During the reign of Philip III, the Spanish Empire was at its peak. An area of ​​almost 14 million square kilometers was under the same command, and this is a very, very large area. And of course there were those who did not give up willingly, so war and conflict were the order of the day. There were many areas of conflict in the conquest movements or defensive movements of the Spanish Monarchy.

There were several notable wars, but one of the most spectacular was the Habsburg-Ottoman War, which pitted the Ottoman Empire against the Habsburgs (Habsburgs of Madrid and Vienna) due to religious differences, but above all for geopolitical reasons of the two empires. expansion. It lasted 265 years, and among all these conflicts, there was one that was made into a movie: the conflict starring Octavio of Aragon and resulting in an unexpected bombardment of Istanbul, the heart of the enemy.

Cape Celandine, front section. Before moving on to this section, we should talk about the Battle of Cape Celandine. It was a naval battle that took place in July 1616 and lasted three days. As part of the quest for dominance in the Mediterranean, the fleet under the command of Spanish Francisco de Rivera was attacked by a numerically superior Ottoman fleet. The Spanish had five galleons (strong, large, with lots of artillery and armor) manning about 1,600 soldiers, and the Ottomans had 55 galleys (smaller and with less firepower, but faster, more versatile and maneuverable) manning 12,000 men. .

Seeing that the sea conditions were unfavorable in the war, Francisco came up with an idea: to tie the galleons together with chains so that the sea would not isolate them and they would not become easy prey for the Ottomans. The Ottomans attempted to outflank the Spanish ships on as many as three occasions, in formation with the galleon Concepción, the flagship of the fleet in the centre. The result was 32 deaths in the Spanish ranks. 3,200 Ottoman casualties and 10 galleys sank.

Octavian of Aragon. This first episode was a tremendous victory for the Spanish Armada, but despite this success, the truth is, is there any other conflict that surpasses it, at least in terms of epicness? This is a success that is the result of Octavio de Aragón’s stubbornness. He was born in Palermo in 1565, the result of ancestry strangely related to the Monarchy, and since he was not the firstborn, he was trained for a military career. The Flanders veteran wanted to serve in the Navy. Its target was the Mediterranean.

Octavio and his fleet carried out missions in the Mediterranean for years, but in September 1616 two of his most impressive victories occurred. After a two-day battle, he succeeded in rescuing the prisoners captured by the renegade Calabrian, capturing their galleys along the way, and suffering far fewer casualties than those of his enemy. However, the real part of this story is the part that takes Octavio to Istanbul.

Destination: Istanbul. Shortly after the aforementioned victory, Octavian received new orders. Winter is not the best time to conduct naval maneuvers, but the Duke of Osuna, after chaining together many victories against the Ottomans, became emboldened and gave Octavio the order: to launch an attack on the Turkish coast to continue demoralizing the enemy. It is an extremely vague order and is free to be interpreted. Octavio was thinking the same thing.

“There was no limit to the audacity of the Spaniards,” the official chronicles wrote, “for soon the same leader was prowling in the waters of Constantinople with nine galleys. It is said that he entered the waters of Istanbul by firing a cannon. but the story was more exciting. Given the vague order, Octavian’s comment “Attack the coast of Turkey” was interpreted as “We will bombard Constantinople or Istanbul.”

The difference in size between galleons and galleys is… remarkable

Because we can. Thus, Octavian, with nine galleys under his command, set out to cross the Dardanelles at the other end of the Mediterranean, cross the Sea of ​​Marmara and reach Istanbul. It doesn’t seem like a simple feat because the strait is a great strategic point to defend and the Marmara was full of Turkish ships, but yes, they stood at the door of the enemy’s heart and bombarded it.

Two things need to be considered here. Firstly, the damage done was minimal, but the enemy did not expect that such a thing could happen, and this maneuver of the Spaniards was an act of propaganda, “I want you to know that we stand here without opposition.” Secondly, the legend comes into play. There are chronicles claiming that the Spanish camouflaged their ships as if they were Turkish ships, but this is a very complicated task and the easiest thing is that they managed to cross that inland sea thanks to the skill of the sailors.

Smoke bomb. In any case, Octavio’s fleet achieved its goal. He attracted the attention of the enemy, causing 30 Turkish galleys to pursue and replace the Spanish, eager for revenge. They obviously had no intention of being captured and had already agreed on an escape plan: one ship’s lights were clearly misleading them, while the rest were to sail towards a previously agreed upon point. Shortly before dawn, the decoy boat turned off its lights (a giant lighthouse beacon) and misled the pursuers.

More victims on the way. It would be logical to think that after the last mission before winter, Octavio would take the fleet back to base to rest, but… no. They set course for Alexandria, where the fleet picked up ten enemy merchant ships loaded with treasure before returning home. It was a move that paid off: Octavio achieved his very liberal goal of “attacking the Ottoman coast” and, in the process, returned home with a good fleet and full stores.

It was undoubtedly a significant achievement in the history of the conflict, but things did not end well for Octavio, who returned to Naples with honor, but lost his honor after an incident that caused him to abandon his superior. and I retreat. After this he was detained for five months, but was released again in 1622 to undertake another expedition into Turkish territory.

This fall from grace was a complete fall from grace, as his name no longer appeared in subsequent expeditions and documents, and he died in 1623, but this success of the propaganda bombardment of Constantinople remained in history as a film play.

Pictures | Cristoforo Buondelmonti, Juan de la Corte, Nicholas Hilliard

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