Venetian Cyprus and the Siege of Famagusta

Caught between Europe and the Middle East, Cyprus is no stranger to foreign invasion. And, that's exactly what occurred in the late 16th century during the Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) when some 100,000+ Ottoman soldiers landed near the port city of Limassol. On order of Sultan Selim II, they were to wrest control of the strategic island from the Republic of Venice. Before this, the Kingdom of Cyprus had been one of the last surviving Crusader States. However, under the reign of Catherine Cornaro, a growing Ottoman threat pushed Venice to annexed the island in 1489.

Not unprepared, the Venetian defenders fought bravely in face of overwhelming odds. Nonetheless, the capital of Nicosia would fall in July 1570. Victory seemed almost guaranteed for the Ottomans, who basically controlled all of Cyprus, besides the city of Famagusta. Here, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha would face off with Marco Antonio Bragadin (also known as Marcantonio Bragadin), who, rather unexpectedly, was able to stall the Ottomans for nearly a full year during the Siege of Famagusta.

This would have a major impact outside Cyorus, as it allowed the nascent Holy Language to gather its forces, which later dealt the Ottomans a defeat at the Battle of Lepanto.

#cyprus #turkey #venice #ottomanempire #history #ghostcountries

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
01:40 Byzantine Cyprus and the Reign of Isaac Doukas Komnenos
02:28 English Conquest and the Knights Templar
03:37 Making the Kingdom of Cyprus
05:07 Catherine Cornaro, the Last Queen of Cyprus
06:24 Ottoman Expansionism, Selim II, and Joseph Nasi
09:08 Invasion of Cyprus
10:36 Marco Antonio Bragadin Prepares Famagusta's Defenses
12:17 Siege of Famagusta
15:41 The Horrific Fate of Bragadin
17:17 Famagusta's Legacy and the Battle of Lepanto

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Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC by 3.0)

Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International (CC by 4.0)

[GhostCountries]

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Oh, and some of you might've noticed things look a bit different in this video when compared to more recent ones and that's because it's part of a collab that was started before we made some stylistic changes here on the channel.

So, anyway, we hope you can still enjoy this blast from Ghost Countries' past!

[micahistory]

wow cyprus' history is so fascinating. Definitely one of the most fought over places in history. Great video!

[cneofficial]

Your videos are so high quality and so underrated.

[kirbyward]

Really interesting piece of geopolitical history
Nicely done

[josepholiveira]

Before the video came out, I thought it was an odd choice to specifically release on Halloween. Not that everything coming out today needs to be Spooky, but I figure if you're going to set the "we're releasing a video" timer for today, it's surprising when it isn't horror themed.
Then we got to the end bit, and now I get it.

[josephc]

That last part . . . my goodness. Poor Bragadin.

[StoicHistorian]

Great vid, such an understudied topic!

[modelnanpresident]

Great video! It seems the algorithm is getting better as of late, recommending me some actually good channels

[markkelly]

Informative and great graphics. I love this channel

[andreascovano]

I feel terrible for poor Bragadin. Absolutely Evil what happened to him.

[WelcomeToDERPLAND]

The acts carried out by the Ottoman upon Bragadin is some of the most barbaric and horrific I can think of in all of history, what a shameful & dreadful end for simply carrying out a courageous act of defiance...


A shame they weren't relieved in time.

[shawndorisian]

Not only were Roman Catholics on the Cyprus but their Eastern Catholic brothers were also on the island, the Maronites since the sixth century.

[CodeElement]

What software or program do u use for your maps?

[micahistory]

i can't even imagine the pain bragadin went through, what a horrific way to die

[HyperboreanWizardSleeve]

2:15 alway show hospitality, and meet guests with open hands, least they ensheath a sword that may have gone unused. Especially if they have an army.

[waltercommunitycollege]

Can you make a video about Appalachia?

[cjthebeesknees]

Venetian scarecrows didn’t catch on huh..

[MatthewSereysothea-hfjs]

Poor Bragadino!
His name was a byword for
Osmanli treachery

[rolloxra]

Why the world don’t condemn the Turks invading Cyprus in 1974 like they do with Israel? 🤔 interesting…

[exploringtheplanetsn]

Some people never learn, it’s seems they have rather taken a chance and surrender, but they payed with there life.