The final act of the Cretan drama unfolded in August 1898. Since the spring of that year, the island had been placed under a regime of international protection, with the Great Powers assuming control of most Ottoman public services.
The prevailing sense of insecurity in Crete, caused by repeated and bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims, had driven a large part of the Muslim population into the towns, as Ottoman troops had withdrawn from the countryside. In 1898, of the approximately 60,000 Muslims in Heraklion, some 40,000 were effectively refugees.
The Great Powers had scheduled for 25 August the installation of officials of the “Executive of Crete” in the island’s tax offices. The transfer of the offices from Muslim officials in Chania and Rethymno was carried out with limited resistance. In Heraklion, however, the process—supervised by a detachment of the British army—was obstructed by an enraged mob. Printed material intended for the operation of the new office was thrown into the sea, while houses, shops, and offices in the city’s central districts were looted and set ablaze, including the consulates of foreign powers. Among the victims were the British vice-consul Lysimachos Kalokairinos, seventeen British soldiers and their commanding officer, as well as numerous members of the Christian population of the city, regardless of social standing, age, or gender.
The present-day 25th of August Martyrs Avenue, named in commemoration of these events, was engulfed in flames and suffered extensive destruction.
In the afternoon, the British ship Hazard began bombarding the Muslim quarters of the city in an attempt to contain the violence. The atrocities ceased only with the arrival of the military commander of Heraklion, Edhem Pasha. The exact number of the dead was never established, though it is estimated to have exceeded two hundred.
The following day found Heraklion deeply scarred, with widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, and the greater part of its Christian population having fled to the countryside. These events accelerated the end of Ottoman rule on the island. On 9 December 1898, Prince George of Hellas assumed office as High Commissioner of Crete, under the auspices of the Great Powers.