The Ottoman conquest of Lesbos, 1462
- When
- 1462
- Where
- Island of Lesbos; Mytilene, Lesbos
- Episodes
- 2
In September 1462, Sultan Mehmed II conquered Lesbos, ending the Gattilusio family's semi-independent rule. The campaign followed the Ottoman reduction of Genoese holdings in the Aegean after 1453, culminating in the siege and capture of Mytilene.
Episodes
- Siege of Mytilene
The Ottomans besieged and captured Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, ending the Genoese lordship in September 1462.
- Campaign Launch
Mehmed II began the campaign against Lesbos in August 1462, with Ottoman forces landing on the island on 1 September.
Background and detail
Background. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Gattilusio family retained control of Lesbos as tributary vassals to the Ottoman Empire. By the end of 1456, only Lesbos remained in their hands after the loss of other Aegean islands. In 1458, Niccolò Gattilusio seized power from his brother and prepared defenses against an expected Ottoman attack.
The Campaign. Mehmed II initiated the campaign against Lesbos in August 1462. Ottoman forces landed on the island on 1 September 1462. The siege of Mytilene, the island's capital, followed, leading to the city's capture and the end of Genoese lordship on the island.
People involved
- Mehmed II · Ottoman Sultan
- Niccolò Gattilusio · Genoese Lord of Lesbos
Sources
- Ottoman conquest of Lesbos Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-23
- Lesbos Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13
- Mytilene Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.