The Lion of St Mark
For two centuries the Venetian Republic had fought a series of costly wars against the Turks. Although small, the Republic leveraged its wealth and sea power to contest the Eastern Mediterranean against the greatest military power of its age. In 1669, the island of Crete- Venice’s most prized colonial possession- succumbed to the Turks after a brutal ten year siege, ending four centuries of unbroken Venetian rule. Emboldened by this victory, the Turks accepted the submission of the Hetman Petro Doshenko of the Don Cossacks, intervening on his behalf in 1671 to preserve his state from conquest by the fearsome Jan Sobieski. The Ottomans inflicted serious defeats against Poland, which was paralyzed by its impotent government and weakened by half a century of rebellion and civil war, and annexed Polish Ukraine and exacted annual tribute; Poland’s nobility refused to accept such humiliating losses, however, and under Sobieski’s leadership managed to eliminate the tribute and recover part of the lost territory in the 1676 Treaty of Zurawno. This was to be the Ottoman Empire’s last conquest; Sobieski, now king of Poland, exacted his revenge on September 12th 1683, annihilating the Turkish army against the walls of Vienna. Pope Innocent IX responded by orchestrating a new Holy League at Linz, and Venice was encouraged to join.
Since the end of the Italian wars in 1559 Venetian Republic had traditionally held itself aloof from European affairs, preoccupied in a futile attempt to hold off Turkish expansion. Nevertheless the situation was ideal for revenge, especially following the death, on October 14th 1683, of King Louis XIV of France. The glorious Sun King dedicated his life to centralizing power and brought France to the pinnacle of her glory, waging numerous expansionist wars against the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchs in Spain and Austria. France correspondingly had few friends in Europe- with the notable exception of the Ottoman Empire- and although Louis had ceased his wars in the Rhineland as a result of the Ottoman onslaught his death was taken by many as divine retribution- by Catholics for his unholy alliance with the sultan, and by Protestants for his persecution of the Hugonauts. Practically the accession of the Grand Dauphin, now Louis XV, led to a moderate reduction in European tensions. Spain, resentful of French ambitions in the Low Countries, declared war on France on October 26th 1683- amusingly the official heralds were addressed to the recently deceased Louis XIV- in the naive assumption that Austria’s victory over the Turks would encourage them to intervene. Leopold II had no intention of committing to a two front war, however, and the English king Charles II, first cousin of the Sun King and a fellow Catholic, refused to take part in an anti-Bourbon coalition, and Spain suffered an embarrassing and costly defeat in the brief but bloody war to follow. After the fall of Luxembourg on June 3rd Spain accepted London’s offer of mediation. By the peace of Ratisbon France was guaranteed her conquests- Alsace and Luxembourg- but agreed to turn over occupied fortresses in Lombardy to Spain and withdraw French ambitions on the Palatinate; the French further guaranteed a twenty year truce with the Emperor, tacitly abandoning their Turkish ally to the Austrian coalition[1] Although Leopold II was deeply disappointed in the terms he nevertheless accepted the armistice as a temporary necessity, freeing his hands to deal with the Turks once and for all.
Venice maintained a formidable navy, enjoying clear naval supremacy over the Turks for the duration of the conflict. The Venetian army was in poorer shape, but with financial assistance from the Papacy the Republic was able to expand their forces with mercenary forces, many recruited from Italy and Germany. Francesco Morosini, a formidable and experienced military commander, was chosen to lead the expedition. Morosini decided to begin hostilities with a descent on the Peloponnese, attacking the island of Lefkada on July 18th and securing the surrender of the garrison after sixteen days; the capture of this island and the surrounding area cemented Venetian control over the waters of southern Greece, and encouraged Venetian morale. Morosini had connections with local Maniot Greeks dating back to his excursions in the Cretan War, and he knew the province was close to revolt. In May 1685 Morosini and 8,000 soldiers advanced upon the old Venetian possession of Coron, defeating an Ottoman relief force and taking the town. Throughout the campaign Venice benefited from Morosini’s leadership, naval superiority, support from the local Greeks, and above all else the rapid advance of their Russian and Austrian allies, which prevented the Turks from seriously contesting their advance. Nevertheless the Ottomans launched tenacious counterattacks, and the Venetian ranks were continually thinned by disease, and by the winter of 1685 Morosini was forced to wait further reinforcements before advancing. 1686 began with an Ottoman counterattack and a Polish excursion into Moldavia, neither of which saw much success. Venice secured the service of the Swedish Otto Wilhelm Konigsmarck to command their army. The city of Pylos was besieged on July 3rd and surrendered on the 16th after a relief army was defeated, and Modon followed on the 7th. Konigsmarck, now with a force 12000 strong, followed these successes with attacks on Napflion on August 4th, Overcoming an ottoman relief force of 7,000 men but suffering from disease and continued attacks by the garrisons. A second relief attempt was defeated on August 29th and Napflion yielded on September 3rd. Further reinforcement allowed Morosini- now Doge to seize Corinth on August 7th. Venice was delayed again by disease and the need for reinforcement, and when the campaign resumed in July Morosini won a decisive victory over an army of 10,000 Ottomans at Patras, in the north of the Pelopponese, and secured the capture of two key fortresses in that town on July 25th following the defeat of the Ottoman army guarding the town. In the span of a single day Venice had won a massive victory on the site of her triumph at Lepanto a century prior; for his conquests Morosini was honored with the cognomen Peloponnesiacius and his statue was displayed in the Great Hall, unprecedented for any living Venetian. Russian attacks on Crimea and the impending Austrian invasion of Serbia emboldened Venice to consider attacking into Central Greece, particularly after Ottoman envoys appealed for a peace with the Venetians. Morosini, bolstered by veteran recruits from France and Germany, planned a decisive strike into Attica and Euboia, with the intention of securing Attica.
Athens was besieged on September 21st 1687, and the ensuing six day siege inflicted significant damage to the city, with the Propylaea being destroyed by Venetian artillery fire; upon the city’s surrender Morosini’s soldiers damaged many monuments, including the Parthenon, in their attempts to loot statues.[3] A Theban relief army was defeated outside the walls on the 26th and the garrison surrendered two days later on guarantee of passage to Smyrna. A further disease outbreak and the withdrawal of a Hanoverian mercenary contingent sapped Venetian strength, and Morosini was unable to recruit sufficient numbers of local Greeks, who were in any event unequal to the mercenary soldiers. Correspondingly a war council held on December 22nd 1687 decided to withdraw back to the Pelopponese. Nevertheless the overall war remained favorable to Venice- On August 12th a decisive Austrian victory at Mohacs avenged the earlier Hungarian catastrophe and led to a collapse of the Ottoman government, with the death of Grand Vizier Sari Sulayman Pasha and the deposition of Sultan Mehmed IV by his brother Suleiman II. Emperor Leopold II, which merely five years prior had seen Turks at the gate of Vienna, was now poised to secure all of Hungary and expand into the Balkans. The Holy League refused Turkish pleas for peace, and prepared for a final assault in 1688 to drive the Turks from the Balkans for good.[3]
Morosini was elected Doge on April 3rd 1688, but broke with tradition by continuing to remain in the field. This decision was justified, as the siege of Euboia would prove an arduous affair. 15,000 Venetians embarked on the island and besieged the town of Negroponte, held by a tenacious garrison of 6,000 soldiers. Morosini’s fleet was unable to maintain a secure blockade, and an outbreak of disease nearly ended the campaign, but news of Austria’s victory at Belgrade[4] enabled Konigsmarck to corral his German mercenaries, and following the fall of Monemvasia on November 5th and the capture of Karystos in southern Euboia by Venetian-allied Greek rebels Negroponte was finally forced to surrender on November 14th; notably the garrison, despite assurances of safe passage, would be massacred by the unruly mercenary forces.[5] Morosini’s gambit had succeeded, albeit at hefty cost in lives. The following year saw continued naval skirmishing in the Aegean; the Venetians occupied Naxos in June of 1689, but failed to take Chios or decisively confront the Ottoman navy.
Venice primarily concentrated her war effort Greece, but she also conducted operations in the Adriatic littoral, capturing the key Ottoman fortresses of Sinj and Knin; by 1688 the Venetians had secured all of inland Dalmatia. In conjunction with an Austrian offensive into Serbia the Venetians expanded their ambitions against Montenegro and the Ottoman possessions in Epirus and Albania. Montenegro had longstanding ties to Venice, although its rulers tended to vacillate between Venetian and Ottoman suzerainty. The pro Venetian Rrufim Bolijevik died in 1685, and his successor, Arsenije III Carnojevic began to court the Austrians, a development Venice felt obliged to counter, and military aid stirred the populartion to revolt. A largely Montenegrin force was brutally defeated and massacred by the Turks Vrtijelka, which decisively shifted Montenegrin attitudes against the Turks; correspondingly when the Venetians returned to Montenegro they secured the territory as a client state. Ottoman counteroffensive in 1688 were destroyed and by September Venice had occupied the fortified monastery of Cetinje. On September 11th 1690 Venice captured the Albanian port of Valona; the Ottomans abandoned the province, and Venice rapidly secured all of Epirus and Albania, with the fall of Arta in June 1691 securing the province. The Turks were unable to offer meaningful resistance as the Austrians continued their offensive, raiding deep into Macedonia in the face of scant resistance. Under the leadership of the formidable Duke Charles of Lorraine Austrians annihilated a Turkish army at the battle of Zenta, triggering a Bulgarian revolt in August 1690.[7]
Euboia’s capture seriously weakened the Ottoman position on Crete, which came under attack in 1692. The siege of Candia lasted until 1693; despite Euboia’s fall the Ottomans were still able to maintain sporadic contact with the garrison through their ports in Asia Minor. Morosini, despite ailing health, insisted on leading the ensuing campaign personally, although he would not live to see Venice’s ultimate victory, dying there on December 19th 1693, two months after the city’s surrender.
The fall of Crete, failure of the Ottoman counteroffensive into Serbia and France’s continued neutrality forced the Sultan to admit defeat, suing for peace in January 1694. Venice was obligated to evacuate Albania, but confirmed in all her other conquests and additionally gained Cyprus, Rhodes, and a war indemnity. The Sublime Porte further yielded sovereignty over Ragusa and Montenegro. Poland Lithuania regained Podolia and additionally annexed Bessarabia and the Black Sea port of Odessa; Russia gained Crimea. Yet the Austrian Empire emerged as the true winner of the conflict- Leopold II became the true hegemon of the Balkans, regaining Transylvania and the Banat and control over Serbia, Bosnia and the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. Finally the Sultan was obliged to pledge a twenty year truce, and demolish border fortifications in Nis and Dobrogea.
[1]The early death of the Sun King is not enough to end the Bourbon-Habsburg rivalry but it does ease tensions and probably averts or at least delays the Nine Year’s War, allowing the Great Turkish War to be more decisive
[2]Sparing the Parthenon is an arbitrary, but I hope forgivable, offense.
[3]OTL the outbreak of the Nine Year’s War diverted Austrian attention and emboldened the Turks, while also depriving the Venetians of possible recruits. TTL Austria is undistracted and the new French king is downsizing the army, so the Venetian campaign continues with greater momentum.
[4]OTL Austria took Belgrade and advanced as far as Nis, but the outbreak of the Seven Year’s War forced them to wind down the campaign and a Turkish counteroffensive retook Serbia. TTL Austria doubles down and is able to secure Serbia for good, and the Turkish position is significantly weakened. The disease outbreak also spares Konigsmarck, who TTL survives to complete the campaign; this and peace in the Rhineland keeps the German mercenaries in the fight longer.
[5]Euboia’s fall is the first major divergence in the campaign, and the lynchpin of Venice’s later successes, specifically the island’s fall makes the fall of Crete exceedingly likely if not inevitable.
[7]Absent the outbreak of the Nine Year’s War, and with the capable Duke Charles of Lorraine, Austria is able to consolidate control over Serbia and keep up the pressure; the combination allows both Austria and Venice to walk away with substantially greater gains than OTL.
Since the end of the Italian wars in 1559 Venetian Republic had traditionally held itself aloof from European affairs, preoccupied in a futile attempt to hold off Turkish expansion. Nevertheless the situation was ideal for revenge, especially following the death, on October 14th 1683, of King Louis XIV of France. The glorious Sun King dedicated his life to centralizing power and brought France to the pinnacle of her glory, waging numerous expansionist wars against the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchs in Spain and Austria. France correspondingly had few friends in Europe- with the notable exception of the Ottoman Empire- and although Louis had ceased his wars in the Rhineland as a result of the Ottoman onslaught his death was taken by many as divine retribution- by Catholics for his unholy alliance with the sultan, and by Protestants for his persecution of the Hugonauts. Practically the accession of the Grand Dauphin, now Louis XV, led to a moderate reduction in European tensions. Spain, resentful of French ambitions in the Low Countries, declared war on France on October 26th 1683- amusingly the official heralds were addressed to the recently deceased Louis XIV- in the naive assumption that Austria’s victory over the Turks would encourage them to intervene. Leopold II had no intention of committing to a two front war, however, and the English king Charles II, first cousin of the Sun King and a fellow Catholic, refused to take part in an anti-Bourbon coalition, and Spain suffered an embarrassing and costly defeat in the brief but bloody war to follow. After the fall of Luxembourg on June 3rd Spain accepted London’s offer of mediation. By the peace of Ratisbon France was guaranteed her conquests- Alsace and Luxembourg- but agreed to turn over occupied fortresses in Lombardy to Spain and withdraw French ambitions on the Palatinate; the French further guaranteed a twenty year truce with the Emperor, tacitly abandoning their Turkish ally to the Austrian coalition[1] Although Leopold II was deeply disappointed in the terms he nevertheless accepted the armistice as a temporary necessity, freeing his hands to deal with the Turks once and for all.
Venice maintained a formidable navy, enjoying clear naval supremacy over the Turks for the duration of the conflict. The Venetian army was in poorer shape, but with financial assistance from the Papacy the Republic was able to expand their forces with mercenary forces, many recruited from Italy and Germany. Francesco Morosini, a formidable and experienced military commander, was chosen to lead the expedition. Morosini decided to begin hostilities with a descent on the Peloponnese, attacking the island of Lefkada on July 18th and securing the surrender of the garrison after sixteen days; the capture of this island and the surrounding area cemented Venetian control over the waters of southern Greece, and encouraged Venetian morale. Morosini had connections with local Maniot Greeks dating back to his excursions in the Cretan War, and he knew the province was close to revolt. In May 1685 Morosini and 8,000 soldiers advanced upon the old Venetian possession of Coron, defeating an Ottoman relief force and taking the town. Throughout the campaign Venice benefited from Morosini’s leadership, naval superiority, support from the local Greeks, and above all else the rapid advance of their Russian and Austrian allies, which prevented the Turks from seriously contesting their advance. Nevertheless the Ottomans launched tenacious counterattacks, and the Venetian ranks were continually thinned by disease, and by the winter of 1685 Morosini was forced to wait further reinforcements before advancing. 1686 began with an Ottoman counterattack and a Polish excursion into Moldavia, neither of which saw much success. Venice secured the service of the Swedish Otto Wilhelm Konigsmarck to command their army. The city of Pylos was besieged on July 3rd and surrendered on the 16th after a relief army was defeated, and Modon followed on the 7th. Konigsmarck, now with a force 12000 strong, followed these successes with attacks on Napflion on August 4th, Overcoming an ottoman relief force of 7,000 men but suffering from disease and continued attacks by the garrisons. A second relief attempt was defeated on August 29th and Napflion yielded on September 3rd. Further reinforcement allowed Morosini- now Doge to seize Corinth on August 7th. Venice was delayed again by disease and the need for reinforcement, and when the campaign resumed in July Morosini won a decisive victory over an army of 10,000 Ottomans at Patras, in the north of the Pelopponese, and secured the capture of two key fortresses in that town on July 25th following the defeat of the Ottoman army guarding the town. In the span of a single day Venice had won a massive victory on the site of her triumph at Lepanto a century prior; for his conquests Morosini was honored with the cognomen Peloponnesiacius and his statue was displayed in the Great Hall, unprecedented for any living Venetian. Russian attacks on Crimea and the impending Austrian invasion of Serbia emboldened Venice to consider attacking into Central Greece, particularly after Ottoman envoys appealed for a peace with the Venetians. Morosini, bolstered by veteran recruits from France and Germany, planned a decisive strike into Attica and Euboia, with the intention of securing Attica.
Athens was besieged on September 21st 1687, and the ensuing six day siege inflicted significant damage to the city, with the Propylaea being destroyed by Venetian artillery fire; upon the city’s surrender Morosini’s soldiers damaged many monuments, including the Parthenon, in their attempts to loot statues.[3] A Theban relief army was defeated outside the walls on the 26th and the garrison surrendered two days later on guarantee of passage to Smyrna. A further disease outbreak and the withdrawal of a Hanoverian mercenary contingent sapped Venetian strength, and Morosini was unable to recruit sufficient numbers of local Greeks, who were in any event unequal to the mercenary soldiers. Correspondingly a war council held on December 22nd 1687 decided to withdraw back to the Pelopponese. Nevertheless the overall war remained favorable to Venice- On August 12th a decisive Austrian victory at Mohacs avenged the earlier Hungarian catastrophe and led to a collapse of the Ottoman government, with the death of Grand Vizier Sari Sulayman Pasha and the deposition of Sultan Mehmed IV by his brother Suleiman II. Emperor Leopold II, which merely five years prior had seen Turks at the gate of Vienna, was now poised to secure all of Hungary and expand into the Balkans. The Holy League refused Turkish pleas for peace, and prepared for a final assault in 1688 to drive the Turks from the Balkans for good.[3]
Morosini was elected Doge on April 3rd 1688, but broke with tradition by continuing to remain in the field. This decision was justified, as the siege of Euboia would prove an arduous affair. 15,000 Venetians embarked on the island and besieged the town of Negroponte, held by a tenacious garrison of 6,000 soldiers. Morosini’s fleet was unable to maintain a secure blockade, and an outbreak of disease nearly ended the campaign, but news of Austria’s victory at Belgrade[4] enabled Konigsmarck to corral his German mercenaries, and following the fall of Monemvasia on November 5th and the capture of Karystos in southern Euboia by Venetian-allied Greek rebels Negroponte was finally forced to surrender on November 14th; notably the garrison, despite assurances of safe passage, would be massacred by the unruly mercenary forces.[5] Morosini’s gambit had succeeded, albeit at hefty cost in lives. The following year saw continued naval skirmishing in the Aegean; the Venetians occupied Naxos in June of 1689, but failed to take Chios or decisively confront the Ottoman navy.
Venice primarily concentrated her war effort Greece, but she also conducted operations in the Adriatic littoral, capturing the key Ottoman fortresses of Sinj and Knin; by 1688 the Venetians had secured all of inland Dalmatia. In conjunction with an Austrian offensive into Serbia the Venetians expanded their ambitions against Montenegro and the Ottoman possessions in Epirus and Albania. Montenegro had longstanding ties to Venice, although its rulers tended to vacillate between Venetian and Ottoman suzerainty. The pro Venetian Rrufim Bolijevik died in 1685, and his successor, Arsenije III Carnojevic began to court the Austrians, a development Venice felt obliged to counter, and military aid stirred the populartion to revolt. A largely Montenegrin force was brutally defeated and massacred by the Turks Vrtijelka, which decisively shifted Montenegrin attitudes against the Turks; correspondingly when the Venetians returned to Montenegro they secured the territory as a client state. Ottoman counteroffensive in 1688 were destroyed and by September Venice had occupied the fortified monastery of Cetinje. On September 11th 1690 Venice captured the Albanian port of Valona; the Ottomans abandoned the province, and Venice rapidly secured all of Epirus and Albania, with the fall of Arta in June 1691 securing the province. The Turks were unable to offer meaningful resistance as the Austrians continued their offensive, raiding deep into Macedonia in the face of scant resistance. Under the leadership of the formidable Duke Charles of Lorraine Austrians annihilated a Turkish army at the battle of Zenta, triggering a Bulgarian revolt in August 1690.[7]
Euboia’s capture seriously weakened the Ottoman position on Crete, which came under attack in 1692. The siege of Candia lasted until 1693; despite Euboia’s fall the Ottomans were still able to maintain sporadic contact with the garrison through their ports in Asia Minor. Morosini, despite ailing health, insisted on leading the ensuing campaign personally, although he would not live to see Venice’s ultimate victory, dying there on December 19th 1693, two months after the city’s surrender.
The fall of Crete, failure of the Ottoman counteroffensive into Serbia and France’s continued neutrality forced the Sultan to admit defeat, suing for peace in January 1694. Venice was obligated to evacuate Albania, but confirmed in all her other conquests and additionally gained Cyprus, Rhodes, and a war indemnity. The Sublime Porte further yielded sovereignty over Ragusa and Montenegro. Poland Lithuania regained Podolia and additionally annexed Bessarabia and the Black Sea port of Odessa; Russia gained Crimea. Yet the Austrian Empire emerged as the true winner of the conflict- Leopold II became the true hegemon of the Balkans, regaining Transylvania and the Banat and control over Serbia, Bosnia and the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. Finally the Sultan was obliged to pledge a twenty year truce, and demolish border fortifications in Nis and Dobrogea.
[1]The early death of the Sun King is not enough to end the Bourbon-Habsburg rivalry but it does ease tensions and probably averts or at least delays the Nine Year’s War, allowing the Great Turkish War to be more decisive
[2]Sparing the Parthenon is an arbitrary, but I hope forgivable, offense.
[3]OTL the outbreak of the Nine Year’s War diverted Austrian attention and emboldened the Turks, while also depriving the Venetians of possible recruits. TTL Austria is undistracted and the new French king is downsizing the army, so the Venetian campaign continues with greater momentum.
[4]OTL Austria took Belgrade and advanced as far as Nis, but the outbreak of the Seven Year’s War forced them to wind down the campaign and a Turkish counteroffensive retook Serbia. TTL Austria doubles down and is able to secure Serbia for good, and the Turkish position is significantly weakened. The disease outbreak also spares Konigsmarck, who TTL survives to complete the campaign; this and peace in the Rhineland keeps the German mercenaries in the fight longer.
[5]Euboia’s fall is the first major divergence in the campaign, and the lynchpin of Venice’s later successes, specifically the island’s fall makes the fall of Crete exceedingly likely if not inevitable.
[7]Absent the outbreak of the Nine Year’s War, and with the capable Duke Charles of Lorraine, Austria is able to consolidate control over Serbia and keep up the pressure; the combination allows both Austria and Venice to walk away with substantially greater gains than OTL.
Last edited: