The Cretan War or War of Candia, as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War is better known, a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies (chief among them the Knights of Malta, the Papal States and France) against the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States, is fought over the island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession.

The war, which lasts from 1645 to 1669, is fought in Crete and in numerous naval engagements and raids around the Aegean Sea, with Dalmatia providing a secondary theater of operations.

Although most of Crete is conquered by the Ottomans in the first few years of the war, the fortress of Candia (modern Heraklion), the capital of Crete, resists successfully.

Its prolonged siege, "Troy's rival" as Lord Byron will later call it, forces both sides to focus their attention on the supply of their respective forces on the island.

For the Venetians in particular, their only hope for victory over the larger Ottoman army in Crete lies in successfully starving it of supplies and reinforcements.

Hence the war turns into a series of naval encounters between the two navies and their allies.

Venice is aided by various Western European nations, who, exhorted by the Pope and in a revival of crusading spirit, send men, ships and supplies "to defend Christendom".

Throughout the war, Venice maintains overall naval superiority, winning most naval engagements, but the efforts to blockade the Dardanelles are only partially successful, and the Republic never has enough ships to fully cut off the flow of supplies and reinforcements to Crete.

The Ottomans themselves are hampered in their efforts by domestic turmoil, as well as the diversion of their forces north towards Transylvania and the Habsburg Monarchy.The prolonged conflict exhausts the economy of the Republic, which relies on the lucrative trade with the Ottoman Empire.

By the 1660s, despite increased aid from other Christian nations, war-weariness has set in.

The Ottomans on the other hand, having managed to sustain their forces on Crete and reinvigorated under the capable leadership of the Köprülü family, send a final great expedition in 1666 under the direct supervision of the Grand Vizier.

This begins the final and bloodiest stage of the Siege of Candia, which lasts for more than two years.

It ends with the negotiated surrender of the fortress, sealing the fate of the island and ending the war in an Ottoman victory.

In the final peace treaty, Venice retains a few isolated island fortresses off Crete, and makes some territorial gains in Dalmatia.

The Venetian desire for a revanche is to lead, barely fifteen years later, to a renewed war, from which Venice will emerge victorious.

Crete however is lost to the Serenissima; it will remain under Ottoman control until united with Greece in 1913.