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Siege of
Nicosia
 The Turkish
commanders debated whether to attack first Famagusta or Nicosia.
Lala Mustafa decided that, as Nicosia was the key of the island,
it should be captured before help could arrive from Europe. The
Turkish army therefore marched to Nicosia without opposition and
in July pitched their camp to the south-east of the city, on a
high ground. The siege was undertaken in the approved method of
those days. The first batteries were set up at a distance of
about 300 paces from the ramparts, on a front of about a mile
extending from the Paphos gate to the Famagusta gate, to attack
the four southern bastions of the city.
Under cover of
the fire from these batteries the besiegers occupied the old
mediaeval ditch (which had not been completely filled in), and
from there they pushed forward zigzag trenches which could not
be enfiladed by the defenders on the ramparts. By this means
they got within eighty paces of the ramparts, and there set up
their second line of batteries from which for four days they
bombarded the four bastions, Podecattero, Constanza, Davila and
Tripoli. but, as this fire had no effect on the earthworks of
the city, they drove trenches up to the counterscarp, the outer
edge of the ditch, where they threw up parapets of earth and
posted musketeers to drive the defenders from the walls. Under
cover of this fire they rove deep trenches across the ditch,
protected from the flanking fire of the defenders by ramparts
constructed of earth and brushwood. By this means they reached
the corners of the bastions and began to cut away the masonry so
as to form a sloping approach by which to deliver an
assault.
Meanwhile the
defenders had not been idle, but the fire from the ramparts had
not been able to stop the construction of trenches and
batteries, nor were there sufficient troops in the city to
enable them to make a counter-attack. Nevertheless, when the
Turks had crossed the ditch and began to demolish the bastions,
it was evident that a sortie must be made to destroy the works
of the besiegers. The sortie, made at midday when the Turks were
sleeping in the shade, had some temporary success. Two batteries
were captured, but by scattering to collect loot the Venetians
were unable to withstand the counter-attack of the Turks, and
were driven back into the city. The defenders then gave up all
idea of further sallies, inner lines of defence were hastily
constructed across the four threatened bastions and messages
were sent to Famagusta to ask for help. They were encouraged by
reports that the Venetian fleet was coming to their aid and
rejected the proposals made by Lala Mustafa for surrender on
honourable conditions.
The siege had
now lasted for six weeks, the summer season was drawing to a
close, for fifteen days the various attacks on the bastions had
been repulsed, and Lala Mustafa determined to make a great
effort to take the city by assault. Being informed from Rhodes
that the Venetian fleet was not likely to arrive owing to
dissensions among the allies, he ordered all the troops in his
ships at Larnaca to come to Nicosia, which he had not ventured
to do before. The courage of the jannissaries was revived by the
promise of rewards to those who should first cross the walls,
and a general assault on the four bastions was ordered. Before
dawn on 9 September the Turks advanced to the attack. Scaling
the walls of Constanza bastion while the defenders were still
asleep, they made themselves masters of the bastion and drove
the defenders into the city square. The Tripoli bastion was also
stormed, and three guns there were captured and turned upon the
defenders in the square. Street by street the Turkish forces
forced their way into the city. The last stand was made in the
courtyard of the Palace. Summoned to surrender, the defenders
agreed to lay down their arms to save their lives. On the fall
of Nicosia, the commandant of Kyrenia surrendered without making
any defence, and that castle is therefore the only one of the
Venetian fortresses that has remained intact to the present day.
The remainder of the island, with the exception of Famagusta,
followed the example of Kyrenia and submitted to the Turkish
forces.
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