Translation and commentary of the 'Book of Sacrifices: The victims of the Revolution of 1821 in Crete'

Scholarly supervision: Prof. Vassilis Demetriades

Research group: Eleni Karantzikou, Pinelopi Fotinou and Chrysoula Christodoulara.

Funding Institution: Regional Programmes (PEP) of Crete

The project aimed at the commentated translation of the Ottoman register no. 120 of the Turkish Archive of Herakleio. The register records the names, according to district and village, of the Christian residents of Eastern Crete who were killed, taken as prisoners, sold as slaves or escaped during the Revolution of 1821, and whose properties were confiscated by the Ottoman authorities or returned to their heirs. The register also contains the names of the Muslim apostates whose property was confiscated, as well as these of the Christians who were victims of the great massacre of June 1821 at Ayios Menas, and their properties were sold off or given to Muslims. The register, apart from its obvious value as an important record of the history of the people and their families who were lost during the revolution, constitutes an invaluable source in respect of the consequences of the revolution for the Christian population, of the Ottoman military operations against the Christian revolutionaries, of the rural economy of the period, of the demographic composition in the towns, of the surnames and place names, etc. The translation of the register was published in 2003 by the Crete University Press and the Vikelaia Municipal Library of Herakleio, edited by Vassilis Demetriades and Dionysia Daskalou. The edition is accompanied with the facsimile of the Ottoman register, an extensive introduction and conclusions, detailed tables of the victims and their properties according to district and village, tables of place-names, glossaries, indices, etc.