The siege of Candia (now Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia.[2] Lasting from 1648 to 1669, or a total of 21 years, it is the second-longest siege in history after the siege of Ceuta. It ended with an Ottoman victory, but the effort and cost of the siege contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Great Turkish War.
In the 17th century, Venice's power in the Mediterranean was waning as Ottoman power grew. The Republic of Venice believed that the Ottomans would use any excuse to pursue further hostilities.
In 1644, the Knights of Malta attacked an Ottoman convoy on its way from Alexandria to Constantinople. They landed at Candia with the loot, which included the former Chief Black Eunuch of the Harem, the kadi of Cairo, among other pilgrims heading to Mecca.
In response, 60,000 Ottoman troops led by Yusuf Pasha disembarked on Venetian Crete with no apparent target, with many suspecting them heading for Malta. Instead, the Ottomans surprisingly struck against Crete in June 1645, besieging and occupying La Canea (modern Chania) and Rettimo (modern Rethimno). Each of these cities took two months to be conquered. Between 1645 and 1648, the Ottomans occupied the rest of the island and prepared to take the capital, Candia.
The siege of Candia began in May 1648. The Ottomans spent three months laying siege to the city, cutting off the water supply, and disrupting Venice's sea lanes to the city. They would bombard the city for the next 16 years to little effect.
The Venetians, in turn, sought to blockade the Ottoman-held Dardanelles 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 Marcello, was killed in the latter engagement. However, on 17–19 July 1657, the Ottoman navy soundly defeated the Venetians. 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 Pyrenees and the consequent peace between France and Spain. However, the Peace of Vasvár (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 engineer, defected to the Ottomans and gave them information on weak spots in Candia's fortifications. On 24 July 1669, a French land/sea expedition under Francois de Beaufort not only failed to lift the siege, but also lost 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.
Chastened by their failed relief effort and the loss of so valuable a warship, the French abandoned Candia in August 1669, leaving Captain General Francesco Morosini, 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 Köprülü, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire on 27 September 1669. However, his surrender without first receiving authorization from the Venetian Senate 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. At the same time, Venice retained possession of Gramvousa, Souda and Spinalonga, 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 Dalmatia.
Proposed biological warfare attack
Data obtained from the Archives of the Venetian State, relating to an operation organized by the Venetian Intelligence Services, describes a plan aimed at lifting the siege by infecting the Ottoman soldiers with plague; this was to be done by attacking them with a liquid made from the spleens and buboes of plague victims. "Although the plan was perfectly organized, and the deadly mixture was ready to use, the attack was ultimately never carried out."[3] According to a scholar from the USA's National Defense University, this attack was previously unknown to historians of biological warfare until published in December 2015.[4]
Other participants
Knights of Malta fought at the siege of Candia (in Crete) in 1668
The siege of Candia is an integral part of the background to the historical novel An Instance of the Fingerpost, where a significant protagonist is a Venetian veteran of that siege and several plot developments become clear through extensive flashbacks to the Candia events.
^ abPaoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. p. 33.
^Mason, Norman David (1972). The War of Candia, 1645–1669 (PhD). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. doi:10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.2351.
^Thalassinou, Eleni; et al. (December 21, 2015). "Biological Warfare Plan in the 17th Century—the Siege of Candia, 1648–1669". Emerg Infect Dis. 21 (12): 2148–2153. doi:10.3201/eid2112.130822. PMC4672449. PMID 26894254. Citing public domain text from the CDC
^Carus, W. Seth (September 2016). "Letter to the Editor-Biological Warfare in the 17th Century". Emerg Infect Dis. 22 (9): 1663–1664. doi:10.3201/eid2209.152073. PMC4994373. PMID 27533653.
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message The siege of Candia now Heraklion Crete was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia 2 Lasting from 1648 to 1669 or a total of 21 years it is the second longest siege in history after the siege of Ceuta It ended with an Ottoman victory but the effort and cost of the siege contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire especially after the Great Turkish War Siege of CandiaPart of the Cretan War Fifth Ottoman Venetian War The siege of Candia by N Visscher c 1680Date1 May 1648 27 September 1669 21 years 4 months 3 weeks and 5 days LocationHeraklion CreteResultOttoman victoryTerritorialchangesCrete ceded to OttomansBelligerents Ottoman Empire Republic of Venice Knights of Malta FranceCommanders and leadersKoprulu Fazil AhmedFrancesco MorosiniStrength60 000 soldiers20 000 workers and miners10 000 European allies12 000 Cretan amp Venetian citizensCasualties and losses118 754 soldiers Venetian reports 1 30 985 Venetian soldiers Venetian reports 1 Contents 1 Background 2 Siege 3 Proposed biological warfare attack 4 Other participants 5 In fiction 6 See also 7 ReferencesBackground EditIn the 17th century Venice s power in the Mediterranean was waning as Ottoman power grew The Republic of Venice believed that the Ottomans would use any excuse to pursue further hostilities In 1644 the Knights of Malta attacked an Ottoman convoy on its way from Alexandria to Constantinople They landed at Candia with the loot which included the former Chief Black Eunuch of the Harem the kadi of Cairo among other pilgrims heading to Mecca In response 60 000 Ottoman troops led by Yusuf Pasha disembarked on Venetian Crete with no apparent target with many suspecting them heading for Malta Instead the Ottomans surprisingly struck against Crete in June 1645 besieging and occupying La Canea modern Chania and Rettimo modern Rethimno Each of these cities took two months to be conquered Between 1645 and 1648 the Ottomans occupied the rest of the island and prepared to take the capital Candia Siege Edit Candia and its fortifications 1651The siege of Candia began in May 1648 The Ottomans spent three months laying siege to the city cutting off the water supply and disrupting Venice s sea lanes to the city They would bombard the city for the next 16 years to little effect The Venetians in turn sought to blockade the Ottoman held Dardanelles 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 Marcello was killed in the latter engagement However on 17 19 July 1657 the Ottoman navy soundly defeated the Venetians 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 Pyrenees and the consequent peace between France and Spain However the Peace of Vasvar 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 engineer defected to the Ottomans and gave them information on weak spots in Candia s fortifications On 24 July 1669 a French land sea expedition under Francois de Beaufort not only failed to lift the siege but also lost the fleet s vice flagship La Therese 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 Venetians abandon Candia Illustration by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri 1863 Chastened by their failed relief effort and the loss of so valuable a warship the French abandoned Candia in August 1669 leaving Captain General Francesco Morosini 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 Koprulu the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire on 27 September 1669 However his surrender without first receiving authorization from the Venetian Senate 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 At the same time Venice retained possession of Gramvousa Souda and Spinalonga 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 Dalmatia Proposed biological warfare attack EditData obtained from the Archives of the Venetian State relating to an operation organized by the Venetian Intelligence Services describes a plan aimed at lifting the siege by infecting the Ottoman soldiers with plague this was to be done by attacking them with a liquid made from the spleens and buboes of plague victims Although the plan was perfectly organized and the deadly mixture was ready to use the attack was ultimately never carried out 3 According to a scholar from the USA s National Defense University this attack was previously unknown to historians of biological warfare until published in December 2015 4 Other participants EditKnights of Malta fought at the siege of Candia in Crete in 1668 Francois de Beaufort who died there Philippe de Montaut Benac marshal under the duke of Beaufort Philippe de Vendome the nephew of the duke of Beaufort Vincenzo Rospigliosi admiral of the fleet and Pope Clement s nephew Georg Rimpler German engineer Charles de Sevigne Louis de Buade de FrontenacIn fiction EditThe siege of Candia is an integral part of the background to the historical novel An Instance of the Fingerpost where a significant protagonist is a Venetian veteran of that siege and several plot developments become clear through extensive flashbacks to the Candia events See also EditNaval battles of the Cretan Wars History of the Republic of Venice Ottoman Navy Ottoman wars in EuropeReferences Edit a b Paoletti Ciro 2008 A Military History of Italy p 33 Mason Norman David 1972 The War of Candia 1645 1669 PhD LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses doi 10 31390 gradschool disstheses 2351 Thalassinou Eleni et al December 21 2015 Biological Warfare Plan in the 17th Century the Siege of Candia 1648 1669 Emerg Infect Dis 21 12 2148 2153 doi 10 3201 eid2112 130822 PMC 4672449 PMID 26894254 Citing public domain text from the CDC Carus W Seth September 2016 Letter to the Editor Biological Warfare in the 17th Century Emerg Infect Dis 22 9 1663 1664 doi 10 3201 eid2209 152073 PMC 4994373 PMID 27533653 The War for Candia by the VENIVA consortium Venice Republic Renaissance 1645 69 The war of Candia by Marco Antonio Bragadin The Cretan War 1645 1669 by Chrysoula Tzompanaki in Greek This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message 35 20 N 25 8 E 35 333 N 25 133 E 35 333 25 133 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Siege of Candia amp oldid 1168959618, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
