The Tanzimat era is conventionally viewed as a period of centralization in the Ottoman Empire, and as such, any concessions to local interests or extensions of autonomy during this period are viewed as a failure of state policy. However, given the aspects of decentralization also contained within late Ottoman reform, it is worth considering local autonomy as a strategy employed by the Ottomans in their attempt to govern disparate territories. In this episode, Elektra Kostopoulou explores these issues and discusses the transformation of Ottoman rule in Crete during the nineteenth century and the eventual creation of an autonomous region the in 1898.