Town Dwellers

In the wake of the Ottoman conquest, only a handful of inhabitants remained in the town; Turkish ledgers record a mere thirteen Orthodox Christians and twenty-six male Jews liable for poll tax. Abandoned houses and buildings were granted or auctioned to Ottoman soldiers or officials, who made up the core of the town's new population. Though the population continued to grow over the years to come, Muslims were always a clear majority. This ascendancy was gradually overturned in the late 19^th century, as more and more Muslims abandoned the island, and steadily increasing numbers of rural Christians moved into the town.