The
Siege of Candia was a military conflict in which
OttomanThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
forces besieged the
VenetianThe Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
-ruled city and were ultimately victorious. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, it was the longest
siegeA siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
in history.
Background
In the 17th century, Venice's power in the
MediterraneanThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
was waning, as Ottoman power grew. The Venetian Republic believed that the Ottomans would use any excuse to pursue further hostilities.
In 1644, the
Knights of MaltaThe Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
attacked an Ottoman convoy on its way from
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to
ConstantinopleIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. They landed at Candia with the loot, which included part of the Sultan's harem, returning from a pilgrimage to
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
.
In response, 60,000 Ottoman troops led by Yussuf Pasha disembarked on Venetian Crete and occupied La Canea (modern
ChaniaChaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
) and Rettimo (modern Rethimno). Both of these cities took two months each to conquer. Between 1645 and 1648, the Turks occupied the rest of the island and prepared to take the capital, Candia.
Siege
The siege of Candia began in May 1648. The Turks spent three months investing the city, cutting off the water supply, and disrupting Venice's sea lanes to the city. For the next 16 years, they would bombard the city to little effect.
The Venetians, in turn, sought to
blockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
the Ottoman-held
DardanellesThe Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
to prevent the resupply of the Ottoman expeditionary force on Crete. This effort led to a series of naval actions. On 21 June 1655 and 26 August 1656, the Venetians were victorious, although the Venetian commander,
Lorenzo MarcelloLorenzo Marcello was a Venetian admiral.He fought against the Papal navy in 1642-1644 and subsequently participated in the new Turkish-Venetian War. In September 1655, he succeeded Francesco Morosini as the Captain General of the Sea. From this position he led the combined Venetian-Maltese fleet...
, was killed in the latter engagement. However on 17–19 July 1657, the Ottoman navy soundly defeated the Venetians and the Venetian captain, Lazzaro Mocenigo, was killed by a falling mast.
Venice received more aid from other western European states after the 7 November 1659
Treaty of the PyreneesThe Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
and the consequent peace between
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. However, the
Peace of VasvárThe Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...
(August 1664) released additional Ottoman forces for action against the Venetians in Candia.
In 1666, a Venetian attempt to recapture La Canea failed. The following year, Colonel Andrea Barozzi, a Venetian
military engineerIn military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
, defected to the Turks and gave them information on weak spots in Candia's fortifications. In 1669, a French land/sea expedition under Mocenigo not only failed to lift the siege, but also lost on 24 July the fleet's vice-flagship,
La Thérèse a 900-ton French warship armed with 58 cannons, to an accidental explosion. This dual disaster was devastating to the morale of the city's defenders.
Apparently chastened by their failed relief effort and the loss of so valuable a warship, the French abandoned Candia in August 1669 leaving
CaptainCaptain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
General
Francesco MorosiniFrancesco Morosini was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War...
, the commander of Venetian forces, with only 3,600 fit men and scant supplies to defend the fortress. He, therefore, accepted terms and surrendered to
Ahmed KöprülüKöprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha Was a member of the renowned Köprülü family originated from Albania, that had given three grand viziers to the Ottoman Empire. He served as a Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from...
, the
Grand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n origin of the Ottoman Empire of on 27 September 1669. However, his surrender without first receiving authorization to do so from the Venetian
SenateA senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
made Morosini a controversial figure in Venice for some years afterward.
As part of the surrender terms, all Christians were allowed to leave Candia with whatever they could carry while Venice retained possession of
GramvousaGramvousa, also Grambousa, Grampousa or Krampouza , further names include Akra, Cavo Buso, Cavo Bouza, Garabusa and Grabusa, are names used for two small uninhabited islands off the coast of north-western Crete in the prefecture of Chania...
, Souda and
SpinalongaThe island of Spinalonga , officially known as Kalydon , is located in the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, in Lasithi prefecture, next to the town of Elounda....
, fortified islands that shielded natural harbors where Venetian ships could stop during their voyages to the eastern Mediterranean. After Candia's fall, the Venetians somewhat offset their defeat by expanding their holdings in
DalmatiaDalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
.
It is said that when news of Candia's fall reached
Pope Clement IXPope Clement IX , born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.-Early life:Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there...
in October he immediately fell ill and, two months later, died.
Other participants
- Knights of Malta
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
fought at the Siege of Candia (in Crete) in 1668. In fact, by raiding an Ottoman convoy en route from Alexandria to Constantinople in 1644 and capturing part of the sultan's harem, they could be said to have precipitated the crisis.
- Francois de Beaufort, who died there.
- Philippe de Montault-Bénac, marshal under the duke of Beaufort.
- Philippe de Vendôme
Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme the "Grand Prior" was the fourth Duke of Vendôme and Grand Prior for France in the Order of Malta, a French army commander and the younger brother of Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme....
, the nephew of the duke of Beaufort
- Vincenzo Rospigliosi, admiral of the fleet and Pope Clement's
Pope Clement IX , born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.-Early life:Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there...
nephew.
- Charles de Sévigné
Charles, Baron de Sévigné was a French aristocrat and son of French literary icon Madame de Sévigné.-Life:Charles was born at the family Chateau Les Rochers in Brittany on March 12, 1648. He was the second child of Henri, Marquis de Sévigné and his young wife, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal...
.
In fiction
The Siege of Candia is an important part of the background to the historical novel "
An Instance of the FingerpostAn Instance of the Fingerpost is a 1997 historical mystery novel by Iain Pears.-Synopsis:A murder in 17th-century Oxford is related from the contradictory points of view of four of the characters, all of them unreliable narrators...
", where a major protagonist is a Venetian veteran of that siege and several plot developments become clear through extensive flashbacks to the Candia events.
See also
- Naval battles of the Cretan Wars
- History of the Republic of Venice
The history of the Republic of Venice traditionally begins with its foundation at noon on Friday March 25, 421 by authorities from Padua who hoped to establish a trading-post in the region. This event was marked by the founding of the Venitian church of St. James...
- Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
- Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...