Lepanto-The Complete Episode

Great Battles in History

Jun 21 2022 • 4 hrs 33 mins

On October 7, 1571, the fleets of the Christian Holy League and the Ottoman Empire clashed near Lepanto off the west coast of Greece. Lepanto was the largest battle on land or sea in Europe in the sixteenth century. During it, over 130,000 combatants had crewed some 500 oared warships. At the battle’s end, at least 35,000 Ottomans and 8,000 Christians had lost their lives. Lepanto was also the climax of a ferocious fifty-year-long struggle waged by the greatest naval powers of the day for domination of the Mediterranean Sea. On one side were Spain, the first global empire in history, and Venice, a fabulously wealthy merchant republic. On the other side was the Sublime State of the House of Osman—the Ottoman Empire—a dynamic Muslim polity that ruled a domain stretching from Algeria to Mesopotamia. Last but not least, Lepanto was the swan song of the naval technology that had dominated the Mediterranean Sea for over two thousand years: the war galley.

In the coming weeks, I will also be posting this episode in shorter parts.


You Might Like

History Daily
History Daily
Airship | Noiser | Wondery
Lore
Lore
Aaron Mahnke
Dark History
Dark History
Audioboom Studios
The Ancients
The Ancients
History Hit
History That Doesn't Suck
History That Doesn't Suck
Prof. Greg Jackson
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities
iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild
Noble Blood
Noble Blood
iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild
Ridiculous History
Ridiculous History
iHeartPodcasts
HISTORY This Week
HISTORY This Week
The HISTORY® Channel
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Slate Podcasts
Tides of History
Tides of History
Wondery / Patrick Wyman
Gone Medieval
Gone Medieval
History Hit