Forces of the Ottoman Empire invade Apulia…

Forces of the Ottoman Empire invade Apulia in southern Italy and lay siege to the city of Otranto and its citadel between 1480 and 1481.

After the city’s capture, more than eight hundred of its inhabitants—who refuse to convert to Islam—are executed.

A year later the Ottoman garrison surrenders the city following a siege by Christian forces.

The Martyrs of Otranto are still celebrated in Italy today, but the Christian historiography has come under some criticism by later historians.

The Ottomans disputed that large-scale executions took place; the bones to be found in the Cathedral of Otranto are claimed to be actually those of fighters killed during the Ottoman invasion.

Italian researchers conclude that some acts of terror were committed by the Ottoman invaders to create panic among the local populace around Otranto, but recent scholarship has questioned whether any victims were actually slaughtered, finding it more likely that prisoners of war were sold into slavery instead.