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Ottoman conquest of Otranto

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"Battle of Otranto" redirects here. For the naval battles, see Battle of the Strait of Otranto.

Battle of Otranto
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
and Hungarian–Ottoman Wars

Castle of Otranto
Date28 July 1480 – 10 September 1481
Location
Otranto, Kingdom of Naples
Result
  • Ottoman conquest of Otranto in 1480[1][2]
  • Christian reconquest of Otranto in 1481
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • 18,000 infantry
  • 700 cavalry
  • 140 ships
  • Kingdom of Naples: 20,000 infantry[3]
  • Hungary: 2,100 Hungarian heavy infantry[4]
Casualties and losses
Garrisoned forces surrender, 300 captured[3]
  • 12,000 killed in action
  • 5,000 enslaved
Relics of the Martyrs of Otranto inside Otranto Cathedral

In the summer of 1480, the Ottoman Empire invaded southern Italy, and laid siege to Otranto (Kingdom of Naples), finally capturing it on 11 August. This was their first outpost in Italy.[5] According to a traditional account, more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city had been captured, because they would not renounce their Christian faith.[6][7] The Martyrs of Otranto are still celebrated in Italy. A year later, Otranto was surrendered by the Ottomans to Duke Alfonso of Calabria after a siege by Neapolitan troops, supported by a Papal fleet (under Paolo Fregoso of Genoa) and Hungarian forces, and amid uncertainty upon the death of sultan Mehmed II.

Background and Motive

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In 1479, the Venetians had sued for peace with the Ottomans, having to hand over Lesbos, Shkodër, and other territory in the Peloponnese. In addition, the Venetians were ordered to pay the Ottomans 10,000 florins, which was more of a mark of shaming the Venetians into submission instead of crippling their economy. There were rumours that the Venetians aided the Ottoman invasion: Sigismondo de’Conti stated that he couldn’t confirm whether the Venetians had aided or encouraged the attack of Otranto, but that it was certain that the Ottomans wouldn’t have attempted it without them being at peace with Venice.[8] Adding to this, Venetian sources infer that the Signoria, through its new bailo in Constantinople, Battista Gritti, told the sultan that he would be within his rights to seize Brindisi, Taranto, and Otranto, since he was the conqueror of Constantinople and these were former outposts of the Byzantine Empire. It is unknown whether these assurances contributed much, if at all, to Mehmed's decision to invade Italy.[9]

Early in the Summer of 1480, Kapudan-i Derya Gedik Ahmed Pasha received orders from Mehmed to cross the Strait of Otranto. Pasha was an experienced commander who had previously taken the islands of Lefkada, Kephalonia, and Zakynthos.[8] The Ottoman fleet gathered near Vlorë and set off across the strait. A Venetian fleet stationed near Corfu apparently followed the Ottomans to the coast of Puglia before returning to Corfu.[9]

Siege and Capture

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Pasha had originally planned to land near Brindisi, however, a captured merchant had told him there were fewer defences further South, so the course was redirected to Otranto. On Friday 28th July, an Ottoman fleet of 140 ships, including 40 galleys, arrived near the city. The Ottomans sent out a force of cavalry to land at Roca and they quickly made their way to Otranto. However, a local garrison countered the force just north of the city at Alimini. When an offer of surrender was rejected by the city, the Ottomans laid siege with canon and took the city on the 11th August. Of a total population of 22,000, 12,000 were killed and 800 were taken as slaves.[8][9] On the 14th, 800 citizens who refused to convert to Islam were killed on a nearby hill. The victims would be later declared martyrs by Pope Clement XIV and then cannonised by Pope Francis in 2013.[9]

Once the Ottomans had secured Otranto, they began raiding the surrounding area, including Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto. They also imposed a tax of one ducat from each family and melted down the church bells to make cannon.[8] However, the Ottomans' situation deteriorated as their provisions ran out and the locals refused to co-operate.[6][9] Because of this, and the fact that the population had started to migrate, the Ottomans relaxed their policies, granting a tax break for 10 years and started allowing religious freedoms. The taking of Otranto was seen as the first step in an Ottoman conquest of Italy, which led many to fear for the future of the region.[8]

Gedik Ahmed Pasha was thought to be encouraging Mehmed II to invade Italy and it was his death in 1481 which was seen as the main reason for why the campaign ended. Antonio De Ferrariis Gelateo believed that if Otranto hadn’t been recaptured the Italian peninsular wouldn’t have remained Christian.[8]

Response and Recapture

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In September, King Ferdinand I of Naples, set out to Otranto; his son, Alfonso, following him later that month. They set up near the city, preventing Ottoman expansion to the West, with the Ottomans eventually retreating behind the walls of Otranto in October. The Ottomans flatly refused to negotiate, rejecting Ferdinand's offer for surrender of 800,000 gold ducats, and instead demanding to keep Otranto, as well as being given several other cities in the region. The Ottomans then threatened that, if their demands were not met, the sultan would invade Italy.[9]

The threat was enough to scare the Pope into action, sending money to Naples and negotiating a treaty between the Holy See, Naples, Hungary, Genoa, Milan, Ferrara, and Florence in order to defend the Papacy. Venice were also asked to join, but they declined.[9]

Plaque over the portal of Santa Maria dei Martiri, at the location where 800 inhabitants were supposedly beheaded.

Ottoman resistance to the Hungarians and Neapolitans waned and eventually broke completely on 10th September 1481.[9] Gedik Ahmed Pasha tried to carry on the fight in Italy after Mehmed II’s death but failed, with the Ottoman troops in Otranto being left to fend for themselves.[8] A planned attack on Vlorë was discussed by the Pope and Ferdinand, but this never came to fruition.[9]

Venice played everything cautiously even after Otranto’s reconquest, with the Venetian consul in Puglia told to congratulate Ferdinand on his victory but, importantly, to tell him in person and to burn the letter ordering him to do so in case the Ottomans found out.[9]

Aftermath

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Monument to the heroes and martyrs of Otranto, in the city center.

Gedik Ahmed Pasha was thought to be encouraging Mehmed II to invade Italy and it was his death in 1481 which was seen as the main reason for why the campaign ended. Antonio De Ferrariis Gelateo believed that, if Otranto hadn’t been recaptured, the Italian peninsular would have been overrun.[8]

According to Lucano, many Pugliesi girls had hidden away on the Ottoman boats leaving Otranto after the surrender. He also said that many of the Ottoman troops went on to fight in Macedonia, and many went to fight for Alfonso II.[8]

The number of citizens, which is said to have been nearly 20,000, had decreased to 8,000 by the end of the century.[10]

The Ottomans also briefly held Otranto once more after they conquered it in 1537.[11][12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Encyclopædia Americana, Volume 9 via books.google.com
  2. ^ The Ottoman Empire: A Short History Page 44 via books.google.com
  3. ^ a b Köse, Metin Ziya (2016). Otranto Seferi (in Turkish). İstanbul: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (EK-2 Cilt). pp. 386–388. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. ^ Csaba Csorba; János Estók; Konrád Salamon (1999). Magyarország Képes Története. Budapest, Hungary: Magyar Könyvklub. p. 62. ISBN 963-548-961-7.
  5. ^ Savvides, Alexios, and Photeine Perra. "Hospitallers and Ottomans Between the Two Great Sieges of Rhodes (1480–1522/1523) 1." Archived 13 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine In The 1522 Siege of Rhodes, pp. 11-39. Routledge, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Pope canonises 800 Italian Ottoman victims of Otranto". BBC News. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Homily of Pope Francis". vatican.va. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Fleet, Kate; Kasaba, Reşat; Faroqhi, Suraiya (2013). The Cambridge History of Turkey Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521620949.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Babinger, Franz (1978). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 390–395. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.
  10. ^ Andrews, Robert.; Belford, Ros; Buckley, Jonathan Buckley; Dunford, Martin; Jepson, Tim; Ratcliffe, Lucy; Woolfrey, Celia (2012). Puglia Rough Guides Snapshot Italy. United Kingdom: Rough Guides. ISBN 9781409362333 – via books.google.com.
  11. ^ GÜNDOĞDU, Doç Dr Raşit (11 March 2020). The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Rumuz Yayınları. ISBN 978-605-5112-15-8.
  12. ^ Mango, Andrew (1972). Discovering Turkey. Hastings House. ISBN 978-0-8038-7111-3.

Further reading

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  • Hubert Houben, ed. La conquista turca di Otranto (1480) tra storia e mito: atti del convegno internazionale di studio, Otranto–Muro Leccese, 28–31 marzo 2007. 2 vols. Galatina, 2008.
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