Siege of Candia 1648 to 1669: Venice's 21-Year Stand Against the Ottomans

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In 1644 the Knights of Malta seized an Ottoman convoy sailing from Constantinople to Alexandria, carrying the chief black eunuch of the imperial harem, the chief judge of Cairo, and pilgrims bound for Mecca, then docked with their prize at Candia on Venetian Crete. In 1645 the Ottomans sent 60,000 troops under Yusuf Pasha, letting Europe believe the target was Malta, then struck Crete and took Chania and Rethymno within months. From 1648 they besieged Candia, modern Heraklion, cutting its water and land routes. Its trace italienne star fort of low, angled earthwork bastions absorbed cannon fire for 16 years, and Venice kept the city alive by sea while trying to blockade the Dardanelles.

Venetian victories in 1655 and 1656 cost commander Lorenzo Marcello his life, and in July 1657 the Ottomans broke the blockade. After the Peace of Vasvár in 1664 freed Ottoman troops, Venetian engineer Colonel Andrea Barozzi defected in 1667 and pointed the besiegers to the Sant'Andrea and Sabbionera bastions. Without the Senate's authorization, Captain General Francesco Morosini, left with 3,600 fit soldiers, surrendered to Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü on September 27, 1669.

• Venetian commander Lazzaro Mocenigo was crushed by a falling mast in the 1657 battle.
• In July 1669 a French relief expedition under François de Beaufort arrived, and its 900-ton, 58-gun vice flagship La Thérèse blew up during the bombardment.
• A 2015 National Defense University study of the Venetian archives found a plan to spread plague through infected wool garments and fezzes, approved but never carried out.
• Morosini's terms let Christians leave with their possessions, while Venice kept the island harbors of Gramvousa and Souda.
• Venetian reports counted more than 118,000 casualties on their side, including nearly 31,000 Venetians.