The Cretan War, remembered in history as the bloodiest Ottoman attempt to wrest Crete entirely from Venetian control, was one of the most critical and protracted episodes in the long-standing conflict between Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire. By the mid-17th century, Crete had become the sole Western possession in the eastern Mediterranean, standing as the only obstacle to Ottoman efforts to assert dominance over the vital maritime routes.

The war might be described as pan-European, for in its final phase the besieged city of Candia emerged as a symbol of European defence against the Ottoman Empire’s expansionist ambition. In 1645 the Ottoman fleet arrived at Souda Bay, and the army disembarked near Chania, encountering little resistance. A year later, Rethymnon fell.