Often the geographic boundaries that carve regions into different countries are little more than abstractions on paper, with complete disregard to the ethnic and religious commonalities shared by the people living in those lands. One can blame Britain for such a haphazard division of countries in the Middle East, but in truth there was a great empire even before them — the Ottoman Turks, whose possession of the island of Crete did much to illustrate this perennial problem. Greece, not unjustly, felt Crete to be theirs (the Cretans felt the same way), but the Ottomans’ refusal to cede the island to Greece left little recourse but war.

On this day, April 5, in 1897, after a Greek attempt to stir up trouble behind Ottoman front lines, the Turkish commander Edhem Pasha mobilized his forces, with plans to invade and occupy Greece.

The war lasted for only 30 days before Greece was forced to sue for peace. Although the Turks had the upper hand in negotiations, Greece appealed to the Great Powers of Europe for intervention. Greece was still forced to pay heavy reparations, as well as endure Turkish occupation until they were paid, but the island of Crete was liberated from both sides and granted independence. Less than 20 years later it would voluntarily join Greece.