Marco I Sanudo

Marco Sanudo (c. 1153 Eraclea – between 1220 and 1230, most probably 1227) was the creator and first Duke of the Duchy of the Archipelago, in Italian: "Duca del Mare Egeo e Re di Candia", Barone delle Isole di Nasso, Pario, Milo, Marine ed Andri, duchy granted by the Republic of Venice to him and all his descendants. After the Fourth Crusade his lineage became named Sanudo de Candia.

Maternal nephew of Venetian doge Enrico Dandolo, he was a participant in the Fourth Crusade (1204). He was part of the negotiations when the Republic of Venice bought the island of Crete from Boniface of Montferrat.

Between 1205 and 1207, or a little after 1213-1214, he gathered a fleet and captured the island of Naxos, laying the foundations of the Duchy of the Archipelago. He built a new capital city on the island, Kastro (now the main port). During his reign, he blended the Byzantine and Venetian organizations.

He became vassal of the Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders around 1210 or 1216. For his lord, he fought against the Empire of Nicaea. But for Venice, he took part in the Cretan expedition of 1211.