| Siege of Coron | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Morean War | |||||||
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Citt%C3%A0,_e_Fortezza_di_Coron_Battuta,_e_pressa_dall%27Armi_Ven-_l%27Anno_1685_-_Coronelli_Vincenzo_-_1687.jpg) The siege of Coron, depicted by Vincenzo Coronelli | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Republic of Venice | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Halil Pasha | Francesco Morosini | ||||||
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Greece_relief_location_map.jpg)  Location within modern Greece | |||||||
The Siege of Coron was the capture of the Ottoman fortress of Coron (Koroni) in the southwestern Morea (Peloponnese) by the Republic of Venice in 1685. It signalled the start of the Venetian conquest of the Morea during the Great Turkish War. Along with neighbouring Modon (Methoni), Coron had been strategically important Venetian bases until captured by the Ottomans in 1500. When Venice declared war on the Ottomans in 1684, the Venetian commander-in-chief, Francesco Morosini, quickly set his sights on a conquest of the Morea as a revenge and recompense for the recent loss of Crete. In this he hoped to have the assistance of the Maniots, a semi-autonomous and restive population that resisted Ottoman authority. However, the Ottomans pre-empted the Venetians by invading the Mani Peninsula and garrisoning its fortresses. Rather than land at Mani, therefore, Morosini chose to target Coron, securing for himself a base of operations and encouraging the Maniots to rise up by a display of military might. The Venetian forces began the siege on 25 June by digging trenches to isolate the citadel of Coron from the landward side, and began a bombardment from both land and sea. An Ottoman relief army, under the governor of the Morea, Halil Pasha, soon arrived, and a month of bloody fighting began between the Venetians and the Ottoman relief army, all the while attempts to breach the citadel walls continued. The decisive combat took place on 7 August, when the Venetian lines were broken through; a counterattack at dawn however threw the Ottomans back and dispersed their army. Free to focus on the siege, the Venetians launched a major assault on 11 August, forcing the fortress to surrender. During the negotiations, the accidental explosion of a cannon led to the massacre of the garrison due to fears of treachery. With Coron secured, the Venetians moved towards Mani, which rose in revolt. A major victory over another Ottoman army followed at the Battle of Kalamata, and the conquest of Messenia was completed in the next year with the capture of New Navarino fortress and Modon.