Crete History !

The island of Crete has been populated since prehistoric times.There is evidence of organized habitation which dates back to 8000 BCE, and the excavations of the 20th century have revealed an impressive civilization which took over the island and much of the Aegean during the Bronze Age.

The Minoan civilization, is accredited as the first civilization of Europe, it began around 2000 BCE before it was replaced on the island by Mycenaean civilization about 1375, and then by Classical and Hellenistic Greeks, which in turn were replaced by the Romans. The Byzantine empire and the Venetians controlled the island for a few hundred years before the Ottoman empire invaded the island.The Ottoman empire ruled the island from 1645 until 1898 when the Greeks revolted and finally re-united the island with Greece in 1913.