Book Review - Empires of the Sea

Empires of the Sea describes the Mediterranean sea battles between the Christian and the Ottomans between 1521 and 1580.  The Ottomans, under Suleiman the Magnificent (Suleiman I), used their overwhelming numbers in both men and ships to assert their claim to the eastern Mediterranean.  They announced their arrival by sacking Rhodes (Siege of Rhodes).

Rhodes

The Knights of Hospitaller (AKA Knights of Rhodes) who, with about 7,000 men, put up a six month  fight against 100,000 to 200,000 Ottomans.

Knight of Hospitaller

The castle technology did what it could in Rhodes and actually withstood Ottoman siege tactics on Malta with the help of the Maltese soldiers.  Well, the Ottomans took St Elmo but couldn't take the whole island.

Malta looks pretty sweet

Somehow the Venetians still ruled Cyprus and Crete but with Selim II now at the helm of the Ottoman force, he made the capture of Cyprus his top priority.

100 mi from the Ottoman shores!

How did the Venetians still control it?

The overwhelmed Venetian force was able to hold off for 11 months during the siege of Famagusta in hopes that the Holy League would come to their aid.  The help never came and the Ottomans seized Cyprus.  This was particularly bad for Marco Antonio Bragadin.

John of Austria lead the Holy league in attack at the battle of Lepanto.  The battle of Lepanto proved to be a resounding success for the Christians.  The Venetians brought their galleasses which were slow merchant ships converted basically into a gun deck.  These ships were towed out in front and inflicted some serious damage on the Ottoman fleet.

In addition to the battles we get insight into some of the characters of the day.

We get a glimpse of the difference between the aggressiveness and decisiveness of Charles V and the reserved and indecisive nature of Philip II which earned him the nickname Philip the Prudent. (Side note - When Charles V abdicated he gave his younger brother Ferdinand I the title of Holy Roman Emperor and Philip got the Spanish Empire which included the Netherlands and Italy).

The star of the book is probably Barbarossa (Hayreddin Barbarossa AKA - Red Beard).  A Barbary Corsair who inherited his name from his older brother came from a Corsair family know for piracy along the Spanish and Italian coast.  The family joined up with the Ottomans and became a powerful tool for Suleiman.  Barbarossa became Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral) after some success against Andrea Doria's fleet.  While Barbarossa was in charge the Ottomans were basically unbeaten in the Mediterranean.

(Not so sure about the blue eyes but that Red Beard)

It was enlightening to see how powerful the Ottoman Empire was in the late 16th century.  If Malta fell it certainly would have helped Suleiman achieve his goal of taking over Rome.  I was impressed that Venice was still in control of Cyprus with it being so close to Ottoman territory.  Basically the Holy League, thanks to the influx of wealth from the new world, were able to keep the Ottomans out of the Western Mediterranean.  It was argued that the battle of Lepanto not only gave the Christians some confidence after a string of defeats but it proved that the islands were just not as valuable as the potential risk of the loss of your fleet.  If the result at Lepanto would have been reversed the Ottomans would most likely have run rampant.  The Ottoman fleet was rebuilt but the loss of experienced sailors could not be replaced.  The influx of wealth from the new world allowed Spanish silver to become of better weight than that being produced in the Ottoman mint which allowed the Spanish to extract natural resources form the Ottoman merchants.  

It was also is one of the last chapters of galley warfare which consisted of light guns, ramming and boarding with hand to hand combat held on decks.  Fully rigged sailing ships (English) with heavier guns which also fired more rapidly.  Like those sailed by Sir Francis Drake when he took down the Spanish Armada.  It was argued that the backslide of the Ottoman navy after Lepanto allowed Britain to establish a dominance in India when it would have been half the trip for the Ottomans.