The siege of Corfu in 1537 was led by the Ottoman Emperor

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

, against the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

-held island of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. It is part of the

Ottoman–Venetian War (1537–1540) The Third Ottoman Venetian War (1537–1540) was one of the Ottoman–Venetian wars which took place during the 16th century. The war arose out of the Franco-Ottoman alliance between Francis I of France and Süleyman I of the Ottoman Empire ...

, one of the numerous Ottoman–Venetian Wars of the period.

Avlona expedition

For 1537 important combined operations had been agreed upon between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

as part of the

Franco-Ottoman alliance The Franco-Ottoman Alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish Alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between the King of France Francis I and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Suleiman I. The strategic and sometimes tactical alliance was o ...

, in which the Ottomans would attack southern Italy and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

under

Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...

, and

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

would attack northern Italy with 50,000 men. Suleiman led an army of 300,000 from Constantinople to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

, with the objective of transporting them to Italy with the fleet.''History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey'' Ezel Kural Shaw p.97''ff'

/ref> The Ottoman fleet gathered in Vlorë, Avlona with 100 galleys, accompanied by the French ambassador

Jean de La Forêt Jean de La Forêt, also Jean de La Forest or Jehan de la Forest (died 1537), was the first official French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, serving from 1534 to 1537.''Catholics and Sultans: The Church and the Ottoman Empire 1453-1923'' by Charl ...

. They landed in

Castro, Apulia Castro (Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-eastern Italy. History Castro derives its name from ''Castrum Minervae'' (Latin for "Athena's castle"), which was an ancient town of th ...

by the end of July 1537, and departed two weeks later with many prisoners.''The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571)'' by Kenneth M. Setto

/ref> Barbarossa had laid waste to the region around

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label=Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label= Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a ferti ...

, carrying about 10,000 people into slavery. Francis however failed to meet his commitment, and instead attacked the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Siege

The Ottomans departed from Southern Italy, and instead diverted their forces to mount the Siege of Corfu, a possession of the

, in August 1537. Suleiman decided to leave Avlona for Corfu on 19 August 1537.Garnier, p.135 The fleet, composed of about 320 ships, started bombarding Corfu on 26 August. Ottoman troops amounting to 25,000 men were landed on the island of Corfu. Le Voyage du Baron de Saint Blancard en Turquie Jean de la Vega 1538

Le Voyage du Baron de Saint Blancard en Turquie Jean de la Vega 1538

At the siege, the Ottomans were met by the French Admiral

Baron de Saint-Blancard Bertrand d'Ornesan, also Bertrand d'Ornezan, Baron de Saint-Blancard (d. 1540), was a French admiral in the service of King Francis I of France. He was general of the galleys of the Mediterranean (''Amiral de la Flotte du Levant''). Bertrand d'O ...

, who had left

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

on 15 August with 12 galleys, and arrived at Corfu in early September 1537. Saint-Blancard in vain attempted to convince the Ottomans to again raid the coasts of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and the March of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

. Eventually Suleiman, worried by a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

among his troops, decided to return with his fleet to Istanbul by mid-September without having captured Corfu. French ambassador Jean de La Forêt became seriously ill and died around that time. Francis I finally penetrated into Italy, and reached Rivoli on 31 October 1537. The fleet of Saint-Blancard wintered in

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

until 17 February 1538. It was decided that three ships would go to Constantinople, while the rest of the fleet returned to France. In Constantinople, they were received by the French ambassador

Charles de Marillac Charles de Marillac (c.1510 – 2 December 1560) was a French prelate and diplomat. Career De Marillac was born in Riom and was, by the age of twenty-two, an advocate in parliament in Paris. Suspected, however, of sympathizing with the re ...

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an O ...

provided for the expenses, and the French galleys finally left on 11 April 1538 to return to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

through Monastir. A consequence of the siege was that the Venetians decided to form an alliance with the Pope and the Habsburg against the Ottomans. On 18 June 1538,

signed the

Truce of Nice A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

with

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, thereby temporarily abandoning the

.Garnier, p.154

Notes

References

* Garnier, Edith ''L'Alliance Impie'' Editions du Felin, 2008, Paris
Interview
{{coord missing, Greece Corfu 1537 Conflicts in 1537 History of Corfu (city) Suleiman the Magnificent Corfu 1537 Corfu 1537 1537 in the Ottoman Empire 1537 in Europe 1537 in the Republic of Venice Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands