The siege of Negroponte was fought between the forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, led by Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

in person, and the garrison of the Venetian colony of Negroponte (

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

), the capital of the Venetian possession of

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

in Central Greece. The Ottoman sultan

laid siege to the fortress at Negroponte. The siege lasted for almost a month, and, despite great Ottoman casualties, ended in the capture of the city and the island of Euboea by the Ottomans.

Naval battle and siege

Mehmed II started preparations to respond to the destruction caused by the Venetian navy on the islands and

Enez Enez is a town in Edirne Province, in East Thrace, Turkey. The ancient name of the town was Ainos (), Latinised as Aenus. It is the seat of Enez District.

, and to capture this island, which was considered an outpost of the Venetians. However, these preparations were kept secret and the expedition was presented as if it would be on

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. Finally, a large fleet under the command of Mahmud Pasha set out from

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

in 1470, captured the island of Shira on the way, and then besieged Negroponte. The Venetians sent a relief force under the command of Nicolò Canal, known as "a man of letters rather than a fighter, a learned man readier to read books than direct the affairs of the sea." The relief force could not prevent the Turkish fleet from entering the Negroponte canal on June 14, 1470. Mehmed

Simultaneously, Mehmed II arrived before Negroponte by land with a force of 70 thousand soldiers. He gathered his ships on the part of the island closest to the land and built a bridge connecting the land and the island for three days. In this way, cannons could be transported to the island by horses. Now the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

was surrounded by both sea and land, with one side of the sea route remaining open in front of the castle, where the defenders could more easily target enemy ships. For this reason, as was done for the fall of Constantinople, some of the ships were transported by land to the other side of the castle and thus that road was also closed. The first attack on the castle started from the shore. The castle was well defend, including by very high walls built of chipped

stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

from the ground up and reinforced with lime and mortar. There was also a deep

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

dug on the beach side. The Ottomans placed numerous

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

rifles A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifle ...

and springs around the castle and bombarded. Despite efforts from the defenders to repair the walls, some were soon sufficiently damaged to allow an attack. The Venetian fleet attempted to come to the aid of the defenders, including by destroying the bridge between the island where the castle stood and the land, to little effect. The Venetian navy then entered the harbor and attempted to land soldiers to come to the aid of the garrison. A naval battle ensued, ending in Turkish victory, with the loss of several ships by the Venetians and the deaths of several of their captains, including

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Zuan Longo and Zuan Tran. The Venetian commander, admiral Nicolò Canal, was severely criticized for his role in this defeat, leading to his dismissal and exile. The siege continued for several days following the defeat of the Venetian relief force. The Turkish launched their final attack against the castle started on the night of Wednesday, July 11, 1470, and continued until the morning, and the castle fell on Thursday, July 12.

Aftermath

Because the city had refused to surrender and was taken "by the sword", as was customary, the conquering Ottoman troops were given three days to plunder, loot, and pillage. The Christian men were slaughtered, while women and children were enslaved, and Venetian soldiers were executed. More than 6,000 Venetians and Greeks died in the defense of Negroponte. Only 30 known survivors made it back to Venice, consisting of 15 women, 12 children, and 3 men. There are various legends that the garrison commander, '' bailo'' Paolo Erizzo, was sawn in half. In fact, the prisoner of the siege Giovanni Maria Angiolello states that Paolo died in the first attack: "Pollo Erizzo, Bailo of the city, who was killed in the first onslaught, that is, at the defense of the Bourkos."Giovan-Maria Angiolello Memoir. Pierre A. MacKay Canal was tried, fined, stripped of his rank, and exiled to Portogruaro. Most of these stories are fictitious, though the suffering of the civilians in a city taken by force was quite real. For this reason, many places, like Athens, chose capitulation over resistance.

References

1470 in Europe Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Sieges involving the Republic of Venice Sieges of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Conflicts in 1470 1470s in the Ottoman Empire Medieval Euboea History of Chalcis Battles of Mehmed II Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479) {{Ottoman-battle-stub