The Bizantine Empire or the Roman Empire of the East was a big territory along the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, the empire suffered numerous attacks at the hands of the Normans, Arabs, Bulgarians and later the Ottoman Turks. These last ones, could not break into Western Europe until the fall of its capital Constantinople (now Istambul) in 1453.

The fall of Constantinople shocked Europe and changed the geopolitical situation as the Turks interrupted trade in the Mediterranean. Many Christian kings feared that an Ottoman invasion was imminent. But it was not until the 16th century that Pope Pius V helped organise the “Holy League”. This group of armies had the goal to break the Ottoman Empire’s control of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Holy League, which included the major Catholic powers of southern Europe, the Spanish Empire and the republics of the Italian peninsula, was successful on 25 May 1571. The Ottoman Turks lost the battle in Lepanto (now Greece). Lepanto is considered the greatest battle at sea of modern times as more than 400 ships were involved.

Coincidentally, the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes took part in the battle and described Lepanto as “the most memorable and noble occasion that the centuries have seen, and that those to come expect to see” (Exemplary Novels, Prologue).

True or False questions