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Battle of Modon
Part of theOttoman–Venetian War of 1499–1503
Flagship of Kemal Reis
Date July 20 – August 9, 1500 Location Modon,Peloponnese Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Republic of Venice
Commanders and leaders
Kemal Reis Feriz Beg	Girolamo Contarini Marco Gabriel
Strength
Modon: 30,000–60,000 soldiers Fleet: 92 galleys 20 carracks 136 fustas and brigantines[1]	Modon: 7,000 soldiers Fleet: 46 galleys 20 carracks[2]
Casualties and losses
5,000–6,000 dead 5 galleys sunk Several ships damaged[3]	Most soldiers killed 2 galleys sunk Many ships damaged[3]

TheBattle of Modon, aka theSecond Battle of Lepanto, took place in August 1500 during thewar of 1499–1503 between theOttoman Empire and theRepublic of Venice. The Ottomans, who had won theBattle of Zonchio (First Battle of Lepanto / Battle of Sapienza) the previous year, were again victorious under AdmiralKemal Reis.

In December 1499, the Venetians attackedLepanto with the hope of regaining the territories which they lost with the Battle of Zonchio. Kemal Reis set sail fromCefalonia and retook Lepanto from the Venetians. He stayed in Lepanto between April and May 1500, where his ships were repaired by an army of 15,000 Ottoman craftsmen who were brought from the area.

From there Kemal Reis set sail and bombarded the Venetian ports on the island ofCorfu. He then besieged the fortress ofModon from sea with a fleet 220 ships. The Venetian fleet, although counting ony 66 ships, heade south towards Modon in an attempt to relief the place. It was originally led by captain general Melchiorre Trevisan, who died of illness in route on July 17 and was replaced by Girolamo Contarini.^[4]

On July 20, Kemal Reis started bombarding Modon to help the siege, while Contarini arrived three days later. The Venetian armada was immediately opposed by the bulk of the Ottoman fleet coming out of their base in the gulf ofNavarino, so only an exchange of artillery happened before Contarini ordered to withdraw.^[5]

Contarini repeated the attempt the following day, but this time the Venetian wings successfullyflanked Kemal's fleet before the latter could advance towards the sea in order to open in length and capitalize on its numbers. The Venetians fired their artillery, inflicting damage in the Ottoman fleet and breaking its formation, but the Turkish advantage in numbers imposed when their galleys started surrounding them. Four Venetian galleys abandoned their own formation and fled, and another galley attempting to call them back was surrounded and sunk by the Turks. The battle continued until nightfall, when the Venetian fleet was finally overpowered and Contarini ordered to retreat toZante.^[6]

In Zante, Contarini was criticized by the other captains, being mainly accused of having forced the armada to go toe to toe with a too large enemy fleet.^[7] On August 9, Modon finally capitulated. Most of the men either died fighting to the last breath or were killed, while the woman and children were taken and enslaved. Only some men in small boats managed to reach Zante to tell the news.^[8]

With the Battle of Modon, the Ottoman fleet and army quickly overwhelmed most of the Venetian possessions inGreece. On August 16, after a violent storm prevented the Venetian armada from trying another relief, Kemal Reis capturedCoron along with a Venetian brigantine. From there he sailed towards the Island ofSapientza (Sapienza) and sank the Venetian galleyLezza.

In September Kemal assaulted Voiussa, and in October he appeared at Cape Santa Maria on the Island ofLefkada before ending the campaign and returning toConstantinople in November. Modon and Coron, the "two eyes of the Republic", were lost. Ottoman cavalry raids reached Venetian territory in northernItaly. With the exception ofCephalonia, which wasrecovered in 1500 with the help ofGonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Venice suffered enough setbacks to seek peace in 1502, keeping Cephalonia but recognizing the rest of Ottoman gains.

• Ottoman Navy

• John E. Dotson: Foundations of Venetian Naval Strategy from Pietro II Orseoto to the Battle of Zoncho, 1000-1500 (2001)
• Salvatore Bono: "Corsari nel Mediterraneo" (Corsairs in the Mediterranean), Oscar Storia Mondadori (Perugia, 1993)
• Marin Sanudo, Diarii, vol. 3, Rinaldo Fulin, 1880, pp. 448–727.

36°54′00″N21°41′00″E / 36.9000°N 21.6833°E /36.9000; 21.6833

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