Editing Battle of Lepanto (section)

== Background ==
{{Main|Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573)|Holy League (1571)}}
[[File:Battle of Lepanto Famous Sea Fights Ch 5 John R Hale.ogg|thumb|[https://archive.org/details/famous_seafights_0905_librivox/famousseafights_00_hale.mp3 Battle of Lepanto] from ''Famous Sea Fights'' by John R. Hale]]
[[File:Estandarte Liga Santa.gif|thumb|The banner of the Holy League, flown by [[John of Austria]] on his flagship ''Real''. It is made of blue damask interwoven with gold thread, of a length of 7.3 m and a width of 4.4 m at the hoist. It displays the crucified Christ above the coats of arms of Pius V, of Venice, of Charles V, and of John of Austria. The coats of arms are linked by chains symbolizing the alliance.<ref>The image shown is a reproduction of an 1888 watercolour drawn from a copy of the banner in the Museo Naval in Madrid. The original is kept in the Museo de Santa Cruz in Toledo. The banner was given to [[Toledo Cathedral]] in 1616. It was moved to the Museo de Santa Cruz in 1961. [http://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/cervantistas/congresos/cg_IV/cg_IV_04.pdf F. Javier Campos y Fernández de Sevilla, "Cervantes. Lepanto y el Escorial"]</ref>]]

The Christian coalition had been promoted by [[Pope Pius V]] to rescue the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] colony of [[Famagusta]] on the island of [[Cyprus]], which [[Siege of Famagusta|was being besieged]] by the Turks in early 1571 subsequent to the fall of [[Nicosia]] and other Venetian possessions in Cyprus in the course of 1570. On 1 August the Venetians surrendered after being reassured that they could leave Cyprus freely. However, the Ottoman commander, [[Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha]] had lost some 50,000 men in the siege and broke his word, imprisoning the Venetians, and had [[Marco Antonio Bragadin]] [[flayed alive]].<ref>Goffman (2002), p. 158</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carrabine |first=Eamonn |date=2018-04-03 |title=Reading a 'Titian': Visual Methods and the Limits of Interpretation |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2017.1407113 |journal=Deviant Behavior |language=en |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=525–538 |doi=10.1080/01639625.2017.1407113 |s2cid=148665399 |issn=0163-9625}}</ref>

The members of the Holy League were the [[Republic of Venice]], the [[Spanish Empire]] (including the [[Kingdom of Naples]], the [[Habsburg monarchy]], the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] and [[Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica|Sardinia]] as part of the Spanish possessions), the [[Papal States]], the [[Republic of Genoa]], the Duchies of [[Duchy of Savoy|Savoy]], [[Duchy of Urbino|Urbino]] and [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]], the [[Knights Hospitaller]], and others.{{sfn|Hopkins|2006|pp=59–60}}

The banner for the fleet, blessed by the Pope, reached the Kingdom of Naples (then ruled by Philip II of Spain) on 14 August 1571, where it was solemnly consigned to [[John of Austria]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Savona-Ventura |first=Charles |date=Nov 2015 |title=The Order of St. Lazarus in the Battle of Lepanto, October 1571 |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/47341 |journal=Sancti Lazari Ordinis Academia Internationalis |language=en}}</ref>

All members of the alliance viewed the [[Ottoman Navy|Ottoman navy]] as a significant threat, both to the security of maritime trade in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and to the security of continental Europe itself. Spain was the largest financial contributor, though the Spaniards preferred to preserve most of their galleys for Spain's own wars against the nearby sultanates of the [[Barbary Coast]] rather than expend its naval strength for the benefit of Venice.<ref>[[#Stevens|Stevens (1942)]], p. 61</ref><ref name=Setton1984>[[#Setton|Setton (1984)]], p. 1047. Meyer Setton, Kenneth: ''The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571'', Vol. IV. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1984. {{ISBN|978-0-87169-162-0}}, p. 1047.</ref> The combined Christian fleet was placed under the command of John of Austria with
[[Marcantonio Colonna]] as his principal deputy. The various Christian contingents met the main force from Venice under [[Sebastiano Venier]], later [[Doge of Venice]], in July and August 1571 at [[Messina]], [[Sicily]].{{sfn|Archer|Ferris|Herwig|Travers|2002|p=258}}