Francesco Morosini
FRANCESCO MOROSINI (1618-1694) was one of the greatest captains of his time. As a young man he fought against the Turks and the pirates, and after signally distinguishing himself at the battle of Naxos in 1650 he was appointed commander- inchief of the Venetian navy. He then conducted a series of successful campaigns against the Turks, but was recalled in consequence of the intrigues of his rival the Proweditore Antonio Barbaro (1661). But when Candia was attacked by a large force, under the terrible vizir Keuprili, Morosini was sent to relieve the fortress in 1667; the siege lasted eighteen months, but Morosini, in spite of his prodigies of valour, was forced to surrender to save the surviving inhabitants. He was tried, but acquitted of all blame, and on the renewal of the war with the Turkish Empire in 1684 he was again appointed commanderin-chief, and after several brilliant victories he reconquered the Peloponnesus and Athens; on his return to Venice he was loaded with honours and given the title of " Peloponnesiaco." In 1688 he was elected doge, and in 1693 he took command of the Venetian forces against the Turks for the fourth time; the enemy which had been cruising in the archipelago withdrew at his approach, so great was the terror inspired by his name. While wintering at Napoli di Romania (Nauplia) he died on the 6th of January 1694.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Barbara, Genealogia delle famiglie palrizie venete, MS., clas. vii., cod. 927, in the Marcian Library, Venice; Cappellari, Campidoglio veneto, MS., clas. vii., cod. 17, ibid.; Romanin, Storia documentata di Venezia, also other general Venetian histories; G. Dalla Santa, Due Letters di umanisti veneziani a Paolo Morosini (in Nuovo archivio veneto, xix. 92) ; G. Graziani's life of F. Morosini in Latin (Padua, 1698); A. Arrighi, Vita di F. M. (Padua, 1449). (See also VENICE.)
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
