The Longest Siege in History: Candia 1648-1669 | History Preview

The Siege of Candia lasted from 1648 to 1669 on the island of Crete. It was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, supported at times by French and papal forces. The city of Candia, today known as Heraklion, became the focus of a prolonged struggle for control of the eastern Mediterranean.

The siege began after Ottoman forces captured most of Crete during the Cretan War. Candia remained the last Venetian stronghold. Ottoman fleets blockaded the harbor while engineers and infantry built an expanding network of trenches and mines. Venetian defenders, aided by small allied expeditions, resisted behind thick bastions originally designed by Renaissance fortification experts.

Throughout the 1650s and 1660s, both sides suffered from disease, famine, and attrition. Repeated French interventions failed to break the siege. Venetian commander Francesco Morosini held the fortress for over two decades, maintaining defenses even as supplies ran out and artillery positions crumbled.

In 1669, with the population exhausted and only a few thousand defenders left, Morosini agreed to surrender. The Ottomans took Candia, ending more than twenty years of continuous warfare. The siege demonstrated the limits of Venetian naval power and marked the decline of Venice as a Mediterranean empire.

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📘 Glossary
• Candia / Heraklion: Capital of Crete, known as Candia under Venetian rule.
• Francesco Morosini: Venetian commander who led the defense until the city’s surrender in 1669.
• Ottoman Empire: Empire based in Constantinople, expanded across the eastern Mediterranean in the 17th century.
• Cretan War: Conflict between Venice and the Ottoman Empire (1645–1669).
• Bastion: A projecting part of a fortification designed for defensive fire.
• Blockade: Naval operation preventing entry or exit from a port.
• Attrition: Gradual loss of strength through continuous conflict.
• Papal States: Italian territories under direct control of the Pope, occasionally contributing troops.
• Venetian Republic: Maritime power controlling trade and colonies across the Mediterranean.
• Surrender of 1669: Formal capitulation ending the longest continuous siege in recorded history.

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