ORDER OF BATTLE // October 17, 1571
Battle of Lepanto
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 132,000 estimated
Holy League
65,000
Medium-confidence figure
Ottoman Empire
67,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Lepanto, fought on 7 October 1571 in the Gulf of Patras, was the decisive naval engagement of the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1570–1573. A Holy League fleet assembled under papal initiative and built around the naval forces of the Spanish Empire and the Republic of Venice inflicted a major defeat on the Ottoman fleet, ending the engagement with Ottoman casualties estimated between 20,000 and 40,000 against Holy League losses of 7,500 to 10,000. The scale of the Ottoman defeat represented a significant check on Ottoman naval power in the Mediterranean during the course of the war.
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