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The Siege of Candia (Heraklion, Crete) (1648-1669) was possibly the longest siege in history.
In 1645, 60,000 Ottoman Turks led by Yussut Pasha disembarked on Venetian Crete and occupied Chania (La Canea) and Rethimno (Rettimo). Both of these cities took two months each to conquer. Between 1645 and 1648, the Turks occupied the island rest of the island and prepared to take the capital, Candia.
In May 1648, the siege of Candia began. The Turks spent three months investing the city, which included cutting off the water supply. For the next 16 years, the Turks bombarded the city without being able to gain entry. After the signing of the treaty of Vasvar (August 1664), the Turks bought more forces to bear. The turning point was the decision of the French to abandon Candia in August 1669. General Sea Captain Francesco Morosini, commander of the Venetian forces, surrendered to Grand Vizier Achmed Koprolu (Kioproulis), in September 27th 1669.
As part of the negotiations, all Christians were allowed to leave the city with whatever they could carry with them. In addition, Venice retained the possession of three fortresses (Grambusa, Souda and Spinalonga) on islets, which protected natural harbours where the Venetian ships could stop during their route eastwards and was compensated for the loss of Crete by an expansion in Dalmatia. However, Morosini negotiated the treaty without asking authorisation from the Venetian Senate, which made him a controversial figure for some years.
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