Náxos

The largest of the Cyclades, Naxos was famed for its agriculture, livestock and emery, a hard stone prized as an abrasive. In antiquity its wealth made it a leading island of the Aegean. A failed Persian attack in 499 BC helped set the Ionian Revolt in motion, while Athens later crushed its attempt to leave the Delian League.

After the Fourth Crusade, Marco Sanudo conquered Naxos and made it the seat of the Duchy of the Archipelago. Latin feudal law was introduced, though Greek inhabitants continued to use Byzantine civil law. Anatolian raids repeatedly threatened the island: in 1341 Umur of Aydın carried away thousands of people and imposed tribute. In 1566 Sultan Selim II deposed the last Latin Christian duke and appointed Joseph Nasi; after Nasi's death in 1579, the Ottomans annexed the duchy.