| The Solomos family from Zakynthos is of Cretan descent. The name Salamone-Salamon-Salomone occurs in Cretan notarial documents from the late 13th century onwards. It was originally a Jewish first name, but later became a Venetian and Cretan family surname. In Greek it was rendered as Solomos, since this is the Cretan folk name for the wise king of the Jews. A series of documents from the notarial ledgers of Pietro Scaradon and Benvenuto de Brixano, kept in the Venetian State Archive, is published here. They testify to the existence of Jews named Salamon in Chandax in 1271 and 1301. Later information on the Solomoi in Chandax and Sitia are drawn from other Venetian sources, such as the census by Kastrofylakas. The surname also occurs in Ottoman documents. |