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The local population of Crete had been engaged in very heavy fighting against their Turkish occupiers. Turkish reinfocements from the mainland and Egypt beseiged the ancient monastery of Arkadi, the headquarters of the revolt with about 250 defenders and more than 700 refugees, mostly women and children. When the Turks broke in the monks touched off the powder magazine killing most of the refugees. The Turks then murdered the 114 prisoners taken in the battle. The heavy loss of life in "the Holocaust of Arkadi" brought heavy western condemnation and sympathy. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Crete (or Crete)," The American Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1866 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873), 89.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
US/the World