Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573)
Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War | |
---|---|
Part of the Aegean seas | |
Result | Ottoman victory |
Territorial changes | Cyprus under Ottoman rule |
The Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War, also known as the War of Cyprus (Italian: Guerra di Cipro) was fought between 1570 and 1573. It was waged between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, the latter joined by the Holy League, a coalition of Christian states formed by the pope which included Spain (with Naples and Sicily), the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The war, the pre-eminent episode of sultan
Background
The large and wealthy island of
After concluding a
Despite the existing peace treaty with Venice, renewed as recently as 1567,
On the Venetian side, Ottoman intentions had been clear and an attack against Cyprus had been anticipated for some time. A war scare had broken out in 1564–1565, when the Ottomans eventually
By early 1570, the Ottoman preparations and the warnings sent by the Venetian bailo at Constantinople, Marco Antonio Barbaro, had convinced the Signoria that war was imminent. Reinforcements and money were sent post-haste to Crete and Cyprus.[29] In March 1570, an Ottoman envoy was sent to Venice, bearing an ultimatum that demanded the immediate cession of Cyprus.[13] Although some voices were raised in the Venetian Signoria advocating the cession of the island in exchange for land in Dalmatia and further trading privileges, the hope of assistance from the other Christian states stiffened the republic's resolve, and the ultimatum was categorically rejected.[30]
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
On 27 June, the invasion force, some 350–400 ships and 60,000–100,000 men, set sail for Cyprus. It landed unopposed at Salines, near Larnaca on the island's southern shore on 3 July, and marched towards the capital, Nicosia.[15][27] The Venetians had debated opposing the landing, but in the face of the superior Ottoman artillery, and the fact that a defeat would mean the annihilation of the island's defensive force, it was decided to withdraw to the forts and hold out until reinforcements arrived.[31]
The siege of Nicosia began on 22 July and lasted for seven weeks, until 9 September.
Following the fall of Nicosia, the fortress of Kyrenia in the north surrendered without resistance, and on 15 September, the Turkish cavalry appeared before the last Venetian stronghold, Famagusta. At this point already, overall Venetian losses (including the local population) were estimated by contemporaries at 56,000 killed or taken prisoner.[35] The Venetian defenders of Famagusta numbered about 8,500 men with 90 artillery pieces and were commanded by Marco Antonio Bragadin. They would hold out for 11 months against a force that would come to number 200,000 men, with 145 guns,[36] providing the time needed by the Pope to cobble together an anti-Ottoman league from the reluctant Christian European states.[37] The Ottomans set up their guns on 1 September.[38] Over the following months, they proceeded to dig a huge network of criss-crossing trenches for a depth of three miles around the fortress, which provided shelter for the Ottoman troops. As the siege trenches neared the fortress and came within artillery range of the walls, ten forts of timber and packed earth and bales of cotton were erected.[39] The Ottomans however lacked the naval strength to completely blockade the city from sea as well, and the Venetians were able to resupply it and bring in reinforcements. After news of such a resupply in January reached the Sultan, he recalled Piyale Pasha and left Lala Mustafa alone in charge of the siege.[40] At the same time, an initiative by Sokollu Mehmed Pasha to achieve a separate peace with Venice foundered. The Grand Vizier offered to concede a trading station at Famagusta if the Republic would cede the island, but the Venetians, encouraged by their recent capture of Durazzo in Albania and the ongoing negotiations for the formation of a Christian league (see below), refused.[27][41] Thus on 12 May 1571, the intensive bombardment of Famagusta's fortifications began, and on 1 August, with ammunition and supplies exhausted, the garrison surrendered the city.[39] The siege of Famagusta cost the Ottomans some 50,000 casualties.[42]
The Ottomans allowed the Christian residents and surviving Venetian soldiers to leave Famagusta peacefully, but when Lala Mustafa learned that some Muslim prisoners had been killed during the siege, he had Bragadin mutilated and flayed alive, while his companions were executed. Bragadin's skin was then paraded around the island, before being sent to Constantinople.[43]
Holy League
As the Ottoman army campaigned in Cyprus, Venice tried to find allies. The
According to the terms of the new alliance, during the late summer, the Christian fleet assembled at
Battle of Lepanto
Both sides sought the decisive engagement, for which they had amassed, according to some estimates, between 70 and 90 percent of all galleys in existence in the Mediterranean at the time.
The strategic situation after Lepanto was graphically summed up later by the Ottoman Grand Vizier to the Venetian bailo: "The Christians have singed my beard [meaning the fleet], but I have lopped off an arm. My beard will grow back. The arm [meaning Cyprus], will not".
The following year, as the allied Christian fleet resumed operations, it faced a renewed Ottoman navy of 200 vessels under
The diverging interests of the League members began to show, and the alliance began to unravel. In 1573, the Holy League fleet failed to sail altogether; instead, Don John attacked and took Tunis, only for it to be retaken by the Ottomans in 1574.[63][64] Venice, fearing the loss of her Dalmatian possessions and a possible invasion of Friuli,[65] and eager to cut her losses and resume the trade with the Ottoman Empire, initiated unilateral negotiations with the Porte.[62][66]
Peace settlement and aftermath
Andrea Biagio Badoer, an extraordinary ambassador, conducted the negotiations for Venice. In view of the Republic's inability to regain Cyprus, the resulting treaty, signed on 7 March 1573, confirmed the new state of affairs: Cyprus became an Ottoman province, and Venice paid an indemnity of 300,000 ducats.[62] In addition, the border between the two powers in Dalmatia was modified by the Turkish occupation of small but important parts of the hinterland that included the most fertile agricultural areas near the cities, with adverse effects on the economy of the Venetian cities in Dalmatia.[67]
Peace would continue between the two states until 1645, when a long
Notes
- ^ Turnbull (2003), pp. 58–59
- ^ John F. Guilmartin (1974), pp. 253–255
- ^ William Oliver Stevens and Allan F. Westcott, A History of Sea Power, 1920, p. 107.
- ^ Nolan, Cathal (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 529.
- ^ McEvedy & Jones (1978), p. 119
- ^ Faroqhi (2004), p. 140
- ^ Finkel (2006), pp. 113, 158
- ^ Cook (1976), p. 77
- ^ Setton (1984), p. 200
- ^ Goffman (2002), p. 155
- ^ a b Finkel (2006), p. 158
- ^ a b c Cook (1976), p. 108
- ^ a b c d e f Finkel (2006), p. 160
- ^ Faroqhi (2004), pp. 38, 48
- ^ a b c Turnbull (2003), p. 57
- ^ Abulafia (2012), pp. 444–446
- ^ Setton (1984), p. 923
- ^ Finkel (2006), pp. 158–159
- ^ Abulafia (2012), pp. 446–447
- ^ Finkel (2006), p. 159
- ^ Goffman (2002), p. 156
- ^ Finkel (2006), pp. 159–160
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 925–931
- ^ Abulafia (2012), p. 446
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 907–908
- ^ a b Setton (1984), p. 908
- ^ a b c Abulafia (2012), p. 447
- ^ Goffman (2002), pp. 155–156
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 945–946, 950
- ^ a b c d Cook (1976), p. 109
- ^ Setton (1984), p. 991
- ^ a b Turnbull (2003), p. 58
- ^ Setton (1976), p. 995
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 981–985
- ^ a b Setton (1984), p. 990
- ^ Turnbull (2003), pp. 58–59
- ^ Hopkins (2007), pp. 87–89
- ^ Hopkins (2007), p. 82
- ^ a b Turnbull (2003), pp. 59–60
- ^ Hopkins (2007), pp. 82–83
- ^ Hopkins (2007), pp. 83–84
- ^ Goffman (2002), p. 158
- ^ Abulafia (2012), pp. 448–449
- ^ Setton (1984), p. 963
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 941–943
- ^ Hopkins (2007), pp. 84–85
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 138–140
- ^ Turnbull (2003), p. 60
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 140–141
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), p. 141
- ^ Abulafia (2012), pp. 449–450
- ^ Abulafia (2012), pp. 450–451
- ^ Finkel (2006), pp. 160–161
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 141–149
- ^ Faroqhi (2004), p. 38
- ISSN 0353-295X. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), p. 149
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 148–149
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 150–151
- ^ Abulafia (2012), p. 451
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), pp. 149–150
- ^ a b c Finkel (2006), p. 161
- ^ Finkel (2006), pp. 161–162
- ^ Guilmartin (2002), p. 150
- ^ Setton (1984), pp. 1093–1095
- ^ Faroqhi (2004), p. 4
- ISSN 0353-295X. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
- ^ Finkel (2006), p. 222
- ^ Borowiec (2000), pp. 19–21
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