The siege of Negroponte (modern

Chalkis 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 fro ...

) was undertaken by the forces of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

from July to October 1688. The Venetian army, composed of several mercenary and allied contingents from western Europe, had succeeded in capturing the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

in the previous years, and proceeded to capture

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and attack Negroponte, the main Ottoman stronghold in Central Greece. The Venetian siege was hampered by the Ottoman resistance and their inability to completely isolate the town, as the Ottoman general Ismail Pasha managed to ferry supplies to the besieged garrison. Furthermore, the Venetian army suffered many casualties from an outbreak of the plague in the Venetian camp, which led to the death of 4,000 troops and the experienced general Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck. The departure of the Florentine and Maltese contingents further weakened the Venetians, and when the German mercenaries refused to remain there in winter quarters, the Venetian commander,

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Francesco Morosini Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the Venetian noble Morosini family.Encyclopæd ...

, had to concede defeat and retreat to the Peloponnese.

References

Sources

* * * * 1688 in the Ottoman Empire 17th century in Greece Negroponte History of Chalcis Negroponte 1688 Negroponte 1688 Negroponte Negroponte 1688 {{Siege-stub