The Forgotten Conquerors

THE FORGOTTEN CONQUERORS

TALES FROM THE CASTLE OF THE MOAT

A PERSONAL REAPPRAISAL OF THE CRETAN EMIRATE 827 – 961

THROUGH ART AND PROSE

ⓒGEORGE SFOUGARAS 

‘The Forgotten Conquerors’ refers to a period in Crete’s history which is neglected in favour of the more acceptable Greek and Venetian eras. A few coins, a remarkable 11th century Byzantine codex and the writings of some enlightened historians have ensured that we can critically reflect on a significant period in Crete’s history. I am indebted and grateful to historian Mohamad Ballan, for his permission to use his outstanding work and archaeologist Liana Starida for allowing me to use references from her remarkable oeuvre, in piecing together this personal response to a history of my birthplace, Crete. 

The Andalusian Arabs who established an independent Emirate on the island of Crete were absent in any of the history books when I was growing up. Even as I am researching and illustrating this book, the general public and the inhabitants of the island know very little about a dynasty that lasted for six generations and which transformed the island until its destruction in 961. The astonishing scholarship I encountered in the works of Christides and others, too many to list here, but available in the reference section has made me realise that there is an immense body of knowledge that deserves wider dissemination and a universal audience.

Nothing could have prepared me for this book. I wanted to paint Arab Crete, in an effort to capture something that was lost. It was an artistic desire full of romantic notions and a sense of wanting to reclaim something. I was not sure what exactly. What I discovered was a whole world that had been denied to me, either by omission or by design. A world of great ancient scholarship and a civilisation which I was told was of no value, but which is rich, humane and diverse. No people and no tradition is without its ghosts and painful errors of the past and therefore no one should judge without as much information as possible. Western scholarship has a long way to go to make inroads into the psyche of people who have only seen one side and have been brainwashed into disregarding the achievements of the Arab world. It is no wonder that the chasm that divides us is so wide. I hope that knowledge, empathy and human curiosity will help to bridge it.