Lazzaro Mocenigo

Last updated
Lazzaro Mocenigo
Bust of Lazzaro Mocenigo. Panteon Veneto; Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.jpg
Bust of Mocenigo by Luigi Borro  [ it ] (1874-1875)
Born9 July 1624
Venice, Republic of Venice
Died17 July 1657(1657-07-17) (aged 33)
Dardanelles, Ottoman Empire
AllegianceFlag of the Serene Republic of Venice.svg  Republic of Venice
Service/branch Flag of the Serene Republic of Venice.svg Venetian Navy
Rank Captain General of the Sea
Battles/wars Battles of the Dardanelles during the Cretan War

Lazzaro Mocenigo (9 July 1624 - 17 July 1657) was a Venetian nobleman who distinguished himself as an admiral during the Cretan War against the Ottoman Empire.

Contents

Biography

Born in Venice (San Stae), he was the second of four sons of Giovanni di Antonio and Elena di Antonmaria Bernardo, widow of Giorgio Contarini. [1] Mocenigo dedicated his life to the craft of arms, lived on the sea to counter Turkish power, and not without moments of heroism: for example in 1650 in Nixia when, although wounded by an arrow in his left arm and mutilated of a finger by a musket shot, he continued to fight fiercely. [2] [1] [3]

The outbreak of the war against the Turks, in 1645, allowed him to make a career for himself. By 1650 he was galley captain ( sopracomito ), and already in 1654 he was captain of a galeass in the first Venetian expedition against the Dardanelles. [1]

When the admiral died and his deputy was recalled to his homeland, he found himself in command of the entire fleet (although officially under the command of the provveditore Francesco Morosini, engaged in the defense of the fortress of Candia in Crete). On 21 June 1655 he defeated the Ottoman fleet before the Dardanelles, while in 1656 he again distinguished himself in an attempt of assisting Crete. During this battle, he lost one eye, but continued to fight fiercely. [1] [2] [4] He was nicknamed Kor Kaptan ("One-eyed Captain") by the Turks. [1] [5]

He then participated in the Fourth Battle of the Dardanelles in 1657. A cannon shot from a Turkish coastal battery caused a sail to fall which hit him, killing him. [4] [1]

He was one of the few Venetian naval officers to have participated, albeit to varying degrees, in all expeditions to the Dardanelles. His death proved fatal for the fate of the anti-Ottoman alliance. With his death the battle was lost, the Venetian blockade broken, causing a rift among Venice, Malta and the Papal States, while giving the Turks time to prepare a successful counter-offensive. [2] [4]

Related Research Articles

Pietro Loredan was a Venetian nobleman of the Loredan family and a distinguished military commander both on sea and on land. He fought against the Ottomans, winning the Battle of Gallipoli (1416), played a leading role in the conquest of Dalmatia in 1411–1420, and participated in several campaigns against Venice's Italian rivals, Genoa and Milan, to secure Venice's mainland domains (Terraferma). He also held a number of senior political positions as Avogador de Comùn, ducal councillor, and governor of Zara, Friuli, and Brescia, and was honoured with the position of Procurator of St Mark's in 1425. In 1423, he contended for the position of Doge of Venice, but lost to his bitter rival Francesco Foscari; their rivalry was such that when Loredan died, Foscari was suspected of having poisoned him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Focchies</span>

The Battle of Focchies was a significant naval engagement that took place on 12 May 1649, in the harbour of Focchies, Smyrna between a Venetian force of nineteen warships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, and an Ottoman force of eleven warships, ten galleasses, and seventy-two galleys, with the battle resulting in a crushing victory for the Venetian fleet. The battle was an episode in the Cretan War from 1645 to 1669 between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire over dominance of various territories in the Mediterranean Sea. The war was one in a series of wars between the two warring powers, which contested for control of the Adriatic and Mediterranean trade routes. The primary territory that was contested during the war was Crete, the largest and most profitable of the overseas holdings of the Venetian Republic. The battle came after a squadron of Venetian ships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, a Venetian admiral, came to the rescue of the blockading Venetian force in the Dardanelles Straits, after the blockade had run into unexpected weather conditions and many ships sunk as a result.

This battle took place on 21 June 1655 inside the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait. It was a clear victory for Venice over the Ottoman Empire during the Cretan War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Dardanelles (1656)</span>

The Third Battle of the Dardanelles in the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War took place on 26 and 27 June 1656 inside the Dardanelles Strait. The battle was a clear victory for Venice and the Knights Hospitaller over the Ottoman Empire, although their commander, Lorenzo Marcello, was killed on the first day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Candia</span> 1648–69 battle of the Cretan War

The siege of Candia was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, or a total of 21 years, it is the second-longest siege in history after the siege of Ceuta. It ended with an Ottoman victory, but the effort and cost of the siege contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Great Turkish War.

This battle, which took place on 16 May 1654, was the first of a series of tough battles just inside the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait, as Venice and sometimes the other Christian forces attempted to hold the Turks back from their invasion of Crete by attacking them early.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action of 8 July 1716</span>

The Action of 8 July 1716 was an indecisive naval battle that took place on 8 July 1716 during a Turkish attempt to capture the island of Corfu (Kerkyra), off the west coast of mainland Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Mocenigo</span>

The House of Mocenigo was a Venetian noble family of Lombard origin. Many of its members were doges, statesmen, and soldiers.

The military history of the Republic of Venice started shortly after its founding, spanning a period from the 9th century until the Republic's fall in the 18th century.

Giosafat Barbaro (1413–1494) was a member of the Venetian Barbaro family. He was a diplomat, merchant, explorer and travel writer. He was unusually well-travelled for someone of his times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Republic of Venice</span> Overview of Venice from the 8th century to 1797

The Republic of Venice was a sovereign state and maritime republic in Northeast Italy, which existed for a millennium between the 8th century and 1797.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morean War</span> Conflict between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire from 1684 to 1699

The Morean War, also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged from Dalmatia to the Aegean Sea, but the war's major campaign was the Venetian conquest of the Morea (Peloponnese) peninsula in southern Greece. On the Venetian side, the war was fought to avenge the loss of Crete in the Cretan War (1645–1669). It happened while the Ottomans were entangled in their northern struggle against the Habsburgs – beginning with the failed Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna and ending with the Habsburgs gaining Buda and the whole of Hungary, leaving the Ottoman Empire unable to concentrate its forces against the Venetians. As such, the Morean War was the only Ottoman–Venetian conflict from which Venice emerged victorious, gaining significant territory. Venice's expansionist revival would be short-lived, as its gains would be reversed by the Ottomans in 1718.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cretan War (1645–1669)</span> Conflict between the Republic of Venice against the Ottoman Empire from 1645 to 1669

The Cretan War, also known as the War of Candia or the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War, was a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies against the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States, because it was largely fought over the island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession. The war lasted from 1645 to 1669 and was fought in Crete, especially in the city of Candia, and in numerous naval engagements and raids around the Aegean Sea, with Dalmatia providing a secondary theater of operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Marcello</span>

Lorenzo Marcello was an Italian admiral from the Republic of Venice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Molin</span> Doge of Venice from 1646 to 1655

Francesco Molin or Francesco Da Molin was the 99th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on 20 January 1646 until his death. Molin's reign is notable because of Venice's participation in a prolonged war with the Ottoman Empire over Crete; this war was begun during the reign of Molin's predecessor Francesco Erizzo, and dragged on until 1669. To fund the cost of this war, Molin sold access to the Venetian patriciate at a cost of 100,000 ducats per person.

This article presents a detailed timeline of the history of the Republic of Venice from its legendary foundation to its collapse under the efforts of Napoleon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Corfu (1716)</span> Part of the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War

The siege of Corfu took place on 8 July – 21 August 1716, when the Ottoman Empire besieged the city of Corfu, on the namesake island, then held by the Republic of Venice. The siege was part of the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War, and, coming in the aftermath of the lightning conquest of the Morea by the Ottoman forces in the previous year, was a major success for Venice, representing its last major military success and allowing it to preserve its rule over the Ionian Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venetian navy</span>

The Venetian navy was the navy of the Venetian Republic which played an important role in the history of the republic and the Mediterranean world. It was the premier navy in the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries between the medieval and early modern periods, providing Venice with control and influence over trade and politics far in excess of the republic's size and population. It was one of the first navies to mount gunpowder weapons aboard ships, and through an organised system of naval dockyards, armouries and chandlers was able to continually keep ships at sea and rapidly replace losses. The Venetian Arsenal was one of the greatest concentrations of industrial capacity prior to the Industrial Revolution and responsible for the bulk of the republic's naval power.

Alvise Loredan was a Venetian nobleman of the Loredan family. At a young age he became a galley captain, and served with distinction as a military commander, with a long record of battles against the Ottomans, from the naval expeditions to aid Thessalonica, to the Crusade of Varna, and the opening stages of the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479, as well as the Wars in Lombardy against the Duchy of Milan. He also served in a number of high government positions, as provincial governor, savio del consiglio, and Procuratore de Supra of Saint Mark's Basilica.

This is an alphabetical index of people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from the Republic of Venice. Feel free to add more, and create missing pages.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Benzoni, Gino (2011). "MOCENIGO, Lazzaro". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 75: Miranda–Montano (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN   978-8-81200032-6.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mocenigo, Lazzaro". Enciclopedia Italiana. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. L'Italia marinara giornale della Lega navale italiana. il Saggiatore. 1922. p. 43.
  4. 1 2 3 Magno, Alessandro Marzo (2011). Atene 1687. il Saggiatore. p. 43. ISBN   9788865761342.
  5. Toso Fei, Alberto (27 April 2020). "Lazzaro Mocenigo, capitano da Mar, eroe di guerra". Il Gazzettino. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

Sources