I would like to thank the many friends and family who helped in checking the manuscript for errors and readability; their suggestions and criticisms played an essential role in the creation of this book. Too many to name them all, I must nevertheless mention two in particular who have been of inestimable help and support: Rosemary Copsey, who can spot a repetition at 100 yards and Ralph “the Comma King” Lane.
Thanks also to Manolis Sfyrakis for help with translations, and to Aspassia Moulakaki, who sought out some extremely useful Greek statistics websites.
I am not a professional historian, and this book would be considerably poorer without the assistance of experts on the various periods, who checked for accuracy and, in some cases, offered valuable insights into the latest research. I was moved by the willingness of extremely busy academics to spend time helping me:
Antonis Anastasopoulos, University of Crete (Ottoman rule)
Mohamad Ballan, University of Chicago (Arab rule)
Dr. Matthew Buell, Concordia University (Bronze Age)
Professor Vassilios Christides, Institute of Graeco-Oriental and African Studies (Arab rule)
Dr. Theocharis Detorakis, University of Rethymnon (Byzantine period)
Dr. David Holton, University of Cambridge (Venetian rule)
Colin Janes, author of The Eagles of Crete (Civil War)
Dr. Anna Kouremenos, American School of Classical Studies (Roman rule)
Dr. David Lewis, University of Edinburgh (Dorian period)
Mick McTiernan (Autonomous Crete)
Georgios Markakis and Yiannis Markakis, Lychnostatis Museum (Post-war period)
Major (Retd) John Netherwood (Second World War)
Dr. Monique O’Connell, Wake Forest University (Venetian rule)
Peter Rogers (Venetian rule)
Dr. Thomas Strasser, Providence College (Prehistoric period)
I must include a word of thanks to the wonderful websites Academia.edu and JSTOR, which contain enormous collections of academic theses and articles, and to Project Gutenberg, the source of most of the quotations from classical historians in this book.
Thank you to the Museum of Christian Art, Iraklion for its assistance in sourcing Plate 3, and to the Historical Museum of Crete for its assistance in sourcing Plates 9 (top), 12, 13 and 14–15.
Finally, a big thank you to Harry Hall of Haus Publishing, who had faith in my book, and to Jo Stimpson for the thorough work she has done on editing my original draft. Her efforts certainly improved clarity and readability.