For much of the 16th century the Mediterranean was a battleground between Christians and Muslims. The war galley was the predominant warship type of the era, and a battle between two large war galley fleets was expected to decide the fate of the entire Mediterranean basin. In August 1571 an Ottoman fleet of some 235 galleys encountered the Christian fleet led by Spain, the Papacy and Venice. This work details a five hour melee in which the Christians inflicted a decisive defeat on the Turks in a battle which proved to be the last great galley fight of all time.

Author Biography

Angus Konstam hails from the Orkney Islands and is the author of over 15 books, many of which are published by Osprey. His other maritime titles include Elite 67: 'Pirates 1660-1730', Elite 69: 'Buccaneers 1620-1700' and Elite 70: 'Elizabethan Sea Dogs 1560-1605'. Formerly the Curator of Weapons in the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, he also served as the Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. He is now based in London, where he combines a freelance museum consultancy business with a career as a historian and writer. Christa Hook is one of Osprey's most popular illustrators, a reputation justly deserved given the perfect blend of attention to detail and narrative realisation that characterises her artwork. Her work for Osprey to date has covered subjects such as the daily life of the Norman knight, the key battles of the Napoleonic wars, and the life of the US cavalryman of the 19th century. Christa lives and works in Sussex, UK.