The Battle of Pallene occurred in 1344 between the fleets of a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Christian league and Turkish raiders, at the Pallene Peninsula in northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Battle

The battle is known through the chronicle of the

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

n jurist

Guglielmo Cortusi Guglielmo Cortusi (fl. 1305–1361) was a Paduan judge, diplomat and chronicler whose ''Chronica de novitatibus Padue et Lombardie'' is the principal primary source for Paduan history in the early years of Carraresi rule. Life Guglielmo bel ...

, and the history of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under An ...

(). Cortusi supplies the date,

Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...

(13 May 1344), and records that the Christians destroyed 52 Turkish vessels. According to Kantakouzenos, the Christian fleet numbered 24

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s, and it forced the Turks to abandon their ships, 60 in number, at an inlet called Longos on the Pallene Peninsula. The Christians then proceeded to burn the abandoned Turkish vessels. Galley

The identity of the Christian fleet is not revealed by the sources, but since on 25 July,

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bla ...

congratulated the Grand Master of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, Helion de Villeneuve, for his contributions to the crusade organized by the papal legate Henry of Asti, the fleet was probably the same as that organized for the

Smyrniote crusade The Smyrniote crusades (1343–1351) were two Crusades sent by Pope Clement VI against the Emirate of Aydin under Umur Bey which had as their principal target the coastal city of Smyrna in Asia Minor. The first Smyrniote crusade was the brainch ...

, comprising four vessels each from the Pope and the

King of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...

, six Hospitaller vessels, and some Venetian ships, which had assembled at Negroponte in November 1343, but mostly (half)

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

ships.

Aftermath

The Crusader fleet then went on to capture the port and lower city of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

on 28 October, but the citadel remained in the hands of the

Aydinid The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty (Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', ota, آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی), also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one of the Anatolian ...

Turks. The Aydinid ruler, Umur Bey, in turn besieged the Crusaders, and in a surprise attack on 17 January managed to kill the Crusader leaders. Nevertheless, albeit with great difficulty and being constantly harassed by the Turks, Smyrna remained in Latin hands until it was captured by

Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

in 1402.

References

Sources

* * * {{The Papacy and the Levant, volume=1 Conflicts in 1344 Pallene 1344 Pallene 1344 Pallene 1344 History of Chalkidiki Pallene 1340s in the Byzantine Empire 14th century in Greece 1344 in Europe Pallene

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources