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Venetian Rule
 The
Venetians wanted Cyprus for purely mercenary reasons. Its
strategic position made it an ideal point from which Venice
could dominate all eastern trade routes, and the island was
a rich source of good timber for shipbuilding. To protect
their asset, an immediate plan of heavy re-fortification took
place. The mountain castles were dismantled to prevent them
being used by any internal insurgent force and the major cities
were redeveloped by the finest military architects in anticipation
of attack from the Ottomans.
After coming to power in Cyprus the Venetians had continued
to pay dues to the Mameluke Egyptians; however after the Egyptians
had been conquered by the Ottomans, taxes were paid to Constantinople.
It became increasingly obvious that the Ottomans would endeavor
to conquer Cyprus and all possible measures were taken to
prevent this happening.
The walls around the cities of Nicosia and Famagusta are
strong testament to the talent of their military engineers
and architects. The Venetians erected huge earthworks with
dressed stone facings, interspersed at intervals with bastions
from which to direct their cannon power.
Ottoman Invasion
All their efforts eventually proved in vain, when after almost
eighty years, in which building work had been the main project,
the Ottomans landed at Larnaca in 1570. These forces, led
by Lala Mustafa Pasa, put Nicosia under siege.
Terms of honorable surrender were placed before the Venetian
commanders but these they resolutely refused to accept. The
result was that Nicosia was taken after six weeks, with a
huge majority of the inhabitants being massacred and the city
looted. From the capital, Ottoman forces marched towards Kyrenia.
This city gave in without a shot, leaving only Famagusta to
be conquered.
The Siege of Famagusta
The siege of Famagusta took ten long months, the walls of
the city withstanding the assault of the Ottoman forces. The
bravery and tenacity of the Venetieans led by Marc Antonio
Bragadino have been throughly chronicled by past historians.
However, courage was not enough when the city ran out of supplies,
and stores expected to arrive from Venice failed to materialise.
| Eventually, despite causing loss of life to the
Ottoman forces, Bragadino was forced to capitulate
and signed the terms of surrender in August 1571.
After the surrender, trumped up charges were made
against Bragadino with the result that he was arrested,
imprisoned, tortured and then flayed alive. His
treatement being seen by the public, making them
realise the power of the Ottoman Empire was not
to be thrwarted. |
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