List of rulers of Crete
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This is a list of the rulers and governors of the island of Crete throughout its history.
Antiquity[]
Crete was conquered for the Roman Republic by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus in 69 BC and united with the Cyrenaica in the province of Creta et Cyrenaica until 193 AD, when it became a separate province.
Roman governors of Creta et Cyrenaica[]
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| 74 BC | |
| Gnaeus Tremellius Scrofa | 51—50 BC |
| Gaius Clodius Vestalis[1] | during the reign of Augustus |
| Marcus Titius | during the reign of Augustus |
| Publius Sulpicius Quirinius | c. 21/20 BC |
| Fabius | before 13 BC |
| Quintus Lucanius Proculus | after 12 BC |
| Publius Sextius Scaeva | 7/6 BC |
| 2 BC – 7 AD | |
| (Lollius) Palikanus | during the reign of Augustus |
| Marcus Nonius Balbus | during the reign of Augustus |
| Scato | during the reign of Augustus |
| Gaius Rubellius Blandus | during the reign of Augustus |
| Cesius Cordus | c. AD 21 |
| Publius Octavius | between AD 14 and 29 |
| Occius Flamma | during the reign of Tiberius |
| Cornelius Lupus | during the reign of Tiberius |
| Publius Viriasius Naso | during the reign of Tiberius |
| Celer | during the reign of Tiberius |
| Augurinus | during the reign of Caligula |
| before 53 | |
| Caesernius Veiento | c. 46/47 |
| Publius Pomponius Secundus | before 44 |
| Cestius Proculus | before 56 |
| Pedius Blaesus | before 59 |
| Bruttidius Sabinus | 1st half 1st century |
| 64/65 | |
| Titus Atilius Rufus | 67 |
| Aulus Minicius Rufus[2] | 71/72 |
| Catullus | 72/73 |
| 73–75 | |
| Silo | during the reign of Vespasian |
| Aulus Julius Quadratus | 84/85 |
| 88/89 | |
| Sabinus | during the reign of Domitian |
| ? Helvius | during the reign of Domitian |
| during the reign of Domitian/Trajan | |
| Gaius Memmius ... | 98/99 |
| 99/100 | |
| Lucius Silius [...] | First century AD |
| during the reign of Trajan | |
| Titus Vibius Va[rus] | during the reign of Trajan |
| Q. [...] | 118/119 |
| 134/135 | |
| Quintus Caecilius Marcellus Dentilianus[3] | 149/150 |
| between 145 and 161 | |
| 161/162 | |
| between 165 and 169 | |
| shortly before 168 | |
| after 164 | |
| c. 173/174 | |
| between 160 and 180 | |
| between 161 and 180 | |
| Lucius Sempronius [...] | attested 191/192[4] |
| c. 204 | |
| Gnaeus Petronius Probatus Junior Justus | between 222 and 235 |
Roman governors of Crete[]
After the reforms of Emperor Diocletian in the 290s, Crete's governor held the rank of consularis.
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Aglaus | proconsul 286?/293[5] |
| M. Aur. Buzes | praeses 293/305[5] |
| Agrianus | c. 304[5] |
| Fortunatianus Servilius | 364–370[6] |
| Fl. Fursidius Aristides | 372/376[5] |
| Oecumenius Dositheus Asclepiodotus | 382–383[7] |
| Aemilius Quintilius Pyrrhus | after 383[5] |
| Callinicus | 412/413[8] |
Byzantine and Arab periods[]
Crete became part of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire upon the partition of the Roman Empire in 395 AD. It remained in Byzantine hands until it was conquered by Andalusian exiles in the mid-820s and became an emirate, nominally under Abbasid suzerainty. The emirate became a major base for Muslim naval raids along the coasts of the Byzantine Empire, and several attempts at reconquest failed. The Byzantines finally retook the island in 961 under the leadership of Nikephoros Phokas, and held it until 1205.
First Byzantine period[]
- Proconsul
- Helios (539)
- Archon
- Theophanes Lardotyros (c. 764–767)
- John (8th century)
- Leo (8th century)
- Basil (8th century)
- Baasakios (8th/9th century)
- Nicholas (8th/9th century)
- Nicholas (8th/9th century)
- Petronas (first years of the 9th century)
- Constantine (first quarter of the 9th century)
- Strategos
- Photeinos (827/828)
Emirs of Crete[]
| # | Name | Reign |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abu Hafs Umar (I) ibn Shuayb ibn Isa al-Ghaliz al-Iqritishi | 827/828 – ca. 855 |
| 2 | Shu'ayb ibn Umar | ca. 855–880 |
| 3 | Umar (II) ibn Shu'ayb | ca. 880–895 |
| 4 | Muhammad ibn Shu'ayb al-Zarkun | ca. 895–910 |
| 5 | Yusuf ibn Umar | ca. 910–915 |
| 6 | Ali ibn Yusuf | ca. 915–925 |
| 7 | Ahmad ibn Umar | ca. 925–940 |
| 8 | Shu'ayb (II) ibn Ahmad | 940–943 |
| 9 | Ali ibn Ahmad | 943–949 |
| 10 | Abd al-Aziz ibn Shu'ayb | 949–961 |
Second Byzantine period[]
- Strategos
- Michael (10th/11th century)
- Basil (c. 1000)
- Bracheon Philaretos (c. 1028)
- Eumathios (1028)
- Doux (katepano)
- Michael Karantenos (1088–1089)
- Karykes (1090–1092)
- Nikephoros Diogenes (before 1094)
- Michael (11th/12th century)
- John Elladas (1118)
- John Straboromanos (mid-12th century)
- Alexios Kontostephanos (1167)
- Constantine Doukas (1183)
- Stephen Kontostephanos (1193)
- Nikephoros Kontostephanos (1197)
Venetian period, 1212–1669[]
Genoese governors, 1204–1212[]
| Name | Rule |
|---|---|
| Henry, Count of Malta | 1206–1210 |
Dukes of Crete, 1212–1669[]
The supreme Venetian governor of Crete bore the title of "Duke of Crete" (Italian: duca di Candia).
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Jacopo Tiepolo | 1212–1216 |
| Pietro Querini | 1216 |
| 1216–1217 | |
| 1222 | |
| 1228 | |
| 1236 | |
| Jacopo I Barozzi | 1244 |
| 1255–1259 | |
| 1261–1262 | |
| 1273–1274 | |
| 1274 | |
| Marino Morosini | 1274–1276 |
| Pietro Zeno | 1276 |
| 1279 | |
| Jacopo Dondulo | 1281–1283 |
| 1290–1293 | |
| Jacopo II Barozzi | 1301 |
| 1299 | |
| 1317 | |
| 1329–1331 | |
| 1333 | |
| Andrea Cornaro | 1340 |
| 19 November 1340 – 10 February 1341 | |
| 26 October 1344 – 24 April 1345 | |
| 24 April 1345 – 19 August 1347 | |
| Marco Cornaro | 20 August 1347 – 25 November 1348 |
| Marino Grimani | 25 November 1348 – 17 September 1350 |
| Pietro Gradenigo | 24 September 1350 – 15 August 1352 |
| Marino Morosini | 20 September 1352 – 6 September 1355 |
| 6 September 1355 – 20 July 1357 | |
| 30 July 1357 – 6 August 1358 | |
| 22 August 1358 – 14 July 1360 | |
| 12 October 1360 – 6 February 1362 | |
| 1362–1364 | |
| 1364–1366 | |
| Paolo Zuliani | 1382 |
| Tommaso Mocenigo | 1403–1405 |
| Lodovico Morosini | 1407–1409 |
| 1417–1418 | |
| Andrea Mocenigo | 1441–1443 |
| Tommaso Duodo | 1443-1445 |
| Andrea Donato | 1445-1447 |
| Antonio Diedo | 1447-1449 |
| Bernardo Balbi | 1450-1453 |
| Benedetto Vitturi | 1453-1456 |
| Girardo Dandolo | 1456-1459 |
| Leonardo Duodo | 1459-1462 |
| Giacomo Barozzi | ca. 1463 |
| 1472–1473 | |
| Domenico Pisani | 1480 |
| Giovanni Borgia | 1497 |
| Girolamo Donato | 1508–1510 |
| 1510 | |
| Giacomo Cornaro | 1528 |
| ca. 1530 | |
| ca. 1530 | |
| 1536–1538 | |
| Giovanni Moro | 1538 |
| 1539 | |
| 1550 | |
| Lodovico Gritti | 1552–1554 |
| 1559–1563 | |
| 1570 | |
| Pasqual Cicogna | 1585 |
| 1604 | |
| Francesco Morosini | 1612–1614 |
| 1617–1619 | |
| 1629–1631 | |
| 1644–1646 | |
| Giuseppe Morosini | 1650–1653 |
| Francesco Morosini | 1656 |
| Antonio Barbaro | 1667 |
| 1667 |
Ottoman period, 1646–1898[]
Valis of Crete[]
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Çelebi Ismail Pasha | 1693–1695 |
| Hasan Pasha | 1699/1700 |
| 1701–1704 | |
| Abdullah Pasha | 1704–1713 |
| Hüseyin Pasha | 1713 |
| Kara Mehmed Pasha | 1713–1718 |
| 1718–1719 | |
| Esad Pasha | 1719–1720 |
| Cerkes Osman Pasha | 1720–1723 |
| Osman Pasha | 1723–1724 |
| Hüseyin Pasha | 1724–1725 |
| Koca Mehmed Pasha | 1725–1726 |
| Osman Pasha | 1726–1728 |
| 1728–1729 | |
| Mehmed Pasha | 1730–1731 |
| 1731 | |
| 1731–1732 | |
| Haci Halil Pasha (again) | 1732–1733 |
| 1733–1734 | |
| Hafiz Ahmed Pasha | 1734–1735 |
| 1735–1736 | |
| Ismail Pasha | 1736–1737 |
| Haci Ivazzade Mehmed Pasha | 1737–1740 |
| Hüseyin Pasha | 1740–1741 |
| 1742 | |
| Haci Ivazzade Mehmed Pasha (again) | 1742–1743 |
| 1743–1745 | |
| Ali Pasha | 1745–1746 |
| 1746–1747 | |
| 1747–1750 | |
| Mustafa Pasha | 1750 |
| Ibrahim Pasha | 1750–1751 |
| 1751–1754 | |
| 1754–1755 | |
| Mehmed Said Pasha | 1755 |
| Ali Pasha | 1755–1757 |
| Mehmed Pasha | 1757–1758 |
| 1758–1764 | |
| 1764–1766 | |
| 1766–1768 | |
| 1768–1769 | |
| 1769–1770 | |
| 1771–1773 | |
| Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha | 1773–1774 |
| Ibrahim Pasha | 1774 |
| 1774–1776 | |
| Kara Ahmed Pasha | 1776–1778 |
| Ibrahim Pasha (again) | 1778 |
| 1778–1779 | |
| 1779 | |
| Mehmed Emin Pasha | 1779–1780 |
| Mustafa Pasha Hacizade (again) | 1780 |
| 1781–1782 | |
| 1782–1783 | |
| 1783 | |
| Abdullah Pasha | 1783–1784 |
| 1784–1786 | |
| 1786–1787 | |
| Mehmed Pasha | 1787 |
| Mustafa Pasha Hacizade (yet again) | 1787 |
| 1787–1788 | |
| Ekmezi Mehmed Pasha (again) | 1788–1789 |
| 1789 | |
| 1789–1790 | |
| Hüseyin Pasha | 1790–1793 |
| Hasan Pasha | 1793–1797 |
| Ferhad Pasha | 1797 |
| 1797–1798 | |
| 1798–1799 | |
| Tahir Pasha | 1799–1801 |
| 1801–1802 | |
| 1802–1803 | |
| 1803 | |
| 1803–1804 | |
| Mehmed Hüsrev Pasha | 1804–1805 |
| 1805 | |
| Osman Pasha | 1805–1806 |
| Said Hafiz Pasha (again) | 1806–1807 |
| Kadri Pasha | 1807–1808 |
| 1808–1809 | |
| Kadri Pasha (again) | 1809–1810 |
| Hafiz Pasha | 1810–1811 |
| 1811–1812 | |
| 1812–1815 | |
| Ibrahim Pasha | 1815–1816 |
| 1816–1819 | |
| 1819–1820 | |
| Serif Pasha | 1820 |
| 1820–1826 | |
| 1826–1829 | |
| 1829–1830 | |
| Mustafa Naili Pasha | 1830–1851 |
| 1851–1852 | |
| Mehmed Emin Pasha | 1852–1855 |
| 1855–1857 | |
| 1857–1858 | |
| Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha | 1858–1859 |
| 1859–1861 | |
| Hekim Ismail Pasha | 1861–1866 |
| Mustafa Naili Pasha (again) | 1866–1867 |
| Hussein Avni Pasha | 1867 |
| 1867 | |
| Hussein Avni Pasha (again) | 1867–1868 |
| (acting) | 1868 |
| 1868–1870 | |
| Mehmed Rauf Pasha bin Abdi Pasha | 1870–1871 |
| Kücük Ömer Fevzi Pasha (again) | 1871–1872 |
| 1872 | |
| 1872–1873 | |
| Mehmed Rauf Pasha bin Abdi Pasha (again) | 1873–1874 |
| 1874–1875 | |
| Redif Pasha (again) | 1875 |
| Ahmed Muhtar Pasha | 1875–1876 |
| Hasan Sami (again) | 1876–1877 |
| Konstantinos Adosidis Pasha | 1877–1878 |
| Ahmed Muhtar Pasha (again) | 1878 |
| Alexander Karatheodori Pasha | 27 Nov 1878 – 14 Dec 1878 |
| 1879–1885 | |
| 1885–1887 | |
| Kostakis Anthopoulos Pasha | 1887–1888 |
| 1888–1889 | |
| 1889 | |
| Shakir Pasha | 1889–1890 |
| Ahmed Cevad Pasha | 1890–1891 |
| Mahmud Celaleddin Pasha | 1891–1894 |
| Turhan Pasha Përmeti | 1894–1895 |
| Iskender Pasha | 1895–1896 |
| Alexander Karatheodori Pasha (again) | Feb 1896 – Mar 1896 |
| Turhan Pasha Përmeti (again) | 12 Mar 1896 – May 1896 |
| Kölemen Abdullah Pasha | May 1896 – Jun 1896 |
| Djordje Berovich Pasha (Georgios Verovits) | 28 Jun 1896 – 14 Feb 1897 |
| (acting) | Feb 1897 – 4 Nov 1898 |
| Ahmed Cevad Pasha (Ottoman Military Governor) | 24 Jul 1897 – 10 Oct 1898 |
| Shakir Pasha (Ottoman Military Governor) | Oct 1898 – Nov 1898 |
Modern period, 1898–today[]
High Commissioners of the Cretan State[]
Crete became an autonomous state under international protection and nominal Ottoman suzerainty following the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. A High Commissioner of the Great Powers (Ύπατος Αρμοστής) was installed to govern the island. In 1908, the Cretan Assembly unilaterally declared union with Greece, but this was not recognized by Greece until the outbreak of the First Balkan War in October 1912 and internationally until 1913.
| # | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince George of Greece and Denmark |  |
21 December 1898 | 30 September 1906 |
| 2 | Alexandros Zaimis |  |
1 October 1906 | 30 September 1911 |
| 3 | Three-member Commission | 30 September 1911 | 11 October 1912 |
Governors-General of Crete[]
From unification with Greece in 1912 until 1955, Crete as a whole was administered by a government-appointed governor-general (Greek: Γενικός Διοικητής Κρήτης), who supervised the administration of the island's four prefectures (Chania, Heraklion, Lasithi and Rethymno).
| # | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefanos Dragoumis |  |
11 October 1912 | 30 May 1913 |
| 2 | 1913 | 1913 | ||
| 3 | Loukas Kanakaris-Roufos |  |
December 1913 | April 1915 |
| 4 | April 1915 | 1917 | ||
| 5 | Konstantinos Tsaldaris |  |
1921 | 1922 |
| 6 | § | 9 May 1922 | 28 August 1922 | |
| 7 | 1922 | 1922 | ||
| 8 | 1922 | 1923 | ||
| 9 | 1923 | 1924 | ||
| 10 | 1924 | 1924 | ||
| 11 | 1924 | 1925 | ||
| 12 |  |
1925 | 1926 | |
| 13 | 1926 | 1927 | ||
| 14 | 1927 | 1928 | ||
| 15 | Georgios Katechakis§ |  |
10 March 1928 | 22 December 1930 |
| 16 | § | 22 December 1930 | 25 May 1932 | |
| 17 | § | 26 May 1932 | 5 June 1932 | |
| 18 | § |  |
19 June 1932 | 4 November 1932 |
| 19 | § | 25 November 1932 | 16 January 1933 | |
| 20 | § | 16 January 1933 | ||
| 21 | § | 13 March 1933 | 25 May 1934 | |
| 22 | § | 25 May 1934 | 1 June 1935 | |
| 23 | § | 19 July 1935 | 10 October 1935 | |
| 24 | Georgios Tsontos§ |  |
10 October 1935 | 30 November 1935 |
| 25 | Konstantinos Bakopoulos§ | 7 December 1935 | 14 March 1936 | |
| 26 | § | 18 May 1936 | 1941 | |
| 27 | § | 1941 | 26 January 1943 | |
| 28 | § | 26 January 1943 | 10 October 1944 | |
| 29 | Agathangelos Xirouchakis |  |
1944 | 1944 |
| 30 | 1944 | 1945 | ||
| 31 | § | 29 January 1945 | 4 April 1946 | |
| 32 | § | 8 May 1946 | 4 November 1946 | |
| 33 | § | 4 November 1946 | 24 January 1947 | |
| 34 | § | 31 January 1947 | 17 February 1947 | |
| 35 | 1947 | 1947 | ||
| 36 | 1947 | 1948 | ||
| 37 | 1948 | 1948 | ||
| 38 | 1948 | 1950 | ||
| 39 | 1950 | |||
| 40 |  |
|||
| 41 | 1955 |
- Notes: § denotes a person bearing cabinet rank as Minister General-Governor of Crete (Υπουργός Γενικός Διοικητής Κρήτης) or Vice-Minister General-Governor of Crete (Υφυπουργός Γενικός Διοικητής Κρήτης).
Regional governors of Crete[]
With the establishment of the region of Crete (Περιφέρεια Κρήτης) in 1986, Crete became again an administrative entity. Until 2011, the regional governors (περιφερειάρχες) were government-appointed, but in accordance to the Kallikratis reform they were replaced with elected officials.
Appointed governors[]
Elected governors[]
| # | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stavros Arnaoutakis |  |
1 January 2011 | incumbent |
Notes[]
- ^ Unless otherwise stated, the names of the proconsular governors from 31 BC to AD 67 are taken from Werner Eck, "Über die prätorischen Prokonsulate in der Kaiserzeit. Eine quellenkritische Überlegung", Zephyrus, 23/24 (1972-3), pp.244-247
- ^ Unless otherwise stated, the names of the proconsular governors from 71 to 135 are taken from Werner Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron, 12 (1982), pp. 281-362; 13 (1983), pp. 147-237
- ^ Unless otherwise stated, the names of the proconsular governors from 149 to 169 are taken from Géza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1977), pp. 263f
- ^ Unless otherwise stated, the names of the proconsular governors from 191 to 235 are taken from Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (1989), pp. 297f
- ^ a b c d e PLRE, Vol. I, p. 1104.
- ^ Szymon Olszaniec, Prosopographical Studies on the Court Elite in the Roman Empire (4th Century AD) (Nicolaus Copernicus University Press, 2013), p. 208.
- ^ J. C. Lamoreaux (1998), "The Provenance of Ecumenius' Commentary on the Apocalypse", Vigiliae Christianae 52(1), p. 97 n35. doi:10.2307/1584585
- ^ PLRE, Vol. 2, p. 1285.
External links[]
- Rulers of Crete, from World Statesmen.org
Categories:
- Rulers of Crete
- Lists of European rulers
- Lists of governors
- Crete-related lists
- Lists of Ottoman governors