The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the
Holy League, a coalition of southern
European Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the
Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the
Gulf of Corinth, off western
Greece. The Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto (
Turkish: İnebahtı;
Greek: Ναύπακτος or Έπαχτος Naupaktos or Épahtos) met the Holy League forces, which had come from
Messina, Sicily, where they had previously gathered.
The victory of the Holy League prevented the Ottoman Empire expanding further along the European side of the
Mediterranean. Lepanto was the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean fought entirely between galleys and has been assigned great symbolic importance by Catholic and other historians. Some historians argue that a Turkish victory could have led to
Western Europe being overrun.
The Christian coalition had been promoted by
Pope Pius V to rescue the
Venetian colony of
Famagusta, on the island of
Cyprus, which was being besieged by the
Turks in early 1571 subsequent to the fall of
Nicosia and other Venetian possessions in Cyprus in the course of 1570.
The banner for the fleet, blessed by the pope, reached
the Kingdom of Naples (then ruled by the
King of Spain) on 14 August 1571. There, in the
Basilica of Santa Chiara, it was solemnly consigned to
John of Austria, who had been named leader of the coalition after long discussions between the allies. The fleet moved to
Sicily and leaving
Messina reached (after several stops) the port of Viscardo in
Cephalonia, where news arrived of the fall of Famagusta and of the torture inflicted by the Turks on the Venetian commander of the fortress,
Marco Antonio Bragadin.
On
1 August, the
Venetians had surrendered after being reassured that they could leave Cyprus freely. However, the Ottoman commander,
Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, who had lost some 52,000 men in the siege (including his son), broke his word, imprisoning the Venetians. On 17 August,
Bragadin was flayed alive and his corpse hung on
Mustafa's galley together with the heads of the Venetian commanders,
Astorre Baglioni, Alvise
Martinengo and Gianantonio Querini.
Despite bad weather, the
Christian ships sailed south and, on 6 October, they reached the port of
Sami, Cephalonia (then also called Val d'
Alessandria), where they remained for a while. On 7 October, they sailed toward the
Gulf of Patras, where they encountered the
Ottoman fleet. While neither fleet had immediate strategic resources or objectives in the gulf, both chose to engage. The Ottoman fleet had an express order from the
Sultan to fight, and John of Austria found it necessary to attack in order to maintain the integrity of the expedition in the face of personal and political disagreements within the Holy League.
Forces
The members of the Holy League were
Spain (including the
Kingdom of Naples, the
Kingdom of Sicily and the
Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the
Spanish possessions), the
Republic of Venice, the
Papacy,the
Republic of Genoa, the
Duchy of Savoy, the
Duchy of Urbino, the
Knights Hospitaller and others. Its fleet consisted of 206 galleys and 6 galleasses (large new galleys, invented by the Venetians, which carried substantial artillery) and was commanded by
Don John of Austria, the illegitimate son of the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the
Holy Roman Empire, and half-brother of
Philip II of Spain, supported by the Spanish commanders
Don Luis de Requesens and
Don Álvaro de Bazán, and
Genoan commander Gianandrea Doria.
Vessels had been contributed by the various Christian states:
109 galleys and 6 galleasses from the Republic of Venice, 56 from the
Spanish Empire (32 galleys from the Kingdom of Naples, 14 galleys from Spain, and 10 galleys from the Kingdom of Sicily), 7 galleys from the
Pope, 27 galleys from the Republic of Genoa (partly financed by Spain), 3 galleys of the
Order of Saint Stephen from the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, 3 galleys each from the Duchy of Savoy and the
Knights of Malta, and some privately owned galleys in Spanish service. All members of the alliance viewed the
Ottoman navy as a significant threat, both to the security of maritime trade in the
Mediterranean Sea and to the security of continental
Europe itself. Spain was the largest financial contributor, though the
Spaniards preferred to preserve most of their galleys for Spain's own wars against the nearby sultanates of the
Barbary Coast rather than expend its naval strength for the benefit of
Venice. The various Christian contingents met the main force, that of Venice (under Venier), in July and August 1571 at Messina, Sicily. John of Austria arrived on 23 August.
- published: 02 May 2015
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