Ottoman conquest of Otranto

Battle of Otranto
	Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe; and Hungarian–Ottoman Wars
	; Castle of Otranto
Date	28 July 1480 – 10 September 1481
Location	Otranto, Kingdom of Naples
Result	Ottoman forces conquer Otranto; Christian forces recapture the city in September 1481;
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Kingdom of Naples; Papal States; Crown of Aragon; Kingdom of Sicily; Hungary;
Commanders and leaders
Gedik Ahmed Pasha	Francesco Largo †; Alfonso, Duke of Calabria; Paolo Fregoso; Gaspare de Spes; Balázs Magyar;
Strength
18,000 infantry; 700 cavalry; 128 ships;	Kingdom of Naples: 20,000 infantry; Hungary: 2,100 Hungarian heavy infantry;
Casualties and losses
Garrisoned forces surrender, 300 captured	12,000 killed in action; 5,000 enslaved;

In the summer of 1480, the Ottoman Empire invaded southern Italy, and laid siege to Otranto (Kingdom of Naples), finally capturing it on 11 August. This was their first outpost in Italy. According to a traditional account, more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city had been captured. The Martyrs of Otranto are still celebrated in Italy. A year later, Otranto was surrendered by the Ottomans to Duke Alfonso of Calabria after a siege by Neapolitan troops, supported by a Papal fleet (under Paolo Fregoso of Genoa) and Hungarian forces, and amid uncertainty upon the death of sultan Mehmed II.