On September 28, 1644 galleys of the Knights of Malta attacked an Ottoman convoy enroute from Constantinople to Alexandria. The attack was successful, the Knights seizing the Chief Black Eunuch of the Sultan's Harem and pilgrims on their way to Mecca. It was quite a haul and the Knights prepared to sell their 350 male and 30 female captives into slavery.
The Knights of Malta had been a long-time thorn in the side of the Ottoman Empire. Originating as the Knights Hospitallers in early 12th century Jerusalem. After the final loss of the Holy Land in 1291, the Knights occupied the island of Rhodes, their home for the next two centuries, from which they launched raids of plunder against the neighboring Moslem (and occasionally Christian) states. As the Ottomans began their rise in the 14th century, eventually conquering the nearby mainland and islands, Rhodes preserved its independence until Sulemain the Magnificent laid siege, forcing the Knights to leave in 1522. In 1530, Charles V of Spain granted the Knights a new home, the island of Malta, as a perpetual fief in return for an annual tribute of a Maltese Falcon. For more on the Knights read The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of.
Putting ashore on the nearby Venetian province of Crete, the Knights sent ashore a number of captives and slaves and then sailed away.
In 1644 the Ottomans remained masters of the Eastern Mediterranean. By then the Ottomans and Christian Europe found themselves in the middle of a long stalemate. Two centuries of Ottoman success against Christian states had been brought to a halt with the failed siege of Malta in 1565 and the destruction of the Ottoman fleet by a temporary Christian alliance at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Since then, periodic wars had broken out but frontiers were fairly stable, the only significant differences being in the Ukraine and southern Poland where the Ottomans added territory. The stalemate was to end with the Grand Turk's unsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1683 and the Christian counterattack on the heels of the withdrawing Ottoman army.
While Venice still ruled the island of Crete, the lagoon bound state was on the decline. It had lost most of his advantageous trading rights within Ottoman territory along with the island of Cyprus and many smaller islands, as well as its outposts in Greece. And with the New World discovered and new trading routes to the East, its commercial dominance was fading. Venice had ruled Crete since 1205, the Catholic Venetians treating the Orthodox Cretans with contempt, inspiring many revolts by the local inhabitants.
At the Ottoman Court many saw this as an opportunity to evict Venice from Crete, the last Christian outpost in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the spring of 1645, a large Ottoman fleet left Constantinople, its destination a mystery but with rumors flying ahead of it that Malta was its target. The rumors had been deliberately planted by the Ottomans. On June 23, 1645 the Venetians were surprised to find the Ottoman fleet anchored off the Cretan coast. Landing on the island, the Ottomans began their conquest.
By May 1648 all of the island, with the exception of its capital, Candia (now Heraklion), was occupied by the Turks and an estimated 40% of the island's population had perished. That month the Ottoman army began its siege and blockade of Candia, which was to last until 1669.
What accounted for the length of the siege? For the Ottomans there were many distractions. Other wars, particularly in Hungary and Transylvania diverted resources. Venetian fleets periodically blockaded the Dardanelles, the narrow strait leading to the Sea of Marmara and Constantinople. Raids by Christian fleets in the Aegean further disrupted Ottoman supply lines. Finally, it was a period of intense court intrigues and coups at the Ottoman court. The net result was the Ottomans were able to sustain a force large enough to maintain the siege but not strong enough to assault the city.
In 1664 the Ottomans negotiated a temporary peace with the Hapsburgs and were able to turn their attention and resources back to Crete. In early 1668 a large Ottoman army landed on the island to join the blockade force. European powers also sent aid to the Venetians, 6,000 soldiers from France and smaller contingents from Savoy, Malta, Naples and the Papal States. Encourage by the support the Venetians turned down an Ottoman peace offer under which they would have retained half the island.
Actions in the summer of 1669 sealed Candia's fate. A fleet sent by France met disaster with its flagship exploding leading to the withdrawal of France's troops. The remaining garrison of Candia was reduced to 3,600 men and on September 5 Francesco Morosini, commander of the garrison, surrendered.
The cost of the final two years of the siege was enormous with more than 100,000 Ottomans and 29,000 Christians dying.
It was to be the last major territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Crete remained under Ottoman rule until 1897.
What must have it been like to be part of the siege? If you were born in Candia in 1648 you would have lived your entire youth while under siege. Reading about the siege reminds me of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the loony 1988 tale of an endless siege of a city on the sea by the army of the Grand Turk.
No comments:
Post a Comment