Global InformationBattle of Lepanto information
| Battle of Lepanto | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman–Habsburg wars and Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War | |||||||
 The Battle of Lepanto, Laureys a Castro | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
 Republic of Genoa Duchy of Savoy Grand Duchy of Tuscany Order of St. John Papal States Greek rebels |
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 John of Austria Álvaro de Bazán Luis de Requesens Carlo d'Aragona Tagliavia Sebastiano Venier Agostino Barbarigo † Gianandrea Doria Marcantonio Colonna |
 Ali Pasha † Mahomet Sirocco † Occhiali | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
65,000 men:
6 galleasses[2][3][4] |
67,000 men:
56 galliots[4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
7,500–10,000 killed[5] and 15,000 wounded[6] 13 galleys sunk or destroyed[7] |
20,000[6]–25,000 killed[8] 117 galleys captured 20 galliots captured 50 galleys and galliots sunk or destroyed | ||||||
| 15,000 Christian slaves freed[6] | |||||||
  class=notpageimage| Location within Greece Battle of Lepanto (Peloponnese) | |||||||
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras. The Ottoman forces were sailing westward from their naval station in Lepanto (the Venetian name of ancient Naupactus – Greek Ναύπακτος, Turkish İnebahtı) when they met the fleet of the Holy League which was sailing east from Messina, Sicily.[9]
The fleet of the Holy League consisted of 109 galleys and six galleasses from the Republic of Venice, 49 galleys from the Spanish Empire, 27 galleys from the Republic of Genoa, seven galleys from the Papal States, five galleys from the Order of Saint Stephen and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, three galleys from the Duchy of Savoy, three galleys from the Knights of Malta and some private ships.[9] John of Austria, half-brother of Philip II of Spain, was named by Pope Pius V as overall commander of the fleet and led the centre division along with Papal captain Marcantonio Colonna and the Venetian Sebastiano Venier; the wings were commanded by the Venetian Agostino Barbarigo and the Genoese Gianandrea Doria. The Ottoman fleet consisted of 222 galleys and 56 galliots and was led by Müezzinzade Ali Pasha, Mahomet Sirocco and Occhiali.
In the history of naval warfare, Lepanto marks the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought almost entirely between rowing vessels,[10] namely the galleys and galleasses which were the direct descendants of ancient trireme warships. The battle was in essence an "infantry battle on floating platforms".[11] It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, involving more than 450 warships. Over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the "Age of Sail".
The victory of the Holy League is of great importance in the history of Europe and of the Ottoman Empire, with the Ottoman fleet almost completely destroyed and marking the turning-point of Ottoman military expansion into the Mediterranean, although the Ottoman wars in Europe would continue for another century.[12] It has long been compared to the Battle of Salamis, both for tactical parallels and for its crucial importance in the defense of Europe against imperial expansion.[13] It was also of great symbolic importance in a period when Europe was torn by its own wars of religion following the Protestant Reformation. Pope Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory, and Philip II of Spain used the victory to strengthen his position as the "Most Catholic King" and defender of Christendom against Muslim incursion.[14] Historian Paul K. Davis writes that
More than a military victory, Lepanto was a moral one. For decades, the Ottoman Turks had terrified Europe, and the victories of Suleiman the Magnificent caused Christian Europe serious concern. The defeat at Lepanto further exemplified the rapid deterioration of Ottoman might under Selim II, and Christians rejoiced at this setback for the Ottomans. The mystique of Ottoman power was tarnished significantly by this battle, and Christian Europe was heartened.[15]
- ^ John F. Guilmartin (1974), pp. 253–255
- ^ Konstam, Angus (2003). Lepanto 1571: The Greatest Naval Battle of the Renaissance. United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. pp. 20–23. ISBN 1-84176-409-4. Retrieved August 29, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Fernandez de la Puente y Acevedo, José (1853). Memoria histórico-crítica del célebre combate naval y victoria de Lepanto. Madrid, Spain: Real Academia de la Historia. p. 35.
- ^ a b Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution, pp. 87–88
- ^ name=Nolan>Nolan, Cathal (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 529.
- ^ a b c Tucker 2010, p. 178.
- ^ name="ReferenceA">Confrontation at Lepanto by T. C. F. Hopkins, intro
- ^ William Oliver Stevens and Allan F. Westcott, A History of Sea Power, 1920, p. 107.
- ^ a b Davis 1999, p. 195.
- ^ Hanson 2010, p. 96.
- ^ William Stevens, History of Sea Power (1920), p. 83.
- ^ Beaton, Roderick (2021). The Greeks: A Global History (1st ed.). New York: Basic Books. p. 368. ISBN 9781541618299.
- ^ See e.g. William Stevens, History of Sea Power (1920), p. 83; Frederick A. de Armas, Cervantes, Raphael and the Classics (1998), p. 87.
- ^ His efforts to finance the Holy League against the Ottomans earned Philip II, the "Most Catholic King", his place as "champion of Catholicism throughout Europe, a role that led him to spectacular victories and equally spectacular defeats. Spain's leadership of a 'holy league' against Turkish enroachments in the Mediterranean resulted in a stunning victory over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Philip's greatest misfortunes came from his attempts to crush the revolt in the Netherlands and his tortured relations with Queen Elizabeth of England."Jackson J. Spielvogel (2012). Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume II: Since 1500 (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 253. ISBN 9781133607939.
- ^ Davis 1999, p. 199.