1.
Battle of Preveza (1911)
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This engagement should not be confused with the Battle of Preveza in 1538. The Battle of Preveza, in September 1911, was the first naval engagement fought during the Italo-Turkish War, five Italian warships encountered five Ottoman ships off the Greek port of Preveza. Over the course of two days, four of the Turkish vessels present were sunk or captured and the city was bombarded, on September 29, just after the beginning of the war, the Italian fleet in the Ionian Sea began searching for Ottoman warships. At about 4,00 pm, an hour or so after war was declared, five Italian destroyers under Prince Luigi Amedeo, outnumbered, the Ottomans opened fire but soon after chose to flee without making any hits. The torpedo boat Tokat steered north chased by three destroyers while the Anatolia headed south followed by the remaining two Italian ships, after several moments of firing the Tokat ran aground near Nicopolis. She had been hit fifteen times, caught on fire, and was destroyed by additional Italian rounds. Nine men were killed, including the ships captain, Anatolia was capable of escaping her pursuers without being damaged. That night an officer of the Corazziere went ashore secretly to observe the Turkish defenses before attacking the following morning. Two more Ottoman torpedo boats were in the harbor, the Alpagot and the Hamid-Abad, when the attack began the next day on September 30, the Italians engaged the Turkish torpedo boats first and sank them quickly without sustaining damage or casualties. All of the Ottoman crewmen escaped their ships except one man, a scuttled armed yacht named Tarablus was also at Preveza and the Italians captured her while under fire from civilians on the shore. The Corazziere then fired on the Turks and drove them off, after a forty-five-minute engagement, the two destroyers sailed for friendly waters with their prize in tow
2.
Preveza
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Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. The Aktio-Preveza Immersed Tunnel, the first and so far only undersea tunnel in Greece, was completed in 2002, the ruins of the ancient city of Nicopolis lie 7 kilometres north of the city. Different theories have suggested by scholars as to the origin of the name Preveza. In 1857, Panagiotis Aravantinos, one of the earliest historians of modern Epirus, suggested an Italian origin of the name, relating it to the word prevesione, supply. Most of the scholars who have dealt with the origin of the name after Aravantinos and this view has also been shared by the byzantinists Fyodor Uspensky and Konstantinos Amantos.541 km2, the municipal unit 66.835 km2. In antiquity, the part of Epirus was inhabited by the Greek tribe of Cassopeans, part of a larger tribe. At the southernmost part of Epirus, king Pyrrhus founded, in 290 BC, today, it is believed that Berenikea lies on the hills near the village of Michalitsi, following the excavations by Sotirios Dakaris in 1965. The Ionian Sea, near Berenikea, was the site of the naval Battle of Actium, on 2 September 31 BC, in which Octavians forces defeated those of Mark Antony, the ancient city of Nicopolis was built, nearby, by Augustus to commemorate his victory. The city is believed to have, at its peak, a population of 150,000, in AD90, Epictetus arrived at Nicopolis, after been banished by the Roman emperor Domitian, and established a school of philosophy. One of his students, Arrian, became a famous historian, Nicopolis continued under Roman and later Byzantine rule, experiencing brief periods of Bulgarian rule in the 10th century. According to one theory, modern Preveza grew around a military outpost built in the 9th century by the Bulgarians, the city was first attested in the Chronicle of the Morea. However, Hammond places the foundation of Preveza much later, at the end of the 14th century, after 1204, it came under the Despotate of Epirus, the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Serbian Empire, and the Despotate of Arta. It then came under Venetian rule until captured by the Ottomans, the Ottomans refounded Preveza probably in 1477, with a subsequent strengthening of the fortifications in 1495. This day is a Turkish Navy National Holiday, and some of today Turkish submarines called Preveze, Preveza was hotly contested in several Ottoman-Venetian Wars. However, at the end of the war in 1699 Preveza was handed back to Ottoman rule, Venetian rule would persist until the very end of the Venetian Republic itself in 1797. During this period, in 1779, the Orthodox missionary Kosmas visited Preveza where it is said he founded a Greek school, which would be the only school of the city during the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, Preveza became a center of trade with western Europe
3.
Ionian Sea
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The Ionian Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, all major islands in the sea belong to Greece. They are collectively referred to as the Ionian Islands, the ones being Corfu, Zakynthos, Kephalonia, Ithaca. There are ferry routes between Patras and Igoumenitsa, Greece, and Brindisi and Ancona, Italy, that cross the east and north of the Ionian Sea, and from Piraeus westward. Calypso Deep, the deepest point in the Mediterranean at −5,267 m, is located in the Ionian Sea, the sea is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. The name Ionian comes from the Greek language Ἰόνιον, Ancient Greek writers, especially Aeschylus, linked it to the myth of Io. In Ancient Greek the adjective Ionios was used as an epithet for the sea because Io swam across it, according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, the name may derive from Ionians who sailed to the West. There were also narratives about other eponymic legendary figures, according to one version, Ionius was a son of Adrias, according to another, Ionius was a son of Dyrrhachus. When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers, Heracles, who was passing through the area, came to his aid, the corpse was cast into the sea, which thereafter was called the Ionian Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Ionian Sea as follows, On the North. A line running from the mouth of the Butrinto River in Albania, to Cape Karagol in Corfu, along the North Coast of Corfu to Cape Kephali, from the mouth of the Butrinto River in Albania down the coast of the mainland to Cape Matapan. A line from Cape Matapan to Cape Passero, the Southern point of Sicily, the East coast of Sicily and the Southeast coast of Italy to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca
4.
Republic of Venice
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It was based in the lagoon communities of the historically prosperous city of Venice. It was a leading European economic and trading power during the Middle Ages, the Venetian city state was founded as a safe haven for people escaping persecution in mainland Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In its early years, it prospered on the salt trade, in subsequent centuries, the city state established a thalassocracy. It dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Asia, Europe and North Africa, the Venetian navy was used in the Crusades. Venice achieved territorial conquests along the Adriatic Sea, the city became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art and architecture along the citys lagoons. Venetian merchants were influential financiers in Europe, the city was also the birthplace of great European explorers, including Marco Polo, as well as the classical music composer Vivaldi. The republic was ruled by the Doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism, Venetian citizens generally supported the system of governance. The city-state enforced strict laws and employed ruthless tactics in its prisons, the opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of Venices decline as a maritime republic. The city state suffered defeats from the navy of the Ottoman Empire, in 1797, the country was colonized by Austria and France, following an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte. Venice became a part of a unified Italy in the 19th century and it was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the Most Serene Republics. He was the first historical Doge of Venice, whichever the case, the first doges had their power base in Heraclea. Ursuss successor, Deusdedit, moved his seat from Heraclea to Malamocco in the 740s and he was the son of Ursus and represented the attempt of his father to establish a dynasty. Such attempts were more commonplace among the doges of the first few centuries of Venetian history. They desired to remain well-connected to the Empire, another faction, republican in nature, believed in continuing along a course towards practical independence. The other main faction was pro-Frankish, supported mostly by clergy, they looked towards the new Carolingian king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, as the best provider of defence against the Lombards. A minor, pro-Lombard faction was opposed to close ties with any of these further-off powers, the successors of Obelerio inherited a united Venice. By the Pax Nicephori, the two emperors had recognised that Venice belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence, many centuries later, the Venetians claimed that the treaty had recognised Venetian de facto independence, but the truth of this claim is doubted by modern scholars
5.
Duchy of Mantua
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The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, Northern Italy, subject to the Holy Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Mantua was invaded by Byzantines, Lombards, in the 11th century it became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, marquis of Toscana. The last ruler of the family was the countess Matilde of Canossa, after the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a free commune and strenuously defended itself from the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries. During the Investiture Controversy, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the situation to seize power—as Captain General of the People—in 1273. His family ruled Mantua for the century, making it more prosperous. On 16 August 1328, the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the House of Gonzaga, ludovico, who had been podestà of the city in 1318, was elected capitano del popolo. Through a payment of 120,000 golden florins in 1433, Gianfrancesco was appointed marquis of Mantua by Emperor Sigismund, in 1459 Pope Pius II held a diet in Mantua to proclaim a crusade against the Turks. The first duke of Mantua was Federico II, who acquired the title from Charles V, the following year, the family acquired the Marquisate of Montferrat through marriage. Federico commissioned Giulio Romano to build the famous Palazzo Te, in the periphery of the city, in 1624, Ferdinando Gonzaga moved the ducal seat to a new residence, the Villa della Favorita, designed by the architect Nicolò Sebregondi. The War of the Mantuan Succession broke out, and in 1630 an Imperial army of 36,000 Landsknecht mercenaries besieged Mantua, Mantua never recovered from this disaster. Duke Ferdinand Charles, a ruler whose only aim was to hold parties and theatrical representations. After the latters defeat, he was declared deposed by Emperor Joseph I and took refuge in Venice, at his death, in 1708 his family lost Mantua forever in favour of the Habsburgs of Austria. Mantua was briefly united with the Duchy of Milan by an edict of Emperor Joseph II on 26 September 1786, Mantua was besieged by Napoleons French army in 1796, before falling in 1797. With the Treaty of Campo Formio, Mantua was annexed to the Cisalpine Republic becoming the Department of Mincio, duke of Mantua The House of Gonzaga, heirs to the sovereign marquessate of Mantua I Gonzaga di Mantova
6.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
7.
Portuguese Empire
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The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas, was one of the largest and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002, the first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the secret design. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts, by 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain, the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to defend its overstretched network of trading posts. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century. The third era represents the stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline, Portuguese Timor, the disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Macau was returned to China in 1999, the origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. There were several motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henrys captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast
8.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
9.
Republic of Genoa
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It began when Genoa became a self-governing commune within the Regnum Italicum, and ended when it was conquered by the French First Republic under Napoleon and replaced with the Ligurian Republic. Corsica was ceded to France in the Treaty of Versailles of 1768, before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. Nominally, the Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city, however, actual power was wielded by a number of consuls annually elected by popular assembly. The Adorno, Campofregoso, and other merchant families all fought for power in this Republic, as the power of the consuls allowed each family faction to gain wealth. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica, through Genoese participation on the Crusades, Genoese colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the Byzantine Empire, as Venices relations with the Byzantine Empire were temporarily disrupted by the Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, Genoa was able to improve its position. Genoa took advantage of opportunity to expand into the Black Sea and Crimea. Internal feuds between the families, the Grimaldi and Fieschi, the Doria, Spinola, and others caused much disruption. However, this prosperity did not last, the Black Death was imported into Europe in 1347 from the Genoese trading post at Caffa in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government, the wars with Venice continued, and the War of Chioggia -- where Genoa almost managed to decisively subdue Venice—ended with Venices recovery of dominance in the Adriatic. In 1390 Genoa initiated a crusade against the Barbary pirates with help from the French, though it has not been well-studied, the fifteenth century seems to have been a tumultuous time for Genoa. After a period of French domination from 1394–1409, Genoa came under rule by the Visconti of Milan, Genoa lost Sardinia to Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt and its Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Asia Minor colonies to the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, according to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World. At the time of Genoa’s peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. The architect Galeazzo Alessi designed many of the city’s splendid palazzi, as did in the decades that followed by fifty years Bartolomeo Bianco, a number of Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent. At the time of its founding in the early 11th century the Republic of Genoa consisted of the city of Genoa, as the commerce of the city increased, so did the territory of the Republic. By 1015 all of Liguria fell under the Republic of Genoa, after the First Crusade in 1098 Genoa gained settlements in Syria. In 1261 the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor became Genoese territory, in 1255 Genoa established the colony of Caffa in Crimea
10.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
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It was founded as the Knights Hospitaller circa 1099 in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Blessed Gerard, making it the worlds oldest surviving chivalric order. It operated from Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, over which it was sovereign until the French occupation, the order venerates as its patroness Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title Our Lady of Mount Philermos. The Order retains sovereignty under international law, including United Nations permanent observer status, issuing its own passports, currency, the orders military corps, three brigades, are stationed throughout Italy, liaisoned with the Italian Armed Forces. Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the order aids victims of disasters, epidemics. In several countries, including France, Germany and Ireland, local associations of the order are important providers of emergency services. In the ecclesiastical heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Order of Malta is one of two orders whose insignia may be displayed in a clerical coat of arms. The shield is surrounded with a rosary for professed knights. Members may also display the Maltese cross behind their shield instead of the ribbon, in order to protect its heritage against frauds, the order has legally registered 16 versions of its names and emblems in some 100 countries. The birth of the dates back to around 1048. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem–the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land–became independent under the guidance of its founder, by virtue of the Papal Bull, the hospital became an order exempt from the control of the local church. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission, as time went on, the order adopted the white eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today. The eight points represent the eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced in his Sermon on the Mount, when the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell after the Siege of Acre in 1291, the order settled first in Cyprus. In 1310, led by Grand Master Fra Foulques de Villaret, in the early 14th century, the institutions of the Order and the knights who came to Rhodes from every corner of Europe were grouped according to the languages they spoke. Each Langue included Priories or Grand Priories, Bailiwicks, and Commanderies, the Order was governed by its Grand Master, the Prince of Rhodes, and its Council. The senior positions of the Order were given to representatives of different Langues, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender in 1523 and left Rhodes with military honours. The Reformation which split Western Europe into Protestant and Roman Catholic states affected the knights as well, in several countries, including England, Scotland and Sweden, the order was disestablished. In others, including the Netherlands and Germany, entire bailiwicks or commanderies experienced religious conversions and it was established that the order should remain neutral in any war between Christian nations
11.
History of Malta under the Order of Saint John
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Malta was ruled by the Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798. The islands of Malta and Gozo, as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya, were granted to the Order by Spanish Emperor Charles V in 1530, following the loss of Rhodes. The Ottoman Empire managed to capture Tripoli from the Order in 1551, following the 1565 siege, the Order decided to settle permanently in Malta, and began to construct a new capital city, Valletta. For the next two centuries, Malta went through a Golden Age, characterized by a flourishing of the arts, architecture, and an overall improvement in Maltese society. In the mid-17th century, the Order was the de jure proprietor over some islands in the Caribbean, the Order began to decline in the 1770s, and was severely weakened by the French Revolution in 1792. In 1798, French forces under Napoleon invaded Malta and expelled the Order, the Maltese eventually rebelled against the French, and the islands became a British protectorate in 1800. Malta was to be returned to the Order by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, but the British remained in control, the Order of Saint John was expelled from its base in Rhodes during the Ottoman siege of 1522. The Order settled in the town of Birgu and made it their capital, the ancient fortress known as Castrum Maris was rebuilt as Fort Saint Angelo, the towns defences were strengthened, and many new buildings were constructed. The Order soon began to mint its own coins as it settled in Malta, the Hospitallers continued their actions against the Muslims and especially the Barbary pirates. Although they had only a few ships they quickly drew the ire of the Ottomans, in July 1551, Ottoman forces attempted to take over Fort Saint Angelo and later Mdina but saw that they were outnumbered and invaded Gozo several days later. They sailed to Tripoli and captured the city in August, following these attacks, the Order tried to repopulate Gozo and strengthen the Grand Harbour fortifications. Several forts including Saint Elmo and Saint Michael were built, sometime between 1551 and 1556, a tornado hit Malta and destroyed at least four of the Orders galleys and killed 600 people. This is the worst natural disaster that occurred on Malta. In 1553, Charles V offered a third possession to the Order, however, the Order refused to take control of the city since the commission that was set up decided that it would be too expensive to maintain. Therefore, the emperor ordered the Viceroy of Sicily, Juan de Vega, de Vega burnt Mehdia, but retaliated against Malta for not accepting the city, and prohibited exportation of wheat to the island. To combat this, Grandmaster Sengle brought the engineer Vincenzo Vogo to Malta to upgrade the mills so the population would not starve, at first the battle went as badly for the Hospitallers as Rhodes had, most of the cities were destroyed and about half the knights killed. On 18 August the position of the besieged was becoming desperate, dwindling daily in numbers, but when his council suggested the abandonment of Birgu and Senglea and withdrawal to Fort St. Angelo, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette refused. A wrong decision could mean defeat and exposing Sicily and Naples to the Ottomans and he had left his own son with de Valette, so he could hardly be indifferent to the fate of the fortress
12.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
13.
Ferrante I Gonzaga
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Ferrante I Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla. He was born in Mantua, the son of Francesco II Gonzaga. At the age of sixteen he was sent to the court of Spain as a page to the future emperor Charles V and he became a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1531. He defended Naples from the assault of the French troops under Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, for this feat Pope Clement VII, a member of the Medici who had been ousted from that city, named him papal governor of Benevento. Again for Charles V, he fought against the Turks at Tunis in 1535 and he served Charles as Viceroy of Sicily, and Forte Gonzaga was named in his honour. He accompanied the Emperor to Germany in 1543 and fought the campaign that enforced the Treaty of Crépy. He then served as Governor of the Duchy of Milan, in which role he fought in the War of Parma, in 1534 Ferrante married Isabella di Capua, who brought him the fiefdoms of Molfetta and Giovinazzo. Ferrantes villa near Milan, La Gualtiera, is now known as La Simonetta, Ferrante rebuilt it in the 1550s, commissioning the services of the Tuscan architect Domenico Giuntallodi of Prato. His son Cesare commissioned from Leone a more public monument from Leone, a bronze Triumph of Ferrante Gonzaga over Envy, like all the Gonzaga, Ferrante was a patron of tapestry-makers, a series Fructus Belli was woven for him, and a lighter series of Putti. He died in Brussels from a fall from a horse and battle fatigue received at the Battle of St. Quentin and he was buried in the sacristy of the Milan Cathedral. Ferrante was succeeded in Guastalla by his son Cesare and he was the ambassador to Henry VIII of England in 1543. In conspiracy theories, Ferrante has been alleged to be the fourteenth Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, according to the Grand Masters version found in Dossiers Secrets dHenri Lobineau
14.
Andrea Doria
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For the Italian ocean liner, see SS Andrea Doria. Andrea Doria was an Italian condottiero and admiral of the Republic of Genoa, Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related, Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, orphaned at an early age, he became a soldier of fortune, serving first in the papal guard and then under various Italian princes. In 1503 he was fighting in Corsica in the service of Genoa, at that time under French vassalage, and he took part in the rising of Genoa against the French, from that time onwards, he became famous as a naval commander. For several years he scoured the Mediterranean in command of the Genoese fleet, waging war on the Turks, in the meanwhile Genoa had been recaptured by the French, and in 1522 by the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor. Consequently, on the expiration of Dorias contract he entered the service of Emperor Charles V and he reformed the constitution in an aristocratic sense, most of the nobility being Imperialists, and put an end to the factions which divided the city, by creating 28 Alberghi or clans. The 28 Alberghi that formed this new ruling class included the Cybo, Doria, Fieschi, Giustiniani, Grimaldi, Imperiale, Pallavicino, and Spinola families. The title censor in this context was modeled on its meaning in the Roman Republic, i. e. a highly respected senior public official and he was given two palaces, many privileges, and the title of Liberator et Pater Patriae. As imperial admiral he commanded several expeditions against the Ottoman Empire, capturing Koroni and Patras, Charles found him an invaluable ally in the wars with Francis I, and through him extended his domination over the whole of Italy. This victory secured Turkish dominance over the eastern Mediterranean for the next 33 years and he accompanied Charles V on the ill-fated Algiers expedition of 1541, of which he disapproved, and which ended in disaster. For the next five years he continued to serve the emperor in various wars, in which he was successful and always active. After the Peace of Crépy between Francis and Charles in 1544, Doria hoped to end his days in quiet, giannettino was killed, but the conspirators were defeated, and Doria showed great vindictiveness in punishing them, seizing many of their fiefs for himself. He was also implicated in the murder of Pier Luigi Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza, other conspiracies followed, of which the most important was that of Giulio Cybo, but all failed. Nor did age lessen his energy, for in 1550, aged 84, he put to sea to confront the Barbary pirates. In 1552 the Ottoman fleet under the command of Turgut Reis defeated the Spanish-Italian fleet of Charles V under the command of Andrea Doria in the Battle of Ponza. War between France and the Empire having broken out once more, the French seized Corsica in the Invasion of Corsica, Doria was again summoned, and he spent two years on the island fighting the French with varying fortune. Andrea Doria left his estates to Giovanni Andrea, the family of Doria-Pamphili-Landi is descended from Giovanni Andrea Doria and bears his title of Prince of Melfi. Several ships were named in honour of the Admiral, Two United States Navy ships named USS Andrew Doria, the battleship Andrea Doria, completed in 1916, which served in both World War I and World War II and was stricken in 1956
15.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
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Hayreddin Barbarossa, or Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, born Khizr or Khidr, was an Ottoman admiral of the fleet who was born in the island of Lesbos and died in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. Barbarossas naval victories secured Ottoman dominance over the Mediterranean during the mid 16th century, Hayreddin was an honorary name given to him by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He became known as Barbarossa in Europe, a name he inherited from his elder brother Oruç Reis after Oruç was killed in a battle with the Spanish in Algeria. Oruç was also known as Baba Oruç, which sounded like Barbarossa to the Europeans, and since Oruç did have a red beard, in a process of linguistic reborrowing, the nickname then stuck back to Hayreddins native Turkish name, in the form Barbaros. His mother was a widow of a Greek Orthodox priest and his parents were married and had two daughters and four sons, Ishak, Oruç, Khizr and Ilyas. Yakup took part in the Ottoman conquest of Lesbos in 1462 from the Genoese Gattilusio dynasty and he became an established potter and purchased a boat to trade his products. The four sons helped their father with his business, but not much is known about the daughters, at first Oruç helped with the boat, while Khizr helped with pottery. All four brothers became seamen, engaged in affairs and international sea trade. The first brother to become involved in seamanship was Oruç, who was joined by his brother Ilyas, later, obtaining his own ship, Khizr also began his career at sea. The brothers initially worked as sailors, but then turned privateers in the Mediterranean to counteract the privateering of the Knights Hospitaller who were based in the island of Rhodes, Oruç and Ilyas operated in the Levant, between Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt. Khizr operated in the Aegean Sea and based his operations mostly in Thessaloniki, Ishak, the eldest, remained on Mytilene and was involved with the financial affairs of the family business. Oruç was a very successful seaman and he also learned to speak Italian, Spanish, French, Greek and Arabic in the early years of his career. While returning from an expedition in Tripoli, Lebanon, with his younger brother Ilyas. Ilyas was killed in the fight, and Oruç was wounded and their fathers boat was captured, and Oruç was taken as a prisoner and detained in the Knights castle at Bodrum for nearly three years. Upon learning the location of his brother, Khizr went to Bodrum, on his way back to Lesbos, he stopped at Euboea and captured three galleons and another ship. After passing the winter in Cairo, he set sail from Alexandria and frequently operated along the coasts of Liguria, in 1503, Oruç managed to seize three more ships and made the island of Djerba his new base, thus moving his operations to the Western Mediterranean. They were granted this right with the condition of leaving one-third of their gains to the sultan, Oruç, in command of small galliots, captured two much larger Papal galleys near the island of Elba. Later, near Lipari, the two brothers captured a Sicilian warship, the Cavalleria, with 380 Spanish soldiers and 60 Spanish knights from Aragon on board, in 1505, they raided the coasts of Calabria
16.
Siege of Vienna
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The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empires power and the extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe. Thereafter,150 years of military tension and reciprocal attacks ensued, culminating in the Battle of Vienna of 1683. The inability of the Ottomans to capture Vienna in 1529 turned the tide against almost a century of conquest throughout eastern, the Ottoman Empire had previously annexed Central Hungary and established a vassal state in Transylvania in the wake of the Battle of Mohács. According to Arnold J. Toynbee, The failure of the first brought to a standstill the tide of Ottoman conquest which had been flooding up the Danube Valley for a century past. There is speculation by historians that Suleimans main objective in 1529 was actually to assert Ottoman control over the whole of Hungary. The decision to attack Vienna after such an interval in Suleimans European campaign is viewed as an opportunistic manoeuvre after his decisive victory in Hungary. Other scholars theorise that the suppression of Hungary simply marked the prologue to a later and his brother-in-law, Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, claimed the vacant Hungarian throne. Thus Hungary became divided into Royal Hungary and Ottoman Hungary up until 1700, Ferdinand set out to enforce his claim on Hungary and captured Buda in 1527, only to relinquish his hold on it in 1529 when an Ottoman counter-attack stripped Ferdinand of all his territorial gains. Estimates of Suleimans army vary widely from 120,000 to more than 300,000 men mentioned by various chroniclers, Suleiman launched his campaign on 10 May 1529 and faced numerous obstacles from the onset. Sickness and poor health became common among the janissaries, claiming many lives along the perilous journey, Suleiman arrived in Osijek on 6 August. The only resistance came at Pozsony, where the Turkish fleet was bombarded as it sailed up the Danube, as the Ottomans advanced towards Vienna, the citys population organised an ad-hoc resistance formed from local farmers, peasants and civilians determined to repel the inevitable attack. The Ottoman army that arrived in late September had been depleted during the long advance into Austrian territory, leaving Suleiman short of camels. Many of his troops arrived at Vienna in a state of health after the tribulations of a long march through the thick of the European wet season. Of those fit to fight, a third were light cavalry, or Sipahis, three richly-dressed Austrian prisoners were dispatched as emissaries by the Sultan to negotiate the citys surrender, Salm sent three richly-dressed Muslims back without a response. More rain fell on 11 October, and with the Ottomans failing to make any breaches in the walls, in addition, Suleiman was facing critical shortages of supplies such as food and water, while casualties, sickness, and desertions began taking a toll on his armys ranks. The janissaries began voicing their displeasure at the progression of events, the Sultan convened an official council on 12 October to deliberate the matter. It was decided to attempt one final, major assault on Vienna, extra rewards were offered to the troops
17.
Siege of Klis
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The Siege of Klis or Battle of Klis was a siege of Klis Fortress in the Kingdom of Croatia within Habsburg Monarchy. After decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field in 1493, and especially after the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Croats continued defending themselves against the Ottoman attacks. The Ottoman conquest during the years of the 16th century prompted the formation of the Uskoks. As a part of the Habsburg defensive system, Uskoks used the base at Klis as an important defensive position and they fought almost alone against the Ottomans, and for more than two decades defended the fortress against the Ottoman attacks. Citizens fled the town, while the Uskoci retreated to the city of Senj, Klis became an administrative centre or sanjak of the Bosnia Eyalet, and would remain so for a century. Decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field in 1493, however, it did not dissuade the Croats from making more decisive and persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the much larger enemy. A new wave of Ottoman conquest began in 1521, after which a portion of Croatia was conquered or pillaged. On 29 August 1526, at the Battle of Mohács, the Christian forces led by King Louis II were defeated by Ottoman forces led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Louis was killed in the battle, which resulted in the end of the independent Kingdom of Hungary as he died without an heir, both the Kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia became disputed territories with claims from both the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. Owing to its location, Klis Fortress was an important defensive position during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, the fortress stands along the route by which the Ottomans could penetrate the mountain barrier separating the coastal lowlands from around Split, from Ottoman-held Bosnia. Although nominally accepting the sovereignty of the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand, who obtained the Croatian crown in 1527, Kružić, from 1513, Petar Kružić was one of the commanding officers of Klis Fortress. The Ottomans attempted to conquer the Klis Fortress on several occasions, the first major attempt was by Skender-beg Ornosović in 1515. The Ottomans captured Klis, a village just below the fortress bearing the same name, Kružić was promoted to captain of the Klis Fortress by the ban Petar Berislavić in 1520. The second major attempt was in 1520, and a year later another attempt was made by Makut-paša, with additional 2,000 infantry,50 horsemen, another unsuccessful attempt was made in 1522, by Hasan-paša from Mostar and Mehmed-beg Mihalbegović. Later that year, Mihalbegović made another attempt at a siege with 3,000 men, during 1523, Klis Fortress was again under attack by the Sultans army. Attempts were also made by Gazi Husrev-beg in 1526 and 1528, in 1534, the Ottomans under Mihalbegović laid a months-long siege with a constant concentrated cannonade to the fortress. Ferdinand urged the Pope to send ships to relieve the Ottoman siege, although the Ottomans eventually lifted the siege, Ferdinand was displeased that the Pope had provided no assistance in the defense of the fortress. In 1535, the Ottomans tried to seize the fortress by treachery, and again in 1536, during that year the Ottomans started a new siege which would last until the final fall of the fortress
18.
Siege of Eger (1552)
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The Siege of Eger occurred during the 16th century Ottoman Wars in Europe. Later, the siege has become an emblem of national defense, the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, commenced his expansion of the empire in 1520 after the reign of Selim I. He began assaults against Hungarian and Austrian influenced territories, invading Hungarian soil in 1526, the Hungarian Army was crushed at the Battle of Mohács and the way was paved for an attack on the Danube Basin. The battle also brought about the death of the King of Hungary and Bohemia, Louis II, the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I succeeded to the Bohemian throne but was challenged to the Hungarian throne by the pretender John Zápolya whose claim was backed by nobles and the Sultan. The power struggle continued beyond Johns death in 1540 when his son and it was not resolved until he renounced the throne in 1570 when he was succeeded by Maximilian I. The Ottomans met resistance during the Siege of Güns in 1532, however, this only delayed their campaign by 25 days, and they continued to close in on Buda, finally occupying the capital in 1541. Buda became the seat of Ottoman rule in the area, with the Ottoman supported John II governing the occupied territories, the loss of Christian forts at Temesvár and Szolnok in 1552 were blamed on mercenary soldiers within the Hungarian ranks. Eger was an important stronghold and key to the defense of the remainder of Hungarian soil, the Castle of Eger is located east of the town on a hillside. The Varkoch gate sat on the wall of the inner fortress while a further bastion, Church Bastion. The fortress of Eger was built on the ruins of a stone fort. This made Egers foundations stronger than usual and greatly hindered the work of Ottoman miners, none of these attempts were successful during the siege of Eger. The old Hungarian data and Gárdonyis value of the size of the Ottoman Army are romantic exaggeration, in reality the Ottoman army numbered 35-40,000 men from the Rumelian army and the troops of Ahmed Pasha from Buda. The defenders had 6 large and about a dozen smaller cannons, despite the difference in troop numbers, Egers strong walls and the high morale of its defenders allowed the fortress to withstand five major assaults and continuous cannon fire. The fortress was defended by 2, 100-2,300 people, a mixture of soldiers, insurgent peasants. The defenders were commanded by István Dobó and his deputy István Mekcsey, another noted officer, famous in Hungarian literature and folklore, was Gergely Bornemissza. He commanded a detachment of 250 Hungarian infantry, however it was his skill with explosives that was to make this young officers name and his secret lay in the gunpowder not simply exploding but sparking even more fire. He loaded these weapons with oil, sulfur and flint in order to shower the enemy with burning missiles, the Ottomans had expected an easy victory, but the bravery of the castles defenders, as well as Dobós inspired leadership, resisted and repulsed repeated Ottoman assaults. Even after the tower containing 24 metric tons of black gunpowder exploded and caused extensive structural damage
19.
Long Turkish War
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The Long Turkish War or Thirteen Years War was an indecisive land war between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the Principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia. It was waged from 1593 to 1606 but in Europe is sometimes called the Fifteen Years War, in the series of Ottoman wars in Europe it was the major test of force between the Ottoman–Venetian War and the Cretan War. The next of the major Ottoman-Habsburg wars was the Great Turkish War of 1683-99, overall, the conflict consisted in a great number of costly battles and sieges, but with very little result for either side. The major participants of this war were the Habsburg Monarchy, the Principality of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia opposing the Ottoman Empire, ferrara, Tuscany, Mantua and the Papal State were also involved to a lesser extent. Skirmishes along the Habsburg–Ottoman border intensified from 1591, in 1592, the fort of Bihać fell to the Ottomans. That victory marked the end of the Hundred Years Croatian–Ottoman War, the war started on July 29,1593, when the Ottoman army under Sinan Pasha launched a campaign against the Habsburg Monarchy and captured Győr and Komarom in 1594. In early 1594, the Serbs in Banat rose up against the Ottomans, the rebels had, in the character of a holy war, carried war flags with the icon of Saint Sava. The war banners were consecrated by Patriarch Jovan Kantul, and the uprising was aided by Serbian Orthodox metropolitans Rufim Njeguš of Cetinje, along the way, the Ottoman convoy killed all the people in its path as a warning to the rebels. The Ottomans publicly incinerated the relics of Saint Sava on a pyre atop the Vračar plateau on April 27 and had the ashes scattered, aron Vodă of Moldavia and Michael the Brave of Wallachia joined the alliance later that year. The Ottomans objective of the war was to seize Vienna, while the Habsburg Monarchy wanted to recapture the territories of the Kingdom of Hungary controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Control over the Danube line and possession of the fortresses located there was crucial, the war was mainly fought in Royal Hungary, Transdanubia, Royal Croatia and Slavonia, the Ottoman Empire, and Wallachia. In 1595, the Christians, led by Mansfeld, captured Esztergom and Visegrád, strategic fortresses on the Danube, the Ottomans launched a siege of Eger, conquering it in 1596. In the following years, Spanish fleets continued to raid the Levant waters, instead, they were privateers such as Alonso de Contreras who took the role of harassing the Ottoman sailing. Michael continued his attacks deep within the Ottoman Empire, taking the forts of Nicopolis, Ribnic, at one point his forces were only 24 kilometres from the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. The push was successful, managing to capture not only Giurgiu but also Bucharest and Târgovişte. At this point the Ottoman command grew complacent and stopped pursuing the retreating Wallachian army, focusing instead on fortifying Târgovişte and Bucharest and considering their task all, the Battle of Giurgiu in particular was devastating for the Ottoman forces, which had to retreat across the Danube in disarray. The war between Wallachia and the Ottomans continued until late 1599, when Michael was unable to continue the war due to support from his allies. The turning point of the war was the Battle of Mezőkeresztes, the combined Habsburg-Transylvanian force of 45–50,000 troops was defeated by the Ottoman army
20.
Great Turkish War
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The war was a defeat for the Ottoman Empire, which lost large amounts of territory in Central Europe. The war was significant in that it marked the first time Russia was involved in a western European alliance. After Bohdan Khmelnytskys rebellion, when the Tsardom of Russia acquired parts of Eastern Ukraine from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and their leader, Petro Doroshenko, wanted to connect the rest of Ukraine with the Ottoman Empire, starting a rebellion against Hetman John Sobieski. Sultan Mehmed IV, who knew that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was weakened due to conflicts, attacked Kamianets-Podilskyi. The small Polish force resisted the Siege of Kamenets for two weeks but was forced to capitulate. The Polish Army was too small to resist the Ottoman invasion, after three months, the Poles were forced to sign the Treaty of Buchach in which they agreed to surrender Kamyanets-Podilsky, Podolia and to pay tribute to the Ottoman Sultan. When the news about the defeat and treaty terms reached Warsaw, the Sejm refused to pay the tribute and organized an army under Jan Sobieski, subsequently. After King Michaels death in 1673, Jan Sobieski was elected king of Poland, he tried to defeat the Ottomans for four years. The war ended on 17 October 1676 with the Treaty of Żurawno in which the Turks only retained control over Kamianets-Podilskyi and this Turkish attack also led in 1676 to the beginning of the Russo-Turkish Wars. After a few years of peace, the Ottoman Empire attacked the Habsburg Empire, the Turks almost captured Vienna, but John III Sobieski led a Christian alliance that defeated them in the Battle of Vienna, stalling the Ottoman Empires hegemony in south-eastern Europe. A new Holy League was initiated by Pope Innocent XI and encompassed the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the second Battle of Mohács was a crushing defeat for the Sultan. The Turks were more successful on the Polish front and were able to retain Podolia during their battles with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, russias involvement marked the first time the country formally joined an alliance of European powers. This was the beginning of a series of Russo-Turkish Wars, which continued into the 20th century, as a result of the Crimean campaigns and Azov campaigns, Russia captured the key Ottoman fortress of Azov. Following the decisive Battle of Zenta in 1697 and lesser skirmishes, the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary, Transylvania and Slavonia to the Habsburg Empire while Podolia returned to Poland. Most of Dalmatia passed to Venice, along with the Morea, Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side. In the first half of 1688, the Habsburg army, together with units of Serbian Militia, captured Gyula, Lipova and Ineu from the Ottoman Empire. After Belgrade had been liberated from the Ottomans in 1688, Serbs from the territories in the south of Sava and Danube rivers began to join Serbian Militia units. However, with the rise of the Ottomans, during the 16th and early 17th centuries, they lost most of these, such as Cyprus and Euboea to the Turks
21.
Capture of Algiers (1516)
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The Capture of Algiers in 1516 was accomplished by the Ottoman brothers Oruç and Hayreddin Barbarossa against Sālim al-Tūmī, the ruler of the city of Algiers. In 1510, the Spaniards had established themselves on an island in front of Algiers. Fortifications were built on the islet, and a garrison of 200 men was established, Sālim al-Tūmī had to go to Spain to take an oath of obedience to Ferdinand of Aragon. In 1516, the amir of Algiers, Sālim al-Tūmī, invited the corsair brothers Oruç, Oruç, with the help of Ottoman troops, came to Algiers, ordered the assassination of Sālim, because Salim was conspiring with the Spaniard against the pirates and Arudj. The moors have done a huge triump to Arudj, spanish expeditions were sent to take over the city, first in 1516 under Don Diego de Vera, and then in 1519 under Don Ugo de Moncada, but both expeditions ended in failure. Hayreddin succeeded Oruç after the latter was killed in battle against the Spaniards at the Fall of Tlemcen, the capture of Algiers in 1516 had been made possible with the support of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. This support was discontinued with Sultan Selims death in 1520, causing Barbarossa to lose the city to a local chieftain in 1524
22.
Siege of Coron
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Coron had been a possession of Venice since 1209, but Sultan Bayezid II captured it in 1500. In 1532, the Habsburg emperor Charles V ordered the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria to attack it as a diversion to the campaigns of the Little War in Hungary, Doria managed to capture the city, and to lay waste to the surrounding coast. In spring 1533, the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent sent 60 galleys to retake the city and they blockaded the harbour, but they were defeated by Doria, highlighting the weakness of the Ottoman Navy at that time. An Ottoman land army however was successful in laying a siege around the city, the weakened Spanish garrison was allowed to leave the city unharmed. Roger Crowley, Empires of the sea, Faber & Faber ISBN 978-0-571-23231-4 Kenneth M. Setton, The Papacy and the Levant ISBN 978-0-87169-161-3
23.
Conquest of Tunis (1535)
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The Conquest of Tunis in 1535 was an attack on Tunis, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire, by the Habsburg Empire of Charles V and its allies. In 1533, Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summoned from Algiers, altogether 70 galleys were built during the winter of 1533–1534, manned by slave oarsmen, including 2,000 Jewish ones. Barbarossa thus established a naval base in Tunis, which could be used for raids in the region. The expense involved for Charles V was considerable, and at 1,000,000 ducats was on par with the cost of Charles campaign against Suleiman on the Danube. Despite a request by Charles V, Francis I denied French support to the expedition, Francis I was also under negotiations with Suleiman the Magnificent for a combined attack on Charles V, following the 1534 Ottoman embassy to France. Francis I only agreed to Pope Paul IIIs request that no fight between Christians occur during the time of the expedition. On 1 June 1535, protected by a Genoese fleet, Charles V destroyed Barbarossas fleet and, after a costly yet successful siege at La Goletta, in the ruins, the Spanish found cannonballs with the French Fleur-de-lys mark, evidence of the contacts stemming from the Franco-Ottoman alliance. The resulting massacre of the city left an estimated 30,000 dead, Barbarossa managed to flee to Algiers with a troop of several thousand Turks. Muley Hasan was restored to his throne, the stench of the corpses was such that Charles V soon left Tunis and moved his camp to Radès. Furthermore, he was Holy Roman Emperor and had de jure control over much of Germany as well, Ottoman defeat in Tunis motivated the Ottoman Empire to enter into a formal alliance with France against the Habsburg Empire. Ambassador Jean de La Forêt was sent to Constantinople, and for the first time was able to become permanent ambassador at the Ottoman court, Charles V celebrated a neo-classical triumph over the infidel at Rome on April 5,1536 in commemoration of his victory at Tunis. He Spanish governor of La Goulette, Luys Peres Varga, built fortified the island of Chikly in the lake of Tunis to strengthen the defences between 1546 and 1550. Barbarossa managed to escape to the harbour of Bône, where a fleet was waiting for him, from there, he sailed to accomplish the Sack of Mahon, where he took 6,000 slaves and brought them to Algiers. The Ottomans responded by recapturing the city in 1574, however the Ottoman governors of Tunis were semi-autonomous Beys who acted as privateers against Christian shipping. Grant, R. G.2005 La Marina Cántabra,1968 Cervantes Virtual Roger Crowley, Empires of the sea,2008 Faber & Faber ISBN 978-0-571-23231-4 Garnier, Edith LAlliance Impie Editions du Felin,2008, Paris ISBN 978-2-86645-678-8 Interview
24.
Siege of Castelnuovo
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Castelnuovo had been conquered by elements of various Spanish tercios the year before during the failed campaign of the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Mediterranean waters. The walled town was besieged by land and sea by a powerful Ottoman army under Hayreddin Barbarossa, during the siege the Barbarossas army suffered heavy losses due to the stubborn resistance of Sarmientos men. However, Castelnuovo eventually fell into Ottoman hands and almost all the Spanish defenders, the loss of the town ended the Christian attempt to regain control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The courage displayed by the Old Tercio of Naples, however, was praised and admired throughout Europe and was the subject of numerous poems, in 1538 the main danger to Christianity in Europe was the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The armies of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had been stopped at Vienna in 1529, Barbarossa captured the islands of Syros, Aegina, Ios, Paros, Tinos, Karpathos, Kasos, Naxos, and besieged Corfu. The Italian cities of Otranto and Ugento and the fortress of Castro, in February 1538, Pope Paul III succeeded in creating a league which united the Papacy itself, the Republic of Venice, the Empire of Charles V, the Archduchy of Austria and the Knights of Malta. The Allied fleet for the campaign was supposed to consist of 200 galleys and another 100 auxiliary ships, but only 130 galleys and an army of around 15,000 infantry, mostly Spaniards, were all that could be gathered. The commander of the army was unquestionably Hernando Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily, differences among the commanders of the fleet diminished its effectiveness against an experienced opponent like Barbarossa. This was seen in the Battle of Preveza, fought in the Gulf of Arta, but the Holy League fleet provided support to the land forces that landed on the Dalmatian coast and captured the town of Castelnuovo. This small town was a strategic fortress between the Venetian possessions of Cattaro and Ragusa in the known as Venetian Albania. Venice therefore claimed ownership of the city, but Charles V refused to cede it and this was the beginning of the end of the Holy League. The town of Castelnuovo was garrisoned with approximately 4,000 men, the main force was a tercio of Spanish veteran soldiers numbering about 3,500 men under the experienced Maestro de Campo Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza y Manuel. This tercio, named Tercio of Castelnuovo, was formed by 15 flags belonging to other tercios, among them the Old Tercio of Lombardy, dissolved the year before after a mutiny for lack of pay. The chaplain of Andrea Doria, named Jeremías, also remained in Castelnuovo along with 40 clerics, the reason for the garrisons large size was that Castelnuovo was projected to be the beachhead for a great offensive against the heart of the Ottoman Empire. However, the fate of the troops who were in the fortress depended entirely on the support of the fleet, moreover, in a short time Venice withdrew from the Holy League after accepting a disadvantageous agreement with the Ottomans. Without Venetian ships, the Allied fleet had no chance to defeat the Ottoman fleet commanded by Barbarossa, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Barbarossa to reorganize and rearm his fleet during the winter months to have it ready for the battle in the spring of 1539. 10,000 infantry soldiers and 4,000 Janissaries were embarked aboard the warships to reinforce the troops of the galleys, Sarmiento, meanwhile, used the peaceful months prior to the siege to improve the defenses of the town, repairing walls and bastions and building new fortifications. In the event he could not do due to a lack of available means
25.
Battle of Girolata
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As in 1540 Suleiman the Magnificent was preparing a land campaign in Hungary, the Ottoman navy was however short of means and it could not take the field. Dragut started his cruise by capturing five Venetian galleys off the island of Paxos, the Venetians could not retaliate, as they signed a peace treaty with the Sultan shortly afterwards. Andrea Doria himself sailed from Messina to Tunis in late April ahead 55 galleys, however, Barbarossas lieutenant had moved faster. It was Gianettinos and Requesens squadron which found the trail of Draguts galleys, the Ottoman squadron was first reportedly seen off Bonifacio and later, when Dragut attacked the island of Capraia, the cannonade was heard aboard the Genoese and Spanish galleys. Fishermen who had fled from the Ottomans warned Doria and Requesens that Dragut had sailed to Cape Corso and, later, the Ottoman squadron had set anchor at the Gulf of Girolata to distribute the booty from the recent raid. Dragut had chosen the place because it was deserted and far from the sailing routes. As such, he left no ship to guard the entrance of the gulf, on arriving in the waters nearby, Gianettino Doria sent his relative Giorgio Doria into the gulf with 6 galleys and a small rowing frigate in order to identify the anchored galleys. Accounts of the battles course differ, at the first shots, many of his men, whether Turks, Moors or Christian renegades, jumped overboard to escape inland. Alberto Guglielmotti gives a detailed account of the battle. Expecting to fight with superior numbers, Dragut sailed into the ambush laid by Doria and Requesens, Dragut then tried to escape by turning around his ships, but as the Christian galleys came under his stern, he decided to try to break through them. Then, however, a shot from Gianettinos galley bow gun inflicted serious damage to his flagship that she nearly sank. Losing hope about the prospect of escaping, most of the Ottoman seamen and soldiers jumped overboard to gain the beach, the Christian fleet captured all 11 Ottoman galleys, two of which were the Venetian Moceniga and Bibiena, which the Ottomans had captured at the Battle of Preveza. They also took 1,200 Ottoman prisoners and freed 1,200 Christian galley slaves, Dragut was among the Ottoman prisoners. Furious at having been captured by a man such as Gianettino Doria, he insulted his captor. Dragut was carried to Genoa and reduced to a galley slave, to which Dragut replied, Y mudanza de fortuna. At the beginning of 1541 Barbarossa ransomed his lieutenant in exchange for 3,500 ducats, later deemed a mistake, Doria granted Dragut his freedom in the hope of winning favour if one of his nephews should fall into Ottoman hands. They attacked the Ottoman positions at Tunis, seizing the strongholds of Monastir, Sousse, Hammamet and Kelibia, which they returned to the Hafsid King Muhammad V
26.
Battle of Alboran
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In mid-1540 the Barbary pirate Ali Hamet, a Sardinian renegade in service of the Ottoman Empire, formed a small fleet at Algiers, as ordered by Admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa. In August, knowing that Spanish galleys were in the Balearic Islands, a few days later a thousand soldiers from the galleys landed on the beach of Gibraltar and attacked the village. Although they failed to capture the castle,73 civilians were taken prisoner,40 vessels moored in the port were plundered. The prisoners were carried off to Vélez de la Gomera, on the Moroccan coast, Bernardino de Mendoza, commander of the galleys of Spain, learned of the raid while in Denia. After being told that they had not gone through Oran, Mendoza anticipated that Hamets fleet would return to Algiers along the African coast, Mendoza therefore sailed his 10 galleys to the west. On 1 October both fleets sighted each other near the island of Alborán, Hamet and Caramani attempted unsuccessfully to board Mendozas flagship. Then Mendozas soldiers boarded and captured Caramanis galley, killing Caramani, next they boarded Hamets galley and captured it, at which point Hamet jumped into the water and swam to another galley in his fleet. A Spanish galley commanded by Pedro de Guerra sank one Ottoman galley with a single shot, the galley Santa Ana, meanwhile, was attacked by two Algerian vessels, one of which was forced to surrender, while the other escaped. Hamet, who had been rescued by an Algerian galliot, was captured by Enrique Enríquezs galley while trying to escape, the battle ended with an incident during which Enrique Enríquez ordered his men to fire on an Ottoman galley believing it was still in Turkish hands. However, the crew of the Santa Bárbara had already captured the galley, seven Spanish died, of the 16 Ottoman ships, ten were captured and one sunk. More than 700 Turks, including all the captains, were killed, in addition,427 of them were captured and 837 Christian slaves were freed. The Spanish, meanwhile, had 137 dead and about 500 wounded, including Bernardino de Mendoza, who was wounded in the head by a harquebus shot. To celebrate the victory a procession was organized in Málaga, in which the freed prisoners, the crews of the Spanish galleys, their captains. Shortly after the Emperor Charles V was informed of the victory by the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. Madrid, Spain, Est. tipográfico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra
27.
Algiers expedition (1541)
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The Algiers expedition of 1541 occurred when Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire attempted to lead a fleet against the Ottoman Empires stronghold of Algiers, in modern Algeria. Largely because of weather, the expedition was a failure. Algiers had been under the control of the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent since its capture in 1529 by Barbarossa. Barbarossa had left Algiers in 1535 to be named High Admiral of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople, and was replaced as Governor by Hassan Agha, Hassan had in his service the well-known Ottoman naval commanders Dragut, Sālih Reïs and Sinān Pasha. Charles V embarked very late in the season, on 28 September 1541, delayed by troubles in Germany, the fleet was assembled in the Bay of Palma, at Majorca. It had more than 500 sails and 24,000 soldiers, after enduring difficult weather, the fleet only arrived in front of Algiers on 19 October. The most distinguished Spanish commanders accompanied Charles V on this expedition, including Hernán Cortés, troops were disembarked on 23 October, and Charles established his headquarters on a land promontory surrounded by German troops. German, Spanish, and Italian troops, accompanied by 150 knights of Malta, began to land while repelling Algerine opposition, soon surrounding the city, the fate of the city seemed to be sealed, however the following day the weather became severe with heavy rains. Many galleys lost their anchors and 15 were wrecked onshore, another 33 carracks sank, while many more were dispersed. As more troops were attempting to land, the Algerines started to make sorties, Charles V was surrounded, and was only saved by the resistance of the Knights of Malta. Andrea Doria managed to find a harbour for the remainder of the fleet at Cape Matifu,5 miles east of Algiers. He enjoined Charles V to abandon his position and join him in Matifu, from there, still oppressed by the weather, the remaining troops sailed to Bougie, still a Spanish harbour at that time. Charles could only depart for the sea on 23 November. Throwing his horses overboard, Charles abandoned his army and sailed home and he finally reached Cartagena, in southeast Spain, on 3 December. Losses amongst the invading force were heavy with 17 galleys and 130 carracks lost, a Turkish chronicler confirming that the Berber tribes were massacring the 12. The disaster considerably weakened the Spanish, and Hassan Agha took the opportunity to attack Mers-el-Kebir, garnier, Edith LAlliance Impie Editions du Felin,2008, Paris ISBN 978-2-86645-678-8 Interview
28.
Siege of Nice
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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, the French forces, led by François de Bourbon, and the Ottoman forces, led by Hayreddin Barbarossa, first joined at Marseilles in August 1543. François de Bourbon had already attempted to make an attack on Nice once. Barbarossa arrived with his fleet, accompanied by the French Ambassador Polin, as almost nothing had been prepared on the French side to assist the Ottoman fleet, Polin was dispatched to meet with Francis I at Marolles and ask him for support. The combined fleet sailed out of Marseille on the 5th of August, the Ottoman force first landed at Villefranche,6 kilometers east of Nice, which it took and destroyed. The French and Ottoman forces then collaborated to attack the city of Nice on 6 August 1543, in this action 110 Ottoman galleys combined with 50 French ones. The Franco-Ottomans were confronted by a resistance which gave rise to the story of Catherine Ségurane, culminating with a major battle on 15 August. The French prevented the Ottomans from sacking the city and they could not however take the castle, the Château de Cimiez, apparently because the French were unable to supply sufficient gunpowder to their Ottoman allies. The last night before leaving, Barbarossa plundered the city, burned parts of it, the relief army, transported on ships by Andrea Doria, landed at Villefranche, and successfully made its way to the Nice citadel. During the campaign, Barbarossa is known to have complained about the state of the French ships and he famously said Are you seamen to fill your casks with wine rather than powder. He nevertheless displayed great reluctance to attack Andrea Doria when the latter was put in difficulty after landing the relief army and it has been suggested that there was some tacit agreement between Barbarossa and Doria on this occasion. At the time, Nice was part of Savoy, independent from France, most versions of the tale have Catherine Ségurane, a common washerwoman, leading the townspeople into battle. Legend has it that she knocked out a standard bearer with her beater, however, according to one commonly told story, Catherine took the lead in defending the city by standing before the invading forces and exposing her bare bottom. This is said to have so repulsed the Turkish infantrys Muslim sense of decency that they turned and fled. However, in Turkish culture, the practice of mooning is considered odd or absurdly immoral but never offensive and most probably as a sexual teasing, especially when performed by a female. Historically attested defense of Nice include the destruction of a key bridge. Nevertheless, the legend of Catherine Ségurane has excited the local imagination, louis Andrioli wrote an epic poem about her in 1808, and a play dedicated to her story was written by Jean-Baptiste Toselli in 1878. In 1923, a monument to Catherine was erected near the supposed location of her feat
29.
Capture of Mahdiye (1550)
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Mahdia was abandoned by Spain three years later, and all its fortifications were demolished to avoid a re-occupation of the city by the Ottomans. In 1546, Turgut Reis, also known as Dragut, had organized a fleet of 25 brigantines, the command of the enterprise was entrusted to the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria and to Bernardino de Mendoza, Captain General of the galleys of Spain. The Spanish fleet set sail to Mahdia on 24 June and arrived four days later. The city was defended by the nephew of Turgut Reis, Hesar, the landing of the Spanish troops took place under the protection of the galleys cannons and out of Mahdias gun reach. Within hours the Ottoman infantry and cavalry were driven out of a hill they occupied, the same day the first assault was launched, but it was repelled because the moat has not been filled. Turgut Reis received news of the siege while he was plundering the coast of Valencia, after being repelled by the inhabitants of Alcira, Sueca and other villages, the Ottoman admiral sailed along the Barbary Coast calling for help and money to pay an army to relief Mahdia. He also sent a man who swam through the Spanish blockade, at dawn on 25 July, Turgut Reiss troops, hidden in an olive grove, attacked the Spanish along with Mahdias garrison, which made an unexpected sallie. They managed to penetrate the trenches and the camp, but the Spanish troops, with artillery support from the galleys. Turgut Reis took refuge in his galleys and retired to Djerba, despite the victory, the Christian losses were high. Among the dead was the commander of the Spanish artillery, Luis Pérez de Vargas, after the failed attack by the defenders, the Christian commanders ordered four galleys to patrol the area during the night to prevent further attacks. Several others were sent to Sicily carrying the wounded and ill soldiers and requests for replacements and ammunition. Pending to receive them, the siege engineers remained looking for the weakest points of Mahdias defenses, nine pieces of artillery were settled on the platform, which was protected by shields and parapet, prior to anchor the galleys off the walls. On 8 September, the guns of García Álvarez de Toledos galleys, along with the batteries and of the other naval artillery. The bombardment, which did not end two days later, opened large gaps in Mahdias defenses. Then, at the orders of their officers, the Spanish soldiers stormed the fortifications in three different points, an attack was repulsed, but the other two overwhelmed the defenders and surprised the remaining Ottoman troops from their rear. The last defenders resisted inside the towers for a while, governor Hesar was captured, and about 7,000 Mahdia’s soldiers and civilians were killed or captured. Sancho de Leyva remained in Mahdia in command of a Spanish garrison until 1553, Charles V offered the charge of the town to the Knights of Malta but they refused it, so he ordered it to be dismantled despite to be a strategically important stronghold. The demolition tasks were carried out by Hernando de Acuña, shortly after Mahdia was reoccupied by the Ottomans, but only to live by fishing and oil-works
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Ferrante I Gonzaga
Andrea Doria
