The Second Ottoman–Venetian War was fought from 1499 to 1503 between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

for control of contested lands in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

, and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. The Ottomans, under the command of Admiral Kemal Reis, were victorious and forced the Venetians to recognise their gains at the end of the war.

War

1499

In January 1499, Kemal Reis set sail from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

with a force of 10

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s and 4 other types of ships, and in July 1499 met with the huge Ottoman fleet and took over its command in order to wage a large-scale war against the

. The Ottoman fleet consisted of 67 galleys, 20

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a fla ...

s, and about 200 smaller vessels. In August, Kemal Reis defeated the

Venetian navy The Venetian navy () was the navy of the Venetian Republic which played an important role in the history of the republic and the Mediterranean world. It was the premier navy in the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries between the medieval and ea ...

under the command of Antonio Grimani at the Battle of Zonchio (also known as the Battle of Sapienza or the First Battle of Lepanto). It was the first naval battle in history with cannons used on ships, and took place on four separate days: 12, 20, 22 and 25 August. After reaching the

with the large Ottoman fleet, Kemal Reis encountered the Venetian fleet of 47 galleys, 17 galliots, and about 100 smaller vessels under the command of Antonio Grimani near Cape Zonchio and won an important victory. During the battle, Kemal Reis sank the galley of Andrea Loredan, a member of the influential Loredan family of Venice. Antonio Grimani was arrested on 29 September but was eventually released. Grimani later became the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

in 1521. The Ottoman Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

gifted 10 of the captured Venetian galleys to Kemal Reis, who stationed his fleet at the island of

Cefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

between October and December. Ottoman land incursions into

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...

also started in 1499, under command of Isa Pasha and Feriz Beg.

1500

In December 1499, the Venetians attacked Lepanto with the hope of regaining their lost territories in the

. Kemal Reis set sail from Cefalonia and re-took Lepanto from the Venetians. He stayed in Lepanto between April and May 1500, where his ships were repaired by an army of 15,000 Ottoman craftsmen brought from the area. From there, Kemal Reis set sail and bombarded the Venetian ports on the island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, and in August he once again defeated the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon. Kemal Reis bombarded the fortress of Modon from the sea and captured the town. He later engaged with the Venetian fleet off the coast of Coron and captured the town along with a Venetian brigantine. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards the Island of Sapientza (Sapienza) and sank the Venetian galley ''Lezza''. In September, Kemal Reis assaulted Voiussa and in October he appeared at Cape Santa Maria on the Island of

Lefkada Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...

, before ending the campaign and returning to Constantinople in November. With the Battle of Modon, the Turkish fleet and army quickly overwhelmed most of the Venetian possessions in Greece. Modon and Coron, the "two eyes of the Republic", were lost. Doge Agostino Barbarigo asked the Pope and the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...

for help, and on 24 December a Spanish–Venetian army commanded by Gonzalo de Córdoba took Cephalonia, temporarily stopping the Ottoman offensive on eastern Venetian territories.

1501–1503

The Ottoman incursions in Dalmatia escalated to the point where Venice was forced to sign a treaty with

Vladislaus II of Hungary Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław or Wladislas (; 1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and King of Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, he wa ...

and

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

by which they pledged 140,000 ducats a year for the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

to actively defend its southern Croatian territories, which aided the defence of Venetian Dalmatia, signed after long negotiations on 13 May 1501. In 1501 Feriz Beg captured Durazzo in Venetian Albania. By the end of 1502, Venice and the Ottoman Empire agreed on an armistice. On 31 January 1503, Venice signed another treaty with Vladislaus II, having already paid 124,000 ducats through the previous treaty, to pay 30,000 ducats a year for the same purpose. In 1503, Turkish cavalry raids reached Venetian territory in

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, and Venice was forced to recognize the Ottoman gains, ending the war. The economy of the Venetian cities in Dalmatia was severely impacted by the Turkish occupation of the hinterland during this war.

Aftermath

By September 1510, Vladislaus had received a total of 116,000 ducats under the terms of the second treaty with Venice. After 1508, he had also been under pressure from the League of Cambrai to join them against Venice, but skillful Venetian diplomacy prevented that.

References

Sources

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External links

Sydney N. Fisher: The Foreign Relation of Turkey, 1481–1512, Chapter VI: War with Venice, 1499–1503

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottoman-Venetian War (1499-1503) 15th-century conflicts 16th-century conflicts 2 15th century in Greece 16th century in Greece 1499 in Europe 1500s in Europe 1500s in the Ottoman Empire 1490s in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman–Spanish conflicts

War