The Longest Siege in History

The Siege of Candia, the then capital of the Venetian held Mediterranean island of Crete by the Ottoman Empire in the 1600’s, is widely regarded as the longest siege in history. The Ottoman’s began the siege of the city in 1648, and in the year 1669 finally took over the city after twenty one years of constant blockade.

In the 1600’s the Christian Venetians and the Muslim Ottomans had long been fighting for dominance over the Mediterranean. By the mid 1600’s Venice’s power was decreasing, while the Ottoman’s only grew stronger.

While the main islands of the Mediterranean had been largely held by Christian nations for centuries, after 1453 and the fall of Constantinople to the Turks the tide began to turn. In 1522 Rhodes was conquered by the Turks and in 1529 Turkish corsairs from Algiers sacked many Mediterranean towns, including Rettimo in Crete. In 1571 Cyprus also fell to the Turks.

The Venetians saw the precipitous nature of their hold on Crete and did much to stay out of the way of the Turkish Sultan. As a result of this appeasement policy, no direct attempt was made by the Ottomans to take over Crete. In 1644 however, the Knights of Malta attacked an Ottoman force on its way from Egypt to the Ottoman capital of Istanbul (originally Constantinople but renamed by the Turks). The Knights of Malta destroyed the convoy and landed on Crete with the remains of the booty, some of which included part of the Sultan’s harem (which had been returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.)

The Sultan was incensed and immediately sent an army of 60,000 Turks to take over the island and punish the Knights of Malta as well as the Venetians. This army was led by Yussuf Pasha. Between 1645 and 1648 the Turks conquered the rest of the island and prepared to take the capital city of Candia.

The official siege began in May of 1648 and started with the Turks cutting off the water supply to the city. Many naval battles were fought in the ensuing years as both sides sought to reinforce their armies, while keeping their opponents from doing the same.

In 1669, after two decades of war, a final attempt was made by a combined French army on land and an allied force by sea, to save the beleaguered city. In August of 1669 the French decided to abandon the city and this left the Venetian forces with an inadequate number of men to continue the defense.

With promises that the Venetians would be allowed to leave the city unharmed, the Venetian General Francesco Morosini surrendered to the Ottoman Vizier Ahmen Korpulu on September 27 1669, ending the longest siege in recorded history.