# Fall of Durrës (1501)

URL: https://allhistories.com/albania/timeline/1501-fall-of-durres
Location: Durrës
Themes: Wars & Revolts

Durrës, the ancient Dyrrachium, had been handed over to Venice by its lord in 1392 in the hope of keeping the Ottomans away. Venice valued the town for its salt deposits and its position on the Adriatic, but by the late fifteenth century it had declined because of plague, warfare and fevers from the nearby swamps. Mehmed II had besieged it in 1466 without success. During the second war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire (1499–1503), Durrës was poorly defended: between October 1500 and April 1501 it could only support a garrison of around 200 men and a population of about 1,000, and requests for reinforcements were rejected. In the summer of 1501 an Ottoman force led by Gazi Mehmet Bey Çelebi was sent against the town. While the defenders expected an attack from the sea, the Ottomans approached by land, using the marshes and valleys around the town, and captured it. The fall of Durrës ended Venice's long presence in the Albanian interior, leaving it only a few coastal footholds further north. The Ottomans strengthened and expanded the town walls between 1501 and 1512, and Durrës became the centre of an Ottoman district.

## Why it matters
The capture of Durrës completed the Ottoman conquest of the Albanian coast and ended Venetian Albania as a significant power.

Ruler at the Time: [Bayezid II](https://allhistories.com/albania/rulers/bayezid-ii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Fall of Durrës](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Durr%C3%ABs)
- [Wikipedia — Ottoman Albania (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Albania)