The document discusses the 1571 Battle of Lepanto between the Holy League led by Spain and Venice and the Ottoman Empire led by Müezzinzade Ali Pasha. It provides details on the strengths and deployments of both sides' fleets in the Gulf of Patras. The battle resulted in a major victory for the Holy League, destroying over 200 Ottoman ships and halting their expansion in the Mediterranean, though the Holy League was unable to fully capitalize on the victory due to the late season. The Ottoman navy was able to rebuild but remained less experienced for decades after losing many crews and soldiers at Lepanto.

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8. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

9. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

10. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

11. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

12. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

13. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

14. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

15. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

16. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

17. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

18. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

19. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

20. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

21. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

22. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

23. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

24. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

25. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

26. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

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• Han China had invented the magnetic compass (c100 BE) to aide in building (Fung
She), fortune telling, then for navigation.

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• The Islamic Empires used the compass to find the direction of Mecca in the 12th
Century.

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• Abbot Alexander Neckman reports the use of the compass by English sailors around
1202. Its first recorded use in Europe.

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31. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

32. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

33. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

34. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

35. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

36. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

37. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

38. Europe appropriates the world’s technology
• Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Sulayman (d796) developed the first improved
astrolabe using Muslim and Indian technology.

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40. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

43. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

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46. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

47. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

48. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

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50. European people with power that supported the development of ships.

51. European people with power that supported the development of ships.

52. European people with power that supported the development of ships.

53. European people with power that supported the development of ships.

54. European people with power that supported the development of ships.

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56. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

57. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

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59. Europe appropriates the world’s technology

60. Lepanto
October 7, 1571
Strategic Context
Pope Pius V proclaims the Holy League against the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The Holy League’s
purpose is to resist an Ottoman Empire take over of the Mediterranean Sea. Two weeks after
the Ottomans annex Cyprus, the Pope assembles a fleet under Don Juan of Spain and Austria.
Ali Pasha, commander of the Ottoman fleet, orders an attack, against the advice of his peers
who argue for a defensive position.
Stakes
+ A Holy League victory would halt – at least
temporarily – Ottoman expansion in the
Mediterranean.
+ An Ottoman victory would splinter the Holy
League alliance and encourage Ottoman
dominance of the Mediterranean.
By Jonathan Webb, 2010

61. Lepanto, 1571
Strength
Holy League
Well
Ottomans
Well
Don Juan of Austria
216 galleys202 galleys
Müezzinzade Ali Pasha
By Jonathan Webb, 2010
6 galeasses 64 galiots

62. Europe c. 1580

63. The battlefield consists of the Gulf of Patras, a body of water between land to the north and south (off-map). To the east off-map is a
narrow passage to the Gulf of Corinth, a body of water enclosed on all sides by land. To the west the Gulf of Patras opens up to the
Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. The Gulf of Patras becomes shallow as it nears Oxia and the land to the north.
Ottomans
(Müezzinzade Pasha)
Holy League
(Juan)
NN
0 5 10 km
Malcantone
Gulf of Patras
Oxia
Scropha
Point

64. Müezzinzade Pasha deploys his fleet in five divisions, three being pre-committed to fight at his dense center. His left wing has the most room to maneuver and thus equipped
with many with smaller, more agile galiots. He plans to preserve his center while one or both of his wings defeat their opposition and envelop the Holy League line. Juan deploys
his fleet in four divisions, one being a reserve. Juan strengthens his center with both quantity and quality of galleys and allows his lethal galleasses to sail ahead of the main line
to thin out the Ottoman ranks with their greater firepoer. He plans to crush the Ottoman center while his wings prevent his own center from being outflanked. Overall, the Holy
League galleys are larger and boast more firepower but are slower than their Ottoman counterparts. Both Müezzinzade and Juan command from the center of their lines.
Holy League
(Juan)
Mehmet Suluk
As both fleets sail towards each other, Barbarigo’s galleasses pulverize Mehmet Suluk’s galleys and disrupt their formation. Mehmet Suluk
adapts by sending the galleys on his extreme right to round the inshore flank of Barbarigo’s galleys, knowing the Holy League captains are less
accustomed to the area and more fearful of running ashore. The rest of the Ottoman right wing follows and is able to concentrate against only
half of the Holy League left wing.
Doria
Bazan
Barbarigo
Juan
Müezzinzade Pasha
Uluj Ali
Mehmet Suluk is punishing the Holy League left wing until its other half swings around to engage in battle and Bazan sends reinforcements from
the reserve. Barbarigo is mortally wounded and must cede command to Contarini who is then killed and succeeded by Nani. Juan’s center
galleasses decimate the Ottoman galleys with a murderous fire before close combat. Meanwhile, Uluj Ali is straining the Holy League right by
deploying his surplus of ships in line, forcing Doria to stretch his own line to match the length of the Ottoman line. This inevitably creates gaps.
In the north, Nani turns the tide by killing Mehmet Suluk and trapping the Ottoman galleys against the shore. In the center, the heftier Holy
League galleys are inflicting heavy losses while a duel between the two flagships develops; both commanders funnel all available men into this
battle. Bazan sends reinforcements from the reserve to ensure steady pressure against the Ottoman flagship. In the south, Uluj Ali continues to
deploy ships and force Doria to strain his line; the Holy League right wing is drifting dangerously further from the center.
Trapped against the shore and without a leader, the Ottoman right wing is in the process of annihilation. The Ottoman center continues to suffer grievous losses but remains
intact. Fifteen captains of Doria’s extreme left believe he is betraying the Holy League by ignoring the fierce engagement in the center so they break formation to join the fray,
creating a sizeable gap in the Holy League right wing. Uluj Ali seizes this opportunity to charge the gap, destroying most of the wandering galleys on the way. Juan’s right flank is
suddenly threatened but Bazan sends the last of the reserve to try and contain the gap. Doria meanwhile rushes to engage the rest of his division but cannot fully do so.
The remainder of the Ottoman right wing runs aground and the crews abandon their galleys for land. Meanwhile,
Müezzinzade Pasha is finally killed and his flagship overrun just as Doria engages the Ottoman left wing. Uluj Ali realizes
the situation is futile and escapes westward with thirty galleys. The remaining Ottoman galleys flee in small contingents.
Holy League
(Don Juan ofAustria)
202 galleys
6 galeasses
Ottomans
(MüezzinzadeAli Pasha)
216 galleys
64 galiots
Contarini
Nani
Holy League Reserve
(DonÁlvaro de Bazan)
38 galleys
Ottoman RightWing
(Mehmet Suluk Pasha)
60 galleys 2
galiots
Holy League Center
(Don Juan ofAustria)
62 galleys 2
galeasses
Holy League LeftWing
(Agostin Barbarigo)
53 galleys 2
galeasses
Holy League RightWing
(GianAndrea Doria)
54 galleys 2
galeasses
Ottoman Center
(MüezzinzadeAli Pasha)
95 galleys 30
galiots
Ottoman LeftWing
(Uluj Ali Pasha)
61 galleys 32
galiots
Holy League LeftWing
(Frederigo Nani)
53 galleys 2
galeasses
Galleass
NN
0 5 10 km
Symbol guide
Ottomans
(Müezzinzade Pasha)
Malcantone
Gulf of Patras
Oxia
Scropha
Point
Landmarks
Galleasses are designed to carry guns whereas typical
galleys carry soldiers. The six Venetian galleasses at
Lepanto are relatively experimental but pack ample
firepower: they carry fourty heavy guns whereas
flagship galleys carry only five. However, galleasses
must be towed into battle by two galleys and so this
firepower comes at the expense of speed.
Holy League Ottomans
Galleys Galleys
Galleass Galiots

65. Lepanto, 1571
Casualties & Aftermath
Holy League: Ottomans:
16 ships
or
8%
214 ships
or
76%
By Jonathan Webb, 2010
The Holy League was unable to exploit the victory due to the lateness of the year. By 1572,
Ottoman shipbuilding efforts were able to rebuild an entirely new fleet under Uluj Ali. The
experienced crews and naval soldiers lost at Lepanto could not be replaced for decades,
however. An inconclusive naval war dragged on until 1581 wherein Uluj Ali never risked his
inexperienced navy against Juan’s victorious fleet despite the withdrawal of Venetian galleys in
1573.

66. The Art of Battle:
Animated Battle Maps
http://www.theartofbattle.com
By Jonathan Webb, 2010