Byzantine hegemony was destroyed, and in the partition of the Empire that followed, Venice gained strategic territories in the Aegean Sea (three-eighths of the Byzantine Empire), including the islands of Crete and Euboea. Moreover, some present day cities, such as Chania on Crete, have core architecture that is substantially Venetian in origin.C. Michael Hogan, Cydonia, Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 2008 The Aegean islands formed the Venetian Duchy of the Archipelago.
