Sieges
Known Sieges of the Castle
The Persian general Otanes besieges Myrina in his endeavour to consolidate Persian domination on Lemnos.
The Athenian Miltiades besieges Myrina, which is occupied by the Persians, captures it and installs Athenian cleruchs.
Forces of the Macedonian king Kassander, one of the successors of Alexander the Great, in their attempt to get on their side the Lemnians who had allied with King Antigonos, also a successor of Alexander the Great, besiege Myrina, but without success.
The Byzantines with Admiral Lykarios, during operations to reunite the lost territories with the Byzantine Empire, besiege the castle, capture it and dissolve the Duchy of the Navigajosi.
The Crusader fleet, headed by Ludovicus Scarabis, besieges the castle of Myrina, which is dominated by the Ottomans, and captures it.
The historian Kritovoulos besieges and captures the castle, on behalf of the Ottoman State and the ruler Demetrios Palaiologos, who will pay tribute to Mohamed II.
Comino, collaborator of the Venetians, besieges and captures the castle of Myrina, and in 1464 hands it over to the Venetians.
Repeated unsuccessful attempts by the Ottoman admiral Mahmud Pasha to regain the castle, with important sieges:
- March 1470
- June 1470 (5 consecutive days and nights with 5 successive assaults)
The Venetian admiral Borri besieges the castle, which is under Ottoman control, and captures it 19 days later.
The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman State, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, besieges the castle and after 63 days wins it back from the Venetians.
The Russian admiral Alexey Orlov besieges the castle, then under Ottoman control, for 3 months. Just as the besieged are about to surrender, the appearance of Hasan Cezayirli with 3,000 soldiers forces the Russians to retreat.
The castle, occupied by the Germans, is bombarded by the British submarine Taurus.
In 1442 an important castle on Lemnos was besieged unsuccessfully for 27 consecutive days, with constant attacks and cannon fire causing several cracks in the fortification walls. Here, the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI Palaiologos, had taken refuge with his wife. Although the Byzantine historian Chalkokondyles mentions that this was the castle of Kotsinas, some researchers believe that it was the castle of Myrina, as they contend that this was the only castle that could withstand a siege and cannon fire of such intensity.