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The siege of Thessalonica between 1422 and 1430 was an ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire under Murad II to take Byzantine city of Thessalonica. Initially, the Sultan desired to capture the city in order punish the ruling Byzantine Palaiologoi dynasty for their attempts at inciting rebellion within the Ottoman ranks. In 1423, the Byzantines sold the city to the Republic of Venice, which assumed the burden of its defence.
The Ottomans took the city in 1430 after 8 years. Before that time, the Venetians had bought the city from the Byzantines in 1423[1] only to realize how expensive the defense of the city was. Nonetheless, it held out despite severe hunger within the city. Murad II had been engaged in numerous battles with the Venetians, Karamanids and numerous pretenders; when all had been subdued, a large army was sent to Macedonia and the city was subjected to three days of pillage and destruction after its capture in 1430. At that time population numbers were modest.[2]
[edit] References
- Mango, Cyril. The Oxford History of Byzantium. 1st ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2002
- ^ Mango, Cyril. The Oxford History of Byzantium. 1st ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2002. pg 277
- ^ According to Cyril Mango, the number was as low as 2,000 people (Mango 2002, p. 277). On the other hand, the New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. 7 (1998), reports that 7,000 Thessalonicans were taken captive (p. 778).
Byzantine Empire (1422-23)
Republic of Venice(1423-30).svg){kind=small}
Ottoman Empire
