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Siege of
Famagusta
Lala Mustafa
Pasha, leaving a garrison of 4,000 men in Nicosia, led his army
to Famagusta in October 1570, and pitched his camp at the
village of Pomodamo, three miles to the south of the city.
Finding that the fortress could not easily be taken and that the
season was now too late to begin a regular siege, he retired to
his camp to pass the winter, which was unusually severe. In
April 1571 large Turkish reinforcements of men, arms, and
provisions arrived from Caramania and Syria, and the siege was
begun.
The first
batteries were constructed on a front of 1,000 paces on the
south side of the fortress, against the arsenal tower near the
harbour to the ravelin which guarded the land gate at the
south-west corner. By the end of May the Turks had driven their
trenches up to the counterscrap, entered and crossed the ditch,
and had begun to mine the ravelin and the arsenal tower. Some of
the mines were discovered and captured by the countermining
defenders, who were glad to make use of the gunpowder they
contained, as the fortress was beginning to run short of
ammunition. On 21 June the besiegers succeeded in firing a mine
under the arsenal tower. The wall was shattered by the
explosion, and immediately the Turks made an assault over the
debris. Led by Baglione in person, the defenders repulsed the
attack after five hour hand-to-hand fighting. On 29 June a
second mine was fired under the ravelin, making a great breach
in the walls over which the Turks attacked under the lead of
Lala Mustafa Pasha himself. The arsenal tower was also attacked
simultaneously, but both attacks were repulsed after six hours
fighting. After this the defenders themselves laid a mine under
the ravelin to blow it up if it could be no longer held.
On 9 July a
third assault was made on the whole rampart with its three
intervening towers between the ravelin and the arsenal. The
ravelin was captured, but immediately the defenders fired their
mine, and more than a thousand Turkish soldiers perished in the
explosion, which left nothing standing that could be used by
either side. All through July the Turks destroyed the ramparts
by mine and cannon. Again and again they assaulted the breaches,
only to be repulsed at the second line of defence constructed of
casks and sacks filled with earth. But all that skill and
bravery could do was of no avail to the defence. While the
strength of the enemy was kept up by daily reinforcements,
within the fortress men, munitions and food were failing. The
Venetian commanders were at last convinced that further
resistance was futile, and on 1 August, 1571 sent envoys to
arrange the conditions of surrender.
 The terms
agreed to by both sides were that the fortress would be
surrendered on condition that all lives were to be spared, that
the garrison should be given transport to Crete with their arms
and property, and that the inhabitants should be allowed either
to remain in safety or to move where they moved. In a single day
the terms were settled and signed. The Turks immediately sent
forty vessels into the harbour, and on them the sick and the
wounded were embarked. By 4 August the whole of the garrison had
gone on board the ships and the city was left to the Turks. As
soon as they entered it, General Marcantonio Bragadino had complained Lala Mustafa
that his soldiers were showing violence to the remaining
inhabitants, for which there were not sufficient ships. Mustafa
replied that he would take steps to prevent any further violence
on the part of his men, that two more ships would be provided,
and that he would be glad to meet Signor Bragadino in
person.
The same
evening General Bragadino with his principal officers rode out
of the city to the pavilion of the pasha, where they were
received with great courtesy. Having laid aside their arms, they
were introduced into the presence of Lala Mustafa Pasha, who
conversed with them for some time. Unfortunately a dispute
arose. Mustafa demanded hostages for the safe return of his
ships and, when Bragadino refused to go beyond the terms of
capitulation, the Pasha accused him of having put to death
certain Turkish prisoners-of-war. Bragadino’s reply so enraged
Mustafa that he declared the terms of capitulation to have been
broken and ordered the whole party to be executed forthwith, with
the General Bragadino reserved for the worst fate. After a
fortnight of imprisonment, he was bound to the pillory in the
square of Famagusta, and killed. Some years later his remains
was purchased by his brother for a great sum, carried to Venice,
and laid there in a marble urn in the church of Sts. Giovanni
and Paolo.
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