First Venetian-Ottoman War (A Venetian Legacy)

First Venetian-Ottoman War
Part of Venetian-Ottoman Wars
Date 5 November, 1454 - 20 March, 1455 Location Aegean Islands, Mediterranean Sea, Albania Result Venetian victory Treaty of Venice Ottoman cession of Rhodes and western Cyprus Destruction of the Ottoman fleet
Belligerents
Republic of Venice Byzantine Empire Duchy of Athens Non-Belligerents Papal States Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Castille	Ottoman Empire Mamluk Sultanate Kingdom of Morocco
Commanders and leaders
Fransesco Foscari Antonio Matteo Thomas Palaiologos	Sultan Mehmed I
Strength
c.30,000-60,000	c.100,000-120,000
Casualties and losses
c.12,000	c.36,000-45,000

The First Venetian-Ottoman War is a short lived war that occurred from 5 November, 1454 - 20 March, 1455 between the Venetian Republic and the new Ottoman power.

Background

Cost to War

Their are 3 causes why the war broke out in the first place. Firstly, the Venetian navy has conducted a blockade of several ottoman trade routes going towards Jerusalem and Egypt which prompted the Ottomans to act and attempt to remove the blockade but failed due to the weak state of their navy and overall lacked the manpower compared to it's Venetian counterparts. Secondly, to support it's fellow Christian ally, the Venetians had halted Ottoman merchant ships and took their crewmen prisoner who we're then imprisoned in Venice's garrisons off the coast of Dalmatia. Lastly, the Venetians have been volunteering men to support the Byzantines against the war with the Ottomans which caused tensions to skyrocket between the two nations.

Overall Conclusion

To shorten things up. The Venetians we're able to defeat the Ottomans at sea and blockade their trade routes, causing mass amounts of famines in Egypt and in the southern Levant with nearly 30,000 dying from a famine in Bethlehem. This forced the Ottomans to sign a treaty with the Venetians and cede them some islands of the Aegean coast including western Cyprus which we're occupied by Venetian troops in December of 1454. As the Byzantines was eventually defeated, the Venetians held onto it's territories in the Mediterranean and Aegean which allowed them to further expand their trade empire and network across other continents.