The conquest of Chios by the Turks. 1528-1566.

These events described above deeply affected Chios and at the same time attracted the attention of the Turks that had already advanced in the Mediterranean. They had invaded Croatia and Albania, captured a great part of Greece, occupied Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and managed even to disturb the Italian peninsula by capturing Otranto even for a short period of time. During the first decades of the 16th century they conquered North Africa from Egypt to Algeria and they succeeded in annexing Mesopotamia and Syria. By 1526, they had occupied Buda in Hungary and in 1529 they besieged for two months Vienna without being successful. The Ottoman Empire maintained powerful military forces which were so well organized, equipped and trained that constituted a not easily defeated war machine. In addition, the predominant political power deriving from the military superiority of the Turks compelled many yet independent States like Moldavia and Wallachia and some even great powers like Austria and Venice to pay tributes or make contributions respectively to the Sultan so as to keep the Turks politically and financially satisfied and thus away from their territories.

Chios had been a tributary island for a long time and because of her immediate proximity to the Ottoman lands of Asia Minor and its future was turning out to be extremely vague. It belonged to the republic of Genoa, one of the States to which the Sublime Porte was hostile. The only weak point of the Turkish military machine was the lack of a consistently reliable naval force. Soliman I tried to find a remedy for this weakness by recruiting men from his own territories, but finally was convinced that Barbary pirates under the commands of the notorious Chaireddin ‘Barbarosa’ was his best choice. As long as Andrea Doria, the eminent Genoese admiral -that played a pivotal role in the political developments prior to the liberation of the Genoese in 1528- was alive, the Turks could only manifest their hostility with verbal threats and the augmentation of the tribute that the Mahonesi were bound to pay.

The king of France Charles V and the Sultan Soliman I were involved in a series of hostilities that culminated in 1532, when the Imperial fleet attacked and occupied Coron, Patras and Naupactus (Lepanto). The Turkish fleet retrieved in the harbour of Chios and the Turks kept a distance from the episode. As expected the Republic of Genoa showed some apprehension that turned out to be unjustified by the course of events that followed. The Turkish fleet remained in the harbour for some days without committing any acts of violence and set sail soon after the incidents in the Ionian Sea. The state of insecurity was lingering above Chios and the inhabitants of the island were facing the situation with fear and anxiety. After the fall of Rhodes, Chios was the only Christian settlement in the Levant and it seemed that sooner or later it would become subjected to the Turkish expansionism.

Next year, the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, commander of the Imperial Army invited Antonio Giustiniani, the envoy of the Mahonesi in Constantinople and surprised him with his new claims. He told him that the Sublime Porte had been under the impression that Chios -his tributary island- was ruled by its inhabitants and not by Genoa. The Empire could not tolerate the fact that Genoa was issuing orders and appointing officials and Podesta’ on behalf of a neighbouring territory almost included in the lands under Turkish rule. Hence, he demanded that the Podesta’ had to be expelled and Chios should have been dominated only by the Sultan. The events that occurred between the end of 1533 and the beginning of 1534 astonished the Mahonesi that soon realised that they didn’t have any other option but to submit to the will of the Sultan. Therefore, the Podesta’ was removed and confined to Pyrghi. The Mahonesi sent an envoy with 5,000 ducats to Constantinople to announce their decision to replace the former Podesta’, but soon after his departure they received another provocative proclamation from the Sultan reminding them his previous claims. Immediately, new Podesta’ elections were organized as decided by the summoned Mahonesi and the Greek notables and Alessandro Grimaldi Paterio was finally elected.

The Mahonesi forwarded a copy of Sultan’s message to Genoa and believed that the peril had passed. The Mahonesi of Genoa were alarmed by the receiving news and took action immediately showing great zeal in assisting Chios. They elected as Podesta’ Domenico Giustiniani, whose prudence and impeccable character was well known. It was believed that he was able to contribute to the restoration of the previous good relations with the Sultan and bring life on the island back to its former standards. Most of the Genoese sympathized with the Mahonesi of Chios, but there were quite some that were actually agitated by the maladministration of the island. They believed that a radical re-organisation of the island’s public life and local government could safeguard the freedom of Chios and that could be achieved with the aid of Domenico Giustiniani’s wisdom and experience.  

Between 1534 and 1536 Soliman I had left Constantinople for an expedition to Persia. The Mahonesi during that period suspended the payments of the tributes. They hoped that these delays in payment could be useful for claiming a reduction in the owing tributes or even an exemption from them. Instead, in October 1536, they were visited unexpectedly by an envoy from Constantinople that demanded on behalf of the Sultan the full payment of the three pending tributes within a month. On top of that the tribute of 1537 would be due within some months and the three overdue tributes had still to be collected. The tributes were paid with sacrifices and the collection of the required amount was achieved by banning the circulation of gold and silver which was intended to be purchased by the Government and by voluntary gifts of gold and silver contributed by the people of Chios. The administration of the island was in a dreadful situation. During the last decades, the attention of the governors had been entirely focused on the effort to raise the necessary funds for the payment of the tributes. This attitude of the Mahonesi resulted to the negligence of all other aspects of public life and administration.

In 1552, the island of Chios experienced a new challenge by the Turks that were directly involved in the election of the administration members of the island. Sinam Pasha, the commander of the Turkish fleet referred to the Sultan Soliman I that the Chians had violated the imposed rules for Podesta’ election by accepting Franco Sauli as their new Podesta’, a person that was chosen by the Genoese. The Turks claimed that the Podesta’ should be removed, kept into custody as a hostage and demanded 30,000 ducats from Genoa. The envoy of the Mahonesi in Constantinople Pietro Giustiniani reported the Turkish demands followed by information concerning the intentions of the Turkish fleet to begin an inspection tour in the Aegean.

The Mahonesi took seriously into consideration the received information and summoned a committee so as to decide about the necessary provisions leading to the most effective handling of the situation. They soon realized that the only way to secure the safety of the island was to succumb to the Turkish demands. They invited the Podesta’ to abandon his position and prior to his departure to appoint his successor. Thus, the new Podesta’ would be elected by the Mahonesi of Chios according to the Turkish wishes, but at the same time he would be a personal choice of a member of the Genoese authorities. That decision was made on necessity grounds and under the immense pressure of the circumstances. It constituted a wise compromise that could satisfy the claims of the Sultan and the rules governing the Podesta’ election. Franco Sauli the legitimate Podesta’ adopted an ambiguous attitude towards the demands of the committee although he was fully reimbursed for his services by receiving his full salary. The Mahonesi could not await the delay in decision making by Sauli and under the pressure of a potential Turkish punitive expedition, they decided to declare him and elected in his position a member of the Mahona called Giuliano Giustiniani Paterio. At the beginning of 1553, the governors reported theses facts to the Genoese authorities asking also for their approval and confirmation of the decisions made.

During the next ten years, political and ecclesiastical problems arose that entangled Chios in a chaotic course of events that involved apart from the Turks and the Genoese, the French king that had no hesitation to ally with the Turks and sack Christian cities on the Ligurian coasts and the Pope that was concerned about the co-existence of the civil and religious authorities on the island. By year 1565, the political crisis had culminated and the Podesta’ Vincenzo Giustiniani had written to Genoa asking for instruction and advice regarding several issues, but he received no reply. He was clearly abandoned by his government. During the four years that he had been in office, he had sent various reports and had made several official enquiries that were not answered. The lack of interest for the fate of Chios exhibited by the Republic had led to a chaotic circle of events characterized by violent manifestations, followed by impunity and serious outbreaks of maladministration.

In April 1566, the Genoese occupation of the island ended. On 13th April 1566 (Easter Eve), the Turkish fleet numbering probably more than a hundred vessels under the commands of Piali Pasha set sail for Chios. Two days later they were invited to enter the port of Chios and they were welcomed by the Mahonesi and the Chian population who sent representatives on board to pass the official greetings and wishes to the admiral. The day after the Pasha toured the island and asked the local populace if the had paid their share contributing to the annual fee or kharaj to the Sultan. The answers received from the inhabitants asked were affirmative. The fears of the Mahonesi that the attitude of the Sublime Port towards them had changed -due to the succession of Ali Pasha by Mahomed Sokkolovitch in the position of the Grand Vizier (first minister to the Sultan) - were verified. Piali Pasha prior to his departure informed the Podesta’ and the governors that the overdue amount of the tribute had to be paid within three days. The Mahonesi terrified by the admiral’s claims complained and asked a six month extension. Piali that was previously greeted and welcomed and had expressed his appreciation then lost his temper and took Podesta’ and the governors into custody. Concurrently, he ordered at least ten thousand soldiers to land and collect cloth for uniforms and sails. The fort of Chios was captured without resisting and Chios surrendered to the Turks. The 220 years of Genoese rule (1446-1566) had finished (see map 5: The Ottoman Empire in 1566).  

The property of the Mahonesi was confiscated and the Churches of Santa Maria and San Domenico were converted into mosques after being sacked. The Giustiniani were all expelled and a number of them were taken as prisoners in Kaffa. Many of them were later on allowed to return to the island and recover their land while many others sought shelter in various places in Western Europe. Eighteen boys, sons of prominent members of the Mahona martyred for their faith. The Turkish occupation turned out to be harder on the Catholics than the Orthodox. That was probably due to the alliance of the Genoese with the King of Spain an enemy of the Sultan at that time and the rigid diplomatic relations and rivalry between the two States during the last two to three centuries.