Feudal organization

In 1207 feudal institutions began to be applied in the duchy of the Aegean. In Naxos, fiefs were also called paskoula (mountainous pastures) or topoi. Later, the term "timario" was used, which referred to the military Ottoman status. The term "topos" occurs more frequently and relates to the rights and the income of the beneficiaries.

Due to scarcity of sources for that particular period, subsequent sources were used. Therefore, conclusions ought to be deduced cautiously. In general, the Latin rulers pursued a policy of reconciliation with the indigenous people. Nevertheless, the social structure in the duchy is not clearly portrayed. The new rulers ceded fiefs in return for military and administrative services or a suzerainty tax (victuals, money) not only to Latins but to Greeks as well, thus incorporating them into the feudal system.

Feudal lords were holders of smaller or larger tracts of land, they constituted a privileged group and were initially divided into two groups: the lieges and those of plain homage. In the capacity of liege vassals of the duke, they participated in the council of the duke, which could also be attended by Greeks and by privileged city dwellers, the so-called cittadini.

The cittadini probably came from Italian cities, but had acquired fiefs on the Aegean islands. Their position is not clearly discerned from that of the feudal lords, together with whom they constituted the ruling social group. The sources also refer to the rural population, such as the freed men among the gasmouloi or slaves who had been freed by the duke, who provided money or services. The villanior contadini were divided into those who belonged to feudal lords and those who belonged to the duke. The taxes that they had to pay were the tithe, the trigesimo, the acrosticon (land tax of Byzantine origin) and the tourkoteli.

Economy

The fiscal income of the lords of the Cyclades came from three sources mainly: the suzerainty rights, the taxes on trade or production and advance payments from the harvest, all of which could amount to considerable sums. Other sources of income were mines and saltworks, which continued to be in use. During the 14th century the dukes of Naxos and the princes of Tinos minted coinage of wide circulation.

Defence

In principle, only the big islands had the means to defend themselves in the event of a major attack. Although the military force that they could array was small, they took advantage of the fact that they were difficult of access due to the geographical configuration of their shores. On the other hand, small islands had only one castle, where the inhabitants resorted in case of danger. The toponyms "merovigli" or "vigla", which often occur in islands, refer to the system of warning by fire and smoke emitted from strategic points, when a suspect ship appeared.