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Invasion of
Cyprus
On 1 July,
1570, the Turkish fleet appeared off the western coast of Cyprus
and anchored off Larnaca. There Lala Mustafa Pasha, the Turkish
commander, landed his men and guns, and sent reconnoitring
parties into the interior to discover the strength of the
island. The Cypriots, who had no reason to love the Venetians,
offered no opposition to the invaders, but supplied them with
provisions, so that the defence of the island devolved on the
fortresses of Nicosia, Famagusta, and Kyrenia. Lala Mustafa
waited at Larnaca until the arrival of the whole of his troops,
amounting to some 50,000 infantry, 2,500 cavalry, 30 pieces of
heavy artillery and 50 smaller guns.
Meanwhile, the
Venetian commanders in Cyprus collected all their forces in the
fortresses of Nicosia and Famagusta, with a small garrison in
Kyrenia. The troops available in the island were far outnumbered
by the Turks.
Besides the Cypriot militia, there were about 3,000
regular infantry and 2,000 of the reinforcements sent with
Martinengo, who had died on the voyage. The cavalry hardly
amounted to 500, because the feudal nobles who were responsible
for maintaining horses had been replacing them by the locally
bred mules. Men of authority were lacking. The office of
lieutenant- governor was vacant by the death of Lorenzo Bembo,
and his successor had not arrived before the Turks invaded the
island. The provveditore was Nicolo Dandolo, a man of weak
character and unable to grapple with the situation. Astore
Baglione, general of the militia, a strong and efficient
officer, devoted himself to the completion of the defences of
Nicosia. He also wished to oppose the Turks on the coast, but as
his advice was overruled by the provveditore, he left Nicosia,
and with his militia went to Famagusta.
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