PUBLIC TALK: Friends of the UWA Library Speaker

On May 29, 1416, a Venetian fleet that was escorting an ambassador to the Ottoman Sultan was attacked by a larger number of Turkish vessels off the harbour of Gallipoli, on the eastern side of the Gallipoli peninsula. The Venetians destroyed the Turkish fleet, and killed so many of its sailors and officers that the Ottoman navy was weakened for many years. This unexpected success may have caused the expansionist group in Venetian politics to accept the offer of Thessalonica in 1423. This was a failure, because they did not have enough manpower to defeat the Turks on land. This episode of ‘irrational exuberance’ marked the beginning of the slow decline of Venice.

About the Speaker

Emeritus Professor John Melville-Jones, a graduate of Cambridge University, was appointed to a lectureship in Classics and Ancient History at UWA in 1957. In addition to teaching the regular courses in Classics, he developed an interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture, and taught courses in that area until 2011. His research has been concentrated on the coinage of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and on the history of the later Byzantine Empire.

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