The protagonists The Holy League
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor of the Hapsburg dynasty Charles V and of Isabella of Portugal. He was born in Valladolid, Spain, on the 21st of May 1527. He spent the first years of his life, until 1539, in Castille, under the supervision of his mother. He therefore felt always much more Spanish than Austrian, something that prevented him later to feel as a real leader of the Holy Roman Empire. Philip had a good education and his father undertook his political formation. Upon seeing his son's talents, Charles decided in 1543 to appoint him Viceroy of Spain. Thus, at the age of 16 Philip had to govern the largest western state of his time, with territories in all known continents. In 1554 Philip married the 37-year old Mary Tudor, queen of England. It was a purely political move, which led to a brief unification of the two kingdoms, but which ended with Mary's death in 1558. In 1555 Philip had to renounce his succession for the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, due to the objections of his uncle, Ferdinand, who had been nominated King of the Romans since 1531 and who aimed at maintaining this title for his son, Maximilian. Charles, however, had secured his son's succession in the Netherlands, where Philip stayed over the early years of his kingship. Despite the fact that he functioned as an absolute monarch, his power was in fact limited by the palace's bureaucrats and the insurrections such as that of the Moors in Granada in 1569, which ended up in their dispersion. His nickname, the Prudent, was not in accord with his financial policy, since in his days Spain went bankrupt four times. On the other hand, however, his was the period of Spain's greatest empowerment in the international political agenda as well as of its greatest territorial expansion.
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V, born Antonio Ghislieri, belonged to the Dominican monastic order, which affected his policy thereafter. He was born in 1504 near Milan and he became a monk in 1518, at the age of 14. In 1528 he was ordained priest and started his clerical career. His views on restricting the mundane character and the expenses of the clerics made him unpopular. However, in 1566 when Pope Pius IV died suddenly, he was chosen to be the new Pope. In his only six-years' long office, he achieved a lot: he organized the Counter-reformation, he managed some severe blows against the Reformist Huguenots in France, he restricted the expenses of the clergy, he imposed frugality and morality on their lifestyle, he excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for her persecutions against the Catholics, he imposed a specific ceremonial in the Catholic liturgy and in general he applied the decisions of the Council of Trento, of which he was one of the main instigators. In 1570, shortly after the fall of Nicosia to the Ottomans he resuscitated the Holy League, which was in a lethargic state after the naval battle of Preveza (1538) and he activated the coalition of powers which led to the victorious battle of Lepanto. He died the next year, in 1572, and he was sanctified by the Catholic Church.Don Juan of Austria
Juan was an illegitimate son of Charles V and half-brother of Philip II. He was born in 1547 and his mother was a singer; therefore his father made sure his son would be soon cut off from her. It is reported that Charles was particularly fond of him and that he brought him close to him during the last year of his life, so that he could see him. After the death of Charles, Philip invited the Juan and revealed to him that he was the emperor's son, then he made him a member of the court and gve him a considerable property. Charles desired a career in the clergy for his son, but Juan soon turned to the army. In 1565 he participated at the military corpse of the Spaniards who reinforced the defence of Malta against the Ottomans. In 1568, aged only 21, he was appointed by Philip as general commander of the fleet and leader of the Spanish armada. He played a key role in the campaign against the revolted Moors in Granada. On his way back, the expedition of forces to Cyprus for the reinforcement of the defence of the island under the Holy League had already been prepared. Don Juan was appointed commander general of the Christian forces and the success of the battle at Lepanto is considered, more or less, his personal success.
Agustin Barbarigo
Agostin Barbarigo was a Venetian nobleman, originating from one of the greatest families of Venice. His ancestor with the same name had been a Doge in the period of the greatest glory and expansion of Venice; in his days Venice had annexed Cyprus and other territories in the eastern Mediterranean. However, Barbarigo was sceptical on the eve of Lepanto, supporting the view that the League should not face the Ottoman fleet directly. His galleys opposed the Turkish galliots on the left of the array. He fought bravely and lost his life in battle.
Sebastiano Venier
Sebastiano Venier or Veniero was born in Venice around 1496. His family had bonds with Greece, Cerigo in particular, as relatives and ancestors of his had been lords of the island. He had worked as a lawyer and had undertaken various positions in the Venetian Republic. In 1570 he had the office of procurator and was appointed by the Serenissima commander general of the Venetian fleet once the conflict with the Ottomans seemed inevitable. His victory at Lepanto made him very popular. In 1577 he was elected Doge, an office which he held for only one year, since he died in 1578 at the age of 82.
Marc' Antonio Colonna
He originated from one of the most prominent families of Lazio, which in the 16th century was under the control of Pope and the kingdom of Sicily, then under Spanish supremacy. In the was against Sienna (1553-54) he had the office of commander general of the Spanish cavalry. Upon the formation of the Holy League against the Ottomans he was appointed commander of the papal fleet and then Don Juan appointed him as commander general of the coalition's fleet. Upon his return to Italy he “cashed” his success with even higher offices: he was appointed permanent commander general of the papal fleet and in 1577 Philip II nominated him Viceroy of Sicily. He died in 1584.
Giovanni Andrea (Gianandrea) Doria
He was the nephew and adopted son of Andrea Doria, the Genoese nobleman and general who led the forces of the Hapsburg Empire under Charles V and the naval forces of the Holy League during the disastrous naval battle of Preveza in 1538. From his uncle he inherited the title of Prince of Melfi. Gianandrea was appointed admiral of the Genoese fleet in 1556. In 1560 he fought against Piyale Pasha at the naval battle of Djerba; however his opponent won and reconquered Tynis. At the naval battle of Lepanto, in spite of the Venetian objections, he was appointed commander of the right flank of the coalition's fleet.
Miguel de Cervantes
Although a simple soldier at the naval battle of Lepanto, Miguel de Cervantes deems a special mention, not only because he was one of the greatest authors in Spanish throughout the centuries, but also because in his famous work “Don Quixote de la Mancha” he includes information about Lepanto. He was born in 1547 at Alcalà de Henares, a small city about 15 miles away from Madrid. His parents, trapped in a convenience marriage, moved often from one place to another. He chose to follow the adventurous career of a soldier and rolled up at the Spanish maritime forces in 1570. He had been idle for a year when, in 1571, he came aboard the galley Marquesa heading to the Ionian Sea and Lepanto. Although on the day of the battle he was ill with fever, he refused to stay in bed and decided to fight. He fought very bravely indeed and was injured three times, twice on the chest and once on his left hand, which was finally incapacitated. After a six-months long cure, he continued to work for the marine as a messenger, until, in 1575, the ship on which he traveled fell in the hands of Algerian pirates.
Cervantes spent about five years as a slave in Algiers and was finally released upon payment of a sum of money collected by his parents and the monastic Order of the Holy Trinity, which provided care to the hostages of war. His experience during his stay in Algiers offered him the “materia prima” for the writing of his masterpiece, Don Quixote. He used to say, referring to his incapacitated left hand, that it “became useless in order to glorify the right one”.Protagonists of the Ottoman Empire
Selim II
Selim II was the third in a row son of Suleyman the Magnificent and the sultan's beloved wife Haseki Hürrem, of Ukranian origin. Selim was proclaimed 11th sultan of the Ottoman Empire and 90th Chaliph of Islam on September 7th 1566 and then went off to Belgrade to meet his army. Brought up in the harem, as his elder brothers were initially supposed to become sultans, Selim was fond of debauchery and particularly of alcohol. He therefore had the nickname “the Sot”. The exercise of government was in fact given up to the very capable Vizier Mehmed Sokollu. However, Selim possessed a strategic mind himself and he planned campaigns which brought the empire to its greatest territorial expansion: the reconquest of Yemen, the conquest of Cyprus, the campaign in Tynisia, which was reconquered a few months after his death in 1574. One of his campaigns, the one to Russia, failed. In Lepanto the Ottoman fleet was destroyed. Yet, on a political level he was positively charged with the treaty of Constantinople with the Hapsburgs in 1568. His death in 1574 was fortuitous, caused by a fall in his bath, while he was drunk.
Muezzinzade Ali Pasha
As implied by his name, Muezzinzade Ali Pasha was the son of a muezzin (Muslim priest) who performed liturgies in the mosque next to the Saray. He often substituted his father in reciting the prayers and due to his sweet voice, he had become a favourite of the harem, particularly of Selim II who was brought up there. When Selim succeeeded his father, he offered him the office of Kapudan Pasha and married him to one of his daughters. During the 1570 campaign against Cyprus, he was in charge of the fleet. After the debarkation of the land forces, he took a large part of the fleet and headed towards Crete and the Peloponnese, in order to prevent the western forces from sending reinforcements to the island. Selim II appointed him also commander general of the fleet at Lepanto. He also gave him the banner of the Chaliphs, a holy green banner where the 99 names and attributes of Allah were embroidered in golden thread 28.999 times. During the battle his flagship, the Sultana, faced the flagship of the allied forces, La Real. Ali Pasha was killed when a musket's bullet hit him on the head. His death was decisive for the defeat of the Ottomans.
Uluç/Uluj Ali
Uluç Ali, known also as Uluç Ali Reis and later as Kiliç Ali Pasha in the Ottoman sources and as Occhiali in the western forces, was a legendary figure of Ottoman history. He was born in 1519 at Calabria, Southern Italy, as Giovanni Dionigi Galeni, he was the son of a mariner, orientated by his father towards a clerical career. He was, however, captured by Ali Admed, one of the corsairs that collaborated with Hayreddin Barbarossa. He served several years as a rower in a galley and finally he adopted Islam and became a corsair himself. In very short time he controlled a large part of the north African shores and he joined forces with Turgut Reis, Bey of Tripoli, who terrorized north Africa. During the siege of Malta, upon the death of Turgut Reis the Kapudan Pasha Piyale chose Uluj as commander general. Again through the mediation of Piyale Pasha he undertook the office of Pasha of Algiers in 1568. In 1571 he headed towards Modon and Koron to join forces with Muezzinzade Ali Pasha, who wppointed him commander of the left flank of the Ottoman fleet at Lepanto. He was the only one of the admirals who managed to maintain the cohesion of his ships. He returned to Istanbul with 87 ships and offered the Maltese banner he had recuperated as a present to Selim II. The latter gave him the honorary title Kılıç, i.e. “sword” and the actual title of Kapudan Pasha and Beylerbey of the islands. He died in Istanbul in 1587 and was buried at the Kılıç Ali Pasha mosque, one of the last works of Mimar Sinan, at a seaside location in the modern neighbourhood of Tophane.Mehmed Pertev Pasha
Of Albanian origin, he climbed up the Ottoman hierarchy. He undertook the office of Beylerbey of Rumeli in 1554, when his friend Mehmed Sokollu Pasha came in power. He also reached the 2nd position under the Vizier. He was the commander general of the naval forces of the Ottomans during the siege of Cyprus in 1570 and he joined forces with Muezzinzade Ali Pasha at Lepanto.
Mehmed Suluk Pasha
Also known with the nickname “Sirocco”, i.e. southern wind, Mehmed Suluk was Bey of Alexandria at the time of the naval battle of Lepanto. He had rolled up in the Ottoman fleet at the age of 18 and had had a glorious career, particularly as an infantry fighter. He had participated at the siege of Malta asa well as at the military campaign against Cyprus and was one of the commanders who stayed on the island during the siege of Famagusta. At Lepanto he was appointed commander of the right flank of the Ottoman fleet, but he didn't manage to win the Venetians who fought against him and he was seriously injured. He managed to escape, but the Venetians persecuted him and finally arrested him. He was then asked to be spared the suffering and the Venetian officer killed him on the spot.
