Lémnos

Lemnos lies in the northern Aegean, near the sea route to the Dardanelles. Its towns of Myrina and Hephaistia flourished in antiquity; later, when Byzantium lost much of Asia Minor, the island became an important source of food for the empire. Its harbors and fortresses also made it a prize for those seeking control of the straits.

Venice seized Lemnos in 1464 but returned it to the Ottomans under the treaty of 1479. The Ottomans repaired its fortifications and brought new settlers from Anatolia. Venice captured the island again in 1656, only to lose Kastro after a 63-day Ottoman siege the following year. In 1770 a Russian siege of Kastro ended when Ottoman ships attacked the Russian fleet in Mudros Bay, forcing its withdrawal.