Population Decline

Information from Turkish tax registers dating to 1671 permit us to estimate the Christian population of the twelve eastern districts (corresponding to the present-day prefectures of Heraklion and Lassithi and the district of Mylopotamos) as standing at approximately 65 000 people. The decline becomes evident if one compares this figure with data from the last Venetian censuses, in which the population of the eastern districts approached or even exceeded 100 000.