Topic summary
Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573)
Barbary States
The Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War, also known as the War of Cyprus, was fought between 1570 and 1573. It was waged between the Ottoman Empire (with the Barbary States)and the Republic of Venice, the latter joined by the Holy League, a coalition of Christian states formed by the pope which included Spain (with Naples and Sicily), the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The war, the pre-eminent episode of Sultan Selim II's reign, began with the Ottoman invasion of the Venetian-held island of Cyprus. The capital Nicosia and several other towns fell quickly to the considerably superior Ottoman army, leaving only Famagusta in Venetian hands. Christian reinforcements were delayed, and Famagusta eventually fell in August 1571 after an 11-month-long siege. Two months later, at the Battle of Lepanto, the united Christian fleet destroyed the Ottoman fleet. The Ottomans rebuilt their naval forces and forced Venice to negotiate a separate peace, ceding Cyprus to the Ottomans and paying an indemnity of 300,000 ducats.