality. In Minoan times, Knossos was the largest centre of population on Crete and is considered by many to be the oldest city in Europe.

Knossos itself had a port at the site of Heraklion (in the modern area of Poros-Katsambas neighborhood) from the beginning of the Early Minoan period (3500 to 2100 BC).

Main article: Heracleium After the fall of the Minoans, Heraklion, as well as the rest of Crete in general, fared poorly, with very little development in the area. Only with the arrival of the Romans did some construction in the area begin, yet especially early into Byzantine times the area abounded with pirates and bandits.

Heraklion was chosen as capital in 824, with fortifications starting being built the following year, by the Moors under Abu Hafs Umar who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Hakam I and had taken over the island from the Eastern Roman Empire. [ citation needed ] They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق, "Castle of the Moat", hellenized as Χάνδαξ, Chandax ). It became the capital of the Emirate of Crete ( c. 827 –961). The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operated against Imperial (Byzantine) shipping and raided Imperial territory around the Aegean. [ citation needed ]

- Further information: Byzantine Crete In 960, Byzantine forces under the command of Nikephoros Phokas, later to become Emperor, landed in Crete and attacked the city. After a prolonged siege, the city fell in March 961. The Saracen inhabitants were slaughtered, the city looted and burned to the ground. [ citation needed ] Soon rebuilt, the town remained under Byzantine control for the next 243 years. [ citation needed ]

- Further information: Kingdom of Candia - Further information: Siege of Candia In 1204, the city was bought by the Republic of Venice as part of a complicated political deal which involved, among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40 metres (130 ft) thick, with seven bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. Chandax was renamed Candia and became the seat of the Duke of Candia, and the Venetian administrative district of Crete became known as "Regno di Candia" ( Kingdom of Candia ). The city retained the name of Candia for centuries and the same name was often used to refer to the whole island of Crete as well. To secure their rule, the Venetians began in 1212 to settle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and the stimulus of the Italian Renaissance led to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance.

- Further information: Cretan War (1645–1669) During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the Ottomans besieged the city for 21 years, from 1648 to 1669, the longest siege in history up until that time. In its final phase, which lasted for 22 months, 70,000 Turks, 38,000 Cretans and slaves and 29,088 of the city's Christian defenders perished. The Ottoman army under an Albanian grand vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha conquered the city in 1669.