Home Region:  Southeastern Europe (Europe)

The Emirate of Crete

824 CE 961 CE
EQ 2020  gr_crete_emirate / GrCrEmr
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[hostile; Middle Byzantine Empire] [absorption]   Update here

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  General Description  
Between 824 and 962, Crete was ruled by Andalusian Arabs. The latter had taken the island from the Byzantines (who subsequently lost the control of the maritime trade routes in the Aegean specifically and the eastern Mediterranean generally), and made it into an emirate, with Khandax, i.e. modern-day Heraklion, as its capital. The surviving evidence for the organization of the emirate and the Cretan society of the period is, unfortunately, scanty, with almost no archaeology and few, contradictory written sources. The original Byzantine sources are biased against the Arabs, and quite a few modern scholars have taken these sources at face value, presenting the Arabs as uncivilized barbarians, overly concerned with piracy. In fact, based on what is known about Arabic civilization in the rest of the Mediterranean at this time, it is likely that the Emirate of Crete was similarly sophisticated in its culture and social organization, though to its prolonged animosity with the Byzantines, it almost certainly retained a strong militaristic character as well. In 962, the Byzantines regained control of the island. [1] [2]
Population and political organization
A rough estimate of the island’s population at this time is of 250,000 inhabitants. [3] In terms of its political organization, Crete was divided into forty districts and was ruled by an emir who only nominally recognized the Caliph of Baghdad. [2]

[1]: (Christides 2011, 17) Vassilios Christides. 2011. ’The cycle of the Arab-Byzantine struggle in Crete (ca. 824/6-961 AD) in the illuminate manuscript of Skylitzes (Codex Martinensis Graecus Vitr. 26-2)’. Craeco-Arabica 9: 17.

[2]: (Christides 1984) Vassilios Christides. 1984. The Conquest of Crete by Arabs (ca. 824). A Turning Point in the Struggle Between Byzantium and Islam. Athens: Akademia Athenon.

[3]: (Papadopoulos 1948, 37) Ioannes B. Papadopoulos. 1948. Η Κρήτη υπό τους Σαρακηνούς (824-961). Athens: Byzantinisch-Neugriechischen Jahrbücher.

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate) was in:
 (824 CE 960 CE) Crete
Home NGA: Crete

General Variables
Identity and Location The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 35 S 824 CE  961 CE
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Original Name The Emirate of Crete 824 CE  961 CE
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Capital 824 CE  961 CE
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Alternative Name Saracen Crete 824 CE  961 CE
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Alternative Name Arabic Crete 824 CE  961 CE
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Temporal Bounds The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Peak Years
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Duration [824 CE ➜ 961 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Suprapolity Relations none 824 CE  961 CE
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Supracultural Entity 824 CE  961 CE
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Succeeding Entity Middle Byzantine Empire 824 CE  961 CE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction 824 CE  961 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity 824 CE  961 CE
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Preceding Entity
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Degree of Centralization unitary state 824 CE  961 CE
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Language The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Linguistic Family Indo-European 824 CE  961 CE
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Linguistic Family Hamito-Semitic 824 CE  961 CE
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Language 824 CE  961 CE
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Language 824 CE  961 CE
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Religion The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement 824 CE  961 CE
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Polity Territory 824 CE  961 CE
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Polity Population 824 CE  961 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Settlement Hierarchy 824 CE  961 CE
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Religious Level 824 CE  961 CE
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Military Level 824 CE  961 CE
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Administrative Level 824 CE  961 CE
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Professions The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Professional Soldier 824 CE  961 CE
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Professional Priesthood 824 CE  961 CE
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Professional Military Officer 824 CE  961 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Government Building Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Merit Promotion Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat 824 CE  961 CE
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Law The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Professional Lawyer 824 CE  961 CE
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Judge 824 CE  961 CE
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824 CE  961 CE
Court Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Market 824 CE  961 CE
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Irrigation System 824 CE  961 CE
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Food Storage Site 824 CE  961 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System 824 CE  961 CE
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Transport Infrastructure The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Road Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Port 824 CE  961 CE
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Canal Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Bridge Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Special-purpose Sites The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Mines or Quarry Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Information / Writing System The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Written Record Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Script Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Scientific Literature Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Sacred Text 824 CE  961 CE
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Religious Literature 824 CE  961 CE
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Practical Literature 824 CE  961 CE
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Philosophy Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification 824 CE  961 CE
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History Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Fiction 824 CE  961 CE
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Calendar 824 CE  961 CE
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Information / Money The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Token Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Precious Metal Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Paper Currency Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Indigenous Coin 824 CE  961 CE
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Foreign Coin 824 CE  961 CE
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Article Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Information / Postal System The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Postal Station Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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General Postal Service Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Courier Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Information / Measurement System The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Wooden Palisade Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Moat Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Earth Rampart Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Ditch Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Complex Fortification Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Long Wall absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Military use of Metals The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Steel Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Iron 824 CE  961 CE
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Bronze Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Projectiles The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Tension Siege Engine 824 CE  961 CE
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Sling Siege Engine 824 CE  961 CE
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Sling 824 CE  961 CE
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Self Bow 824 CE  961 CE
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Javelin 824 CE  961 CE
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Handheld Firearm Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Crossbow 824 CE  961 CE
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Composite Bow 824 CE  961 CE
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Atlatl Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Handheld weapons The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
War Club 824 CE  961 CE
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Sword 824 CE  961 CE
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Spear 824 CE  961 CE
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Polearm 824 CE  961 CE
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Dagger 824 CE  961 CE
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Battle Axe 824 CE  961 CE
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Animals used in warfare The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Horse 824 CE  961 CE
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Elephant Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Dog Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Camel Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Armor The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Shield 824 CE  961 CE
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Scaled Armor 824 CE  961 CE
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Plate Armor Absent 824 CE  961 CE
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Limb Protection 824 CE  961 CE
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Leather Cloth 824 CE  961 CE
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Laminar Armor 824 CE  961 CE
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Helmet 824 CE  961 CE
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Chainmail 824 CE  961 CE
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Breastplate 824 CE  961 CE
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Naval technology The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Military Vessel Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc Present 824 CE  961 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service Unknown Suspected 824 CE  961 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers 824 CE  961 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain 824 CE  961 CE
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Human Sacrifice The Emirate of Crete (gr_crete_emirate)
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Instability Data
Power Transitions