The Archives Department has been able to assemble the following collections central to the history of Crete:

The Archives of Venice; the microfilm acquisition from the Public Archives of Venice covering the period from 1217 to1898 of Cretan history.

In 1203, the son of emperor Isaac the Second, Alexious Angelus, grants Crete to Boniface of Monfferat, distinguished knight of the 4th Crusade. He, in his turn, sells it for the sum of 5000 golden ducats, to Enrico Dandolo, Doge of the Democracy of Venice, on 12 August 1204. However another foreigner anticipates his steps and arrives first on the island - the pirate and Earl of Malta, Enrico Pescatore. The Venetians however, show a strong interest in their purchase and, thus, after many years of continuous battles, on 11 May 1219, they occupy Crete and appoint Jacob Tripolo first Duke of Crete.

From then on, and for four hundred and fifty years, all the administrative Venetian documents are assembled, until 1645, in the Palazzo Ducale, in the sanctuaries of the Kingdom of Crete (Regno di Candia). However, the Ottomans begin the conquest of Crete and besiege the Venetians in Handakas (Heraklion) from May 1648 until September 1669. After 21 years, the longest siege in history ends. Following the Venetian surrender, Francesco Morosini sends the archives of the Kingdom of Crete to Venice, where there are kept until today in the Public Archives of Venice.

The Turkish Archive of Heraklion. After the fall of Handakas, the Turks consolidate their power with the imposition of their culture and the establishment of official institutions where they document the legality of their actions.

The Turkish Archive of Heraklion consists of the handwritten Codes of Ierodikio (Sacred Justice) and covers a period of 230 years. It is written in the old Arabic Turkish which can be read only by those who have studied it. These writings contain all the documents regarding the public operation of the Ottoman Empire. They include information related to central and western Crete as well as matters of the church, the occupation of the regions of Gramvousa, Souda and Spinalonga, the Cretan revolutions, and the Code of Victims composed in 1828; a catalog of all the names of people killed or taken prisoner during the Greek Revolution of 1821.

The Archive of Demogerontia (Self Administration under Turkish Occupation). The institution Demogerontia took effect in the last forty years of Turkish sovereignty (1858-1900). It is a formation of self-government, in the context of the privileges that were granted by the Ottomans to the mainly Christian population so as to avoid further national revolutionary conflicts. The Demogerontia was recognized officially in 1858, year of the establishment of this institution in Chania, Heraklion and Rethymnon, with representatives of the Christian and Muslim communities.

The jurisdiction of Demogerontia was reduced to the resolution of family problems and inheritance law, as well as the monitoring of charities, schools, hospitals etc. They also intervened in the management of orphans' property (via the Christian Orphans Bank).More specifically, they took power of attorney over the underage fatherless orphans and managed their assets until these children came of age. The Archive of the Dimogerontia of Heraklion portrays in detail these activities and their step by step development from 1858 until roughly 1900.

Additional Archives

• The acquisition, recording and archiving of the Library of George and Maro Seferis. George Seferis, is a poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963. The poet has read most of the books of his library and, in many of cases, they contain handwritten notes and underlined passages and are stamped with his own seal, the well-known mermaid in a round frame, or with his monogram in a small rectanglular frame. Many of the books are dedicated to the poet and/or to Maro Seferi.
• The acquisition and cataloguing of the Maps Archive of George Gratseas.
• The acquisition of the photographic archives of Giouseppe Gerola and that of Alesantro Kourouni.
• The cataloguing in the form of slides of Cretan Icons and Paintings.
• The acquisition of the caves and plants archive of Eleftherios Platakis.
• The acquisition and cataloguing of the archives of the secretary Sacklabani of the National Institute of Marine Research.
• The acquisition of the archives of Archanes Committee relating to the Cretan Revolution of 1896.
• The organization of the archives of General Nathenas and the videotape memoirs of ‘live' witnesses to events during the German occupation.
• The acquisition of the handwritten archives of the poet George Sarantaris.
• The acquisition of the archives of Archibishop Meletios Metaxakis.
• The cataloguing of the Municipality of Heraklion and of the Cigarette Factory Archives.
• The acquisition and of the archive cataloguing of the Municipal Council of Heraklion records for the period of 1900 to 1975.
• Acquisition, recording and archiving of the libraries of Nikolaos Oikonomakis and Mr. Malagardis.
• Systematic recording of the books of the Historical Museum of Crete and microfilming of the catalog of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.
• The acquisition and cataloguing of other private archives of historical interest.