Battle of Lepanto

The battle of Lepanto was a decisive naval engagement fought Oct. 7, 1571, between a Turkish fleet of some 300 galleys under Ali Pasha and a combined Christian force of galleys and galleasses (much larger than galleys), mostly Spanish and Venetian, under the general command of Don John of Austria.

The battle was fought in the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece, and the outcome was a massive victory for the Christian fleet. The Turks lost most of their ships and suffered well over 25,000 casualties, while Christian losses were less than a third of this figure. It marked the end of the Turkish naval threat in the Mediterranean.

Bibliography

• Capponi, Niccolò. The Victory of the West: The Great Christian-Muslim Clash at the Battle of Lepanto (2007) excerpt and text search