Turkish religious wars. The war between the Turks and the Venetians raged for more than 100 years. The conflict grew from a territorial battle into a religious war. The Ottoman Turks were Muslim, while the Venetians were Christian. To Christian Europeans, the threat of Muslim Turk control of the Mediterranean was a serious one, for such control increased the potential for a Turkish invasion of western Europe. As the Turks captured key Venetian territories, including the island of Cyprus, Europeans became increasingly alarmed. Several states rallied to Venice's defense and joined in the war effort in the name of Christianity. Spain, Genoa, and the Holy Roman Empire- together known as the "Holy League --allied With Venice against the Turks, who formed their own Muslim alliance with Berbers, Levantines, and corsairs (pirates) of the Barbary Coast.
War of Cyprus. The island of Cyprus, a Venetian territory, was vital to the economy of Venice. It produced honey, saffron, cotton, wax, salt, sugar, indigo, and wine, as well as abundant tax revenue. Its geographic location, however-close to the Ottoman Empire and distant from Venice-made it a likely target for Turkish invasion.
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