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Portuguese expedition to Otranto

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The Turkish Crusade of 1481 (Portuguese: A Cruzada Turca) was the participation of a Portuguese fleet against the Ottoman invasion of Otranto in 1481.

On April 8, 1481, Pope Sixtus IV issued the papal bull Cogimur iubente altissimo, in which he called for a crusade against the Turks, who occupied Otranto in Southern Italy.

Portugal decided to send a squadron into the Mediterranean under command of the Bishop of Évora, Garcia de Meneses.
By the time the Portuguese reached Otranto, the Ottomans had already withdrawn, because on May 3 the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed II had died, with ensuing quarrels about his succession.

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