Three years after the 4th (western) Crusade (1204) that led
to the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine empire,
eleven Cycladic islands, Naxos among them, were taken over by the Venetians. Marco Sanoudo, a relative of the Doge of Venice was
in charge of the operation. Realizing the strategic importance
of the island, its rich land and selfsufficiency, he created there
the base of the Archipelago Dukedom.