| Ottoman History Picture Archives (Osmanlı Tarihi Resim Arşivleri) www.facebook.com History of the Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy was once the largest sea power in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean; entering the history books of many countries in distant lands such as the British Isles, Scandinavia, Iceland, Labrador, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland and Virginia in the west, to India, Indonesia and Malaysia in the east, and Madagascar in the south. In 1453 the Ottoman fleet participated in the historic conquests of Constantinople (Istanbul), Gökçeada, Lemnos and Thasos. In 1462 the Ottoman fleet conquered the Genoese islands of the northern Aegean Sea, including Lesbos. This was followed by the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1463--1479. In the following period the Ottoman fleet gained more territory in the Aegean Sea, and in 1475 set foot on Crimea on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Until 1499 this was followed by further expansion on the Black Sea coasts (such as the conquest of Georgia in 1479) and on the Balkan peninsula (such as the final reconquest of Albania in 1497, and the conquest of Montenegro in 1499). The loss of Venetian forts in Montenegro, near the strategic Castelnuovo, triggered the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499--1503, during which the Turkish fleet of Kemal Reis defeated the Venetian forces at the Battle of Zonchio (1499) and the Battle of Modon (1500). By 1503 the Ottoman fleet raided the northeastern Adriatic ... |
