IOSIF KONSTANTOUDAKIS OR SIFAKAS
Iosif Konstantoudakis or Sifakas (1774-1823): Born in Melidoni in Apokoronas. As leader of his province, he fought in many battles around Chania and was awarded the rank of pentakosiarch (commander of 500 men). In May 1822 he coordinated the defence against the Egyptian troops landing on the island and then fought in the eastern provinces. He died in Topolia in Kissamos in March 1823.
The Orthodox Christian Cretans took part in the Greek Revolution, but the island was not integrated into the Greek state established in 1830. Crete remained a possession of the Ottoman Empire, with repeated uprisings by the Greek inhabitants, until 1898, when it gained its autonomy (Cretan State), before eventually being incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece in 1913.
