Suleiman The Magnificent Sultan Of The East by Harold Lamb

Author:Harold Lamb [Lamb, Harold]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harold Lamb
Published: 2011-07-03T14:24:15+00:00

Foray into Italy

The heel of the boot of Italy lies flat as the sea itself. On the far side of the strait, mountains rise behind the small fishing port of Avlona. Out of these mountains came the Turkish ad vance, down to Avlona. By early summer Barbarossa’s galleys cruised the strait, towing huge flatboats into Avlona. When Barbarossa’s flagship passed a Venetian craft he hailed: “You can have done with marrying the sea; the sea is ours now.”He ferried the advance of the asker across some 10,000 horsemen under Lutfi Pasha. For the first time in fifty-eight years the Turks were on the Italian peninsula. They stormed the small port of Castro, breaking their agreement to let the defenders go free. They spread out swiftly over the fiat, marshy heel of the land, throwing screening forces around Otranto and strong Brindisi, striking inland toward the mountains and Naples.

“We will do the choosing of the next Pope in Rome,” Lutfi Pasha’s riders taunted the countryside. The main force under Suleiman was preparing to follow, in July.

Then the kaleidoscope of European forces shifted abruptly. Word reached Avlona that Francis, who should have been in vading Milan, had signed a ten-year truce with his enemy Charles, and had ended hostilities in the north!

For the second time the Sultan’s slippery ally had abandoned him in mid-campaign. More than that, the Venetian command ers at sea were in no mood to watch the seizure of the mouth of the Adriatic peaceably. The tensity of the situation exploded in local conflicts. A dozen Turkish galleys were hunted into a nest of islands and destroyed by a Venetian naval force on the pretense that they had been identified as pirates. A great ship bearing Yunis Bey, the long-time ambassador of the Gate to Venice, was fired on and disabled on the excuse that it made no recognition signal.

The French fleet remained invisible. Within these few days Suleiman found himself deserted by Francis and engaged with the full power of the Empire, Venice and the Papacy the last two Francis had claimed to be friendly to him.

Quickly, early in August, he recalled Lutfi Pasha and the raiding cavalry, which came back burdened with spoil and captives. They had been on Italian soil only sixteen days. When the bulk of them were safe across the strait Suleiman moved to attack the island of Corfu, the key of the strait held by the Venetians.

Both the Venetian fleet and Doria’s battle force were con verging on the strait. The lord admiral caught a dozen Turk ish transports, no more.

By August 18, Barbarossa had his grip on the narrow passage between the lovely island of Corfu lying like a jewel before the bare coast* while the siege train of the Turkish asker was ferried over. Turkish horsemen slashed into the fertile hills of the island. Only the citadel of San Angelo held out on a rock height.

The galleys tried to batter down the strong walls of San* Angelo and were driven off with loss.

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