Remembering Lepanto (Oct 7, 1571): The Battle that saved Europe from Islam

[famousdayandyear]

Lepanto, 1571: The Battle that Saved Europe
by H. W. Crocker, III

The clash of civilizations is as old as history, and equally as old is the blindness of those who wish such clashes away; but they are the hinges, the turning points of history. In the latter half of the 16th century, Muslim war drums sounded and the mufti of the Ottoman sultan proclaimed jihad, but only the pope fully appreciated the threat. As Brandon Rogers notes in the Ignatius Press edition of G. K. Chesterton's poem "Lepanto": Pope Pius V "understood the tremendous importance of resisting the aggressive expansion of the Turks better than any of his contemporaries appear to have. He understood that the real battle being fought was spiritual; a clash of creeds was at hand, and the stakes were the very existence of the Christian West." But then, as now, the unity of Christendom was shattered; and in the aftermath of the Protestant revolt, Islam saw its opportunity.

The Ottoman Empire, the seat of Islamic power, looked to control the Mediterranean. Corsairs raided from North Africa; the Sultan's massive fleet anchored the eastern Mediterranean; and Islamic armies ranged along the coasts of Africa, the Middle and Near East, and pressed against the Adriatic; Muslim armies threatened the Habsburg Empire through the Balkans.

The Ottoman Turks yearned to bring all Europe within the dar al-Islam, the "House of Submission" — submissive to the sharia law. Europe, as the land of the infidels, was the dar al-Harb, the "House of War."

(cont'd at link)
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7391

[famousdayandyear]

Don't y'all see that this single battle is the reason we had a shot at a rational civilization--and that we are under assault again.  Please read what happened there.

[Paladin]

Don't y'all see that this single battle is the reason we had a shot at a rational civilization--and that we are under assault again.  Please read what happened there.

FDaY is quite correct. Not only is it an exciting story but it illuminates the ongoing struggle of Christiandom and Islam, and the nature of our enemy.

Example:

"The city of Nicosia held out for nearly seven weeks. Finally, reduced to 500 soldiers, it surrendered, expecting the civilians to be spared, even as the Christian troops were enslaved. Instead, the Muslim attackers butchered every Christian they could find — 20,000 victims, murdered regardless of rank, sex, or age, save perhaps for 1,000 women and children who would be sold as slaves. The Mussulmen knew something about commerce, too, and those with an eye for harem-flesh tried to spare the most valuable Europeans."

[famousdayandyear]

FDaY is quite correct. Not only is it an exciting story but it illuminates the ongoing struggle of Christiandom and Islam, and the nature of our enemy.

Example:

"The city of Nicosia held out for nearly seven weeks. Finally, reduced to 500 soldiers, it surrendered, expecting the civilians to be spared, even as the Christian troops were enslaved. Instead, the Muslim attackers butchered every Christian they could find — 20,000 victims, murdered regardless of rank, sex, or age, save perhaps for 1,000 women and children who would be sold as slaves. The Mussulmen knew something about commerce, too, and those with an eye for harem-flesh tried to spare the most valuable Europeans."

With islam, nothing--I mean nothing--changes.

[PzLdr]

The Venetians' double  dealing went back over two centuries. During the Great Raid of 1223-1225, Subodei Bahadur, raiding into the Crimea, made a secret alliance with a Venetian trading post. the Venetians allied with the Mongols, and provided, among other things, intelligence on the state of affairs of Europe. In exchange, Subodei razed a Genoese trading post to the east of the Venetians. the alliance was still in force when Subodei returned to Europe in 1241.

[Paladin]

The Venetians and Genoese were implacable foes when it came to trade with the East. Their mutual animosity went deeper then any threat provided by the Muslims or the Mongols.

One interesting footnote: Marco Polo was a Venetian imprisoned in a Genoese jail as a result of one of the battles between the two cities. It was there he recounted his adventures to a fellow prisoner who wrote them down and had them published as "The Travels of Marco Polo". The impact of the book was enormous as it caused Western Europe to seriously begin looking toward the East. Which led to the spice trade, which led to people like Columbus seeking alternative routes to break the Venetian monopoly, and so on.

[PzLdr]

The Venetians and Genoese were implacable foes when it came to trade with the East. Their mutual animosity went deeper then any threat provided by the Muslims or the Mongols.

One interesting footnote: Marco Polo was a Venetian imprisoned in a Genoese jail as a result of one of the battles between the two cities. It was there he recounted his adventures to a fellow prisoner who wrote them down and had them published as "The Travels of Marco Polo". The impact of the book was enormous as it caused Western Europe to seriously begin looking toward the East. Which led to the spice trade, which led to people like Columbus seeking alternative routes to break the Venetian monopoly, and so on.

The Age of Exploration was the result of the fracturing of the Mongol Empire into several rival Khanates, and the loss of safe passage on the Silk Road as a result of that fracturing.