The Naval Battle of Lepanto, 1571. Ottoman Defeat Ceded the Western Mediterranean to the West.

The defeat at Lepanto shattered Ottoman ambitions in the Mediterranean, halting their advance and preserving Western supremacy over these crucial waters. The myth of Turkish invincibility lay broken, and across Europe, a new certainty took root—the Turks, once an unstoppable force, could indeed be crushed. This victory rekindled a fierce confidence in the West, a conviction that Ottoman power could not only be matched but, in time, defeated. Lepanto. October 7, 1571. Turkish Muslim Forces: 2...