Major Battles of the Ottoman Empire

The Fall of Constantinople is one of the biggest events and turning
points in history. Constantine, which once belonged to the Byzantine
Empire (Christians) was completely over taken by the Ottoman Turks. The
doorway to the city of Constantine, was finally opened with the Battle
of Varna in 1443. During this time, the union of the Orthodox and
Catholic churches was looking very good, and the threat of the Turk was
very real for Eastern Europe. Taking advantage of the nearing
unification of the church, Pope Eugenious IV issued a call to stand
against the Ottoman Turks…very few responded. The ruler of Transylvania
John Hunyadi and King Ladislas of Hungary heeded the call, and they
accompanied by 20,000 men, conquered the city of Varna which had been in
the hands of the Ottoman Turks. However, shortly thereafter, the Turkish
Sultan Murad came with a much larger army, and once again, Varna was in
Ottoman hands. This opened the door for the final onslaught against the
Byzantine Empire. On May 29, 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the
Ottomans under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. Three years later,
Athens surrendered to the Ottomans, and by 1478, Serbia, Bosnia,
Wallachia, and the Khanate of Crimea all came under the rule of the
Ottoman Empire.

The Battle of Lepanto was a key naval engagement during the Ottoman-
Habsburg wars. To confront the ever growing threat of the Ottoman
empire, and to challenge their naval supremacy, the Christian powers
assembled a large fleet under the leadership of Don John of Austria in
1571. The Christian fleet consisted of ships from the nations of Venice,
Spain, the Papal States, Genoa, Savoy, and Malta. In total, this fleet
consisted of 206 galleys and 6 gallasses (large galleys that mounted
artillery). In the Gulf of Patras, off the coast of Greece, they
encountered the Ottoman navy of Ali Pasha, which consisted of 230
galleys and 56 galliots. The aftermath of the battle was harsh on both
sides. The Christian powers lost 50 galleys and suffered approximately
13,000 casualties. The Ottomans on the other hand, lost 210 ships, 130
of which were captured. In addition to the death of Ali Pasha, the
Ottomans lost 25,000 men. This battle stemmed Ottoman expansion in the
Mediterranean.