page_title: Siege of Candia
section_title: Siege
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Candia / Siege
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: STORIA VENETA – 129: 1669 – DOPO 22 ANNI DI ASSEDIO CANDIA SI ARRENDE. VENEZIA ABBANDONA CANDIA “Spettacolo miserando offriva Candia, sembrando piuttosto un sepolcro composto da vaste ruine, che una città che resistè allo sforzo di tanta gente pel corso di quasi tre anni. Gli abitanti ridotti a soli 4.000 d’ogni età e di ogni sesso, il dì 26 settembre assegnato alla partenza, recaronsi smunti e domati da tanti travagli al capitan generale Francesco Morosini, pregandolo ad una voce: volere esso tradurli in altro luogo non riconoscendo più la patria loro squallida e deformata, e quel che era peggiore caduta in mano a’ i nemici di Cristo”.
context_page_description: The Siege of Candia was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled city. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, or a total of 21 years, it is the second longest siege in history after the siege of Ceuta; however, the Ottomans were ultimately victorious despite Candia's resistance.
  The long duration of the siege and cost to the Ottoman side, can be attritbuted to helping the decline of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Great Turkish War.
context_section_description: The siege of Candia began in May 1648. The Ottomans spent three months laying siege to the city, cutting off the water supply, and disrupting Venice's sea lanes to the city. For the next 16 years, they would bombard the city to little effect.
  The Venetians, in turn, sought to blockade the Ottoman-held Dardanelles to prevent the resupply of the Ottoman expeditionary force on Crete. This effort led to a series of naval actions. On 21 June 1655 and 26 August 1656, the Venetians were victorious, although the Venetian commander, Lorenzo Marcello, was killed in the latter engagement. However, on 17–19 July 1657, the Ottoman navy soundly defeated the Venetians and the Venetian captain, Lazzaro Mocenigo, was killed by a falling mast.
  Venice received more aid from other western European states after the 7 November 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees and the consequent peace between France and Spain. However, the Peace of Vasvár (August 1664) released additional Ottoman forces for action against the Venetians in Candia.
  In 1666, a Venetian attempt to recapture La Canea failed. The following year, Colonel Andrea Barozzi, a Venetian military engineer, defected to the Ottomans and gave them information on weak spots in Candia's fortifications. On 24 July 1669, a French land/sea expedition under Mocenigo not only failed to lift the siege, but also lost the fleet's vice-flagship, La Thérèse a 900-ton French warship armed with 58 cannons, to an accidental explosion. This dual disaster was devastating to the morale of the city's defenders.
  Apparently chastened by their failed relief effort and the loss of so valuable a warship, the French abandoned Candia in August 1669 leaving Captain General Francesco Morosini, the commander of Venetian forces, with only 3,600 fit men and scant supplies to defend the fortress. He, therefore, accepted terms and surrendered to Ahmed Köprülü, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire on 27 September 1669. However, his surrender without first receiving authorization to do so from the Venetian Senate made Morosini a controversial figure in Venice for some years afterward.
  As part of the surrender terms, all Christians were allowed to leave Candia with whatever they could carry while Venice retained possession of Gramvousa, Souda and Spinalonga, fortified islands that shielded natural harbors where Venetian ships could stop during their voyages to the eastern Mediterranean. After Candia's fall, the Venetians somewhat offset their defeat by expanding their holdings in Dalmatia.
caption: Venetians abandon Candia. Illustration by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri, 1863.
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