Filters:
Group: Samaria, Roman province of
People: Joseph Warren
Topic: Otranto, Ottoman invasion of
Location: Brescello Emilia-Romagna Italy

Otranto, Ottoman invasion of

Years: 1480 - 1481

The Ottoman invasion of Otranto occurs between 1480 and 1481 at the Italian city of Otranto in Apulia, southern Italy.

Forces of the Ottoman Empire invade and lay siege to the city and its citadel.

After capture, more than eight hundred of its inhabitants—who refuse to convert to Islam—are executed.

The Martyrs of Otranto are still celebrated in Italy.

A year later the Ottoman garrison surrenders the city following a siege by Christian forces.

"Remember that the people you are following didn’t know the end of their own story. So they were going forward day by day, pushed and jostled by circumstances, doing the best they could, but walking in the dark, essentially."

—Hilary Mantel, AP interview (2009)