Venetian Period:

In 1204 AD, the year of the fall of Constantinople and the disruption of the Byzantine Empire by the Crusades, Megalo Kastro and the whole island passed into Venetian hands after agreements. The Venetians, being at the same time engaged with the occupation of other areas, did not give proper attention and significance to this, as a result Crete passed into the hands of the General Pirate Erricos Pescatore. Due its special geographical position and importance of the island, the Venetians did not want to lose possession; they became sovereigns of the island again in 1211. A rule that would last until 1669. Crete became a whole administrative district with the name of "Kingdom of Candia" (Regno di Candia). For the first 150 years there were a lot of revolutions on the Cretan's side, a fact that proves that the people did not submit without protest to the Venetian domination and servitude. After 1367, Crete starts to live a rather peaceful period.

Castro - Candia:

The Castro, which is now named Candia by the Venetians, became the capital of the island, the seat of every Duke and all the other authorities, the centre of the intellectual and artistic life. The city becomes one of the most important urban centres of that period of the eastern Mediterranean. The city continues to expand outside the limits of the old fortification, creating the need of a new one that would include the suburbs.

New Fortification:

The new walls with their monumental portals form a representative characteristic of the fortification art and even today they form one of the most significant monuments of the kind in the Mediterranean basin. The city port, with the arsenals, is also one of the most important commercial centres in the area from where a lot of Cretan products (wine, olive oil, cheese) are exported and traded in the largest European markets.

Artistic movement:

Other sections also flourished like painting (in the 16th century the well-known Cretan school was formed and Dominikos Theotokopoulos, the later ‘El Greco' starts his art work), literature, poetry, theatre with astonishing examples creating a special Cretan cultural idiom in the area.

Architecture:

The architecture is another section of development which is represented in public and private buildings as the dukes' palace, the Venetian metropolitan church of St. Mark with its bell tower (today used as a Municipal Gallery where important exhibitions take place as was the one of The Portaits of Fayium). The "Loggia" (the Noble's Club during the Venetian period) is used today as part of the Town Hall. Various Venetian and Orthodox churches, fountains, are some of the monuments that still exist today in the old town.

The Turkish threat:

A new superpower comes to the front that is going to bring a real upheaval to the "status quo" and it is the Ottoman Empire. In 1645, the Turkish fleet appears on the Cretan coastline and gradually one town after the other passes into the hands of the new conquerors. Chandakas resists for more than 20 years and the siege around the city's fortress comes to an end after a betrayal by the Venetian - Cretan mechanic Andreas Barotsis, who revealed to the Turkish pasha Ahmet Kioprouli the weakest parts of the fortress (in the eastern and the western parts, the bastion of Sabbionara and the bastion of St. Andreas).

Castro under the Turkish occupation:

Crete was made part of a new "egialeti", that means of a new administrative region of the Ottoman Empire that had Chandakas as a "capital", now called Kandiye or Kastro by the Turks. In the city there are all the official services, the seat of the "Grammatikos" that is of the interpreter of the "Pyli". Chandakas was almost totally ravaged and destroyed. A lot of extended repairs were done to buildings and the fortification wall, while most of the churches were made into mosques. New fountains are built in different parts of the city to confront the lack of water. The last period's cultural flourish stopped, while there is a similar decline in the economy and trade. From the beginning of the 18th century we note a steady development and change in the economic life of the city with the participation of Christians in various commercial activities. The revolts during this period did not stop, proving by this the desire of Cretan people for freedom and re-union with Greece.

19th century:

In the first decades of the next century the city changed name into Herakleia and later Heraklion, as it is known today. Turks transferred the capital of the island from Heraklion to Chania, without this implying the decline of Heraklion, which was developing into one of the most important urban centres of that period with a great commercial and economic flourish. The last page of the Turkish occupation took place in Heraklion in August 1898, when enraged Turks attacked and slaughtered hundreds of unarmed Christians together with 17 English soldiers and the English Consul Lyssimachos Kalokairinos. In November of the same year, the last Turkish soldier left the island, the next month the High Commissioner Prince George disembarked in Souda (Chania) and the "Kritiki Politeia" (Cretan State) is founded by the "high protection" of England, Italy, France and Russia until 1913, when the union with Greece was achieved.

20th century:

With the dawn of the 20th century a new era for Crete starts. Heraklion rapidly develops, its population increasing (urbanism) and its housing needs multiply. All at the expense of the historical character of the town. In the name of modernization, of development and progress a lot of monuments of the historical centre of the city were demolished without planning, while at the same time the fortifications were seriously changed and no possibility of returning to their previous state. Historical Heraklion lives to the rhythm of a large modern city, the need to keep the bonds with the past by preserving its monuments is obvious.