Siege of Nice
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The siege of Nice occurred in 1543 and was part of the Italian War of 1542–46 in which Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent collaborated as part of the Franco-Ottoman alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Henry VIII of England. At that time, Nice was under the control of Charles III, Duke of Savoy, an ally of Charles V. This is part of the 1543–1544 Mediterranean campaign of Barbarossa.
Top: In the siege of Nice in 1543, a combined Franco-Ottoman force captured the city. Bottom: Ottoman depiction of the siege of Nice by Matrakçı Nasuh.
Image: Siége de la flotte turc
Letter of Suleiman to Francis I about the plans for the siege of Nice, written in mid-February 1543
Barbarossa's galley during his campaign in France, 1543
Italian War of 1542–1546
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The Italian War of 1542–1546 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. The course of the war saw extensive fighting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries, as well as attempted invasions of Spain and England. The conflict was inconclusive and ruinously expensive for the major participants.
The siege of Nice by a Franco-Ottoman fleet in 1543 (drawing by Toselli, after an engraving by Aeneas Vico)
William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever, c. 1540). William allied himself with Francis I, marrying Jeanne d'Albret, but was defeated by Charles V.
Suleiman the Magnificent (painting by a member of the Venetian school, 16th century)
Battles and sieges in northern France and the Low Countries during the war