Cretan State
Cretan State | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898–1913 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Cretan Anthem | |||||||||
Map of Crete as an autonomous state of the Ottoman Empire (1900) | |||||||||
| Status | Autonomous state of the Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Chania | ||||||||
| Largest city | Heraklion | ||||||||
| Common languages | Greek (official), Ottoman Turkish (recognised) | ||||||||
| Religion | Greek Orthodox (prevailing religion), Sunni Islam (recognised), Judaism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Cretan | ||||||||
| High Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1898–1906 | Prince George | ||||||||
• 1906–1911 | Alexandros Zaimis | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1910 | Eleftherios Venizelos | ||||||||
| Legislature | Assembly | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 9 December 1898 | |||||||||
| 23 March 1905 | |||||||||
• Unilateral union with Greece | 7 October 1908 | ||||||||
| 30 May 1913 | |||||||||
| 1 December 1913 | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1911 estimate | 336,151 | ||||||||
| Currency | Cretan drachma | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Greece | ||||||||
The Cretan State (Greek: Κρητική Πολιτεία, romanized: Kritiki Politeia; Ottoman Turkish: كرید دولتی, romanized: Girid Devleti) was an autonomous state governing the island of Crete from 1898 to 1913, under de jure suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire but with de facto independence secured by European Great Powers. In 1897, the Cretan Revolt led the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Greece, which led the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia to intervene on the grounds that the Ottoman Empire could no longer maintain control. The Cretan State was the prelude to the island's final annexation to the Kingdom of Greece, which occurred de facto in 1908 and de jure in 1913 after the First Balkan War.