| It is obvious, from the multitude of documents concerning Sphakia in the Turkish Archive of Heraklion, that the area was the object of special interest on the part of the Ottoman Empire. There is also a rich Greek and foreign-language bibliography on the subject. However, the study of the history of Sphakia is dominated by certain fallacies, which are due either to ignorance of Turkish historical sources or to local regionalism and a certain romantic prejudice. In the interests of restoring historical truth and promoting research, 45 documents of the Turkish Archive of Heraklion covering the period 1659-1770 are published here. They chiefly concern the taxation and administrative system applying to Sphakia, the Sphakian attitude to the Ottomans, and many more aspects of local history. |