Different Muslims and Christian European powers traded control of various Mediterranean islands after Sicily was consolidated. What was once considered a Muslim lake, the Mediterranean was then culturally and religiously divided. At the end of the Middle Ages, it became a theater of war between the Ottomans and rival Christian powers.
| 903 | The Muslims capture the Balearic Islands defeating the Franks. |
| 960 | Muslims conquer Sardinia. |
| 961 | Byzantines retake Crete and end over 140 years of Muslim control on the island. |
| 1026-1035 | Muslim forces from Sicily combined with the Zirids from North Africa attack Byzantine holdings of Illyria, some Greek islands, and the Thracian coast. |
| 1090 | The Muslims are expelled from Corsica and Malta. |
| 1192 | Richard I of England captures Cyprus. |
| 1231 | The Templars of Majorca receive a Crown charter from King James I to settle Muslims in their share of the island. To coax the Muslims, King James offers them regalian tax exemption and protection. Dom Pedro receives the lordship of the island. |
| 1240 | Prince Peter of Portugal, Majorca's lord, receives a reprimand from Pope Gregory IX urging him not to settle any Muslims on the island. |
| 1287 | The Muslim population succumbs to slavery upon the fall of Minorca to the Spanish. |
| 1353 | The Byzantine Empire gives Ottoman sultan Orkhan the fortress of Tzympa after being loaned Turkish troops. The fort, located on the European side of Hellespoint, gives the Ottomans their first foothold in Europe. |
| 1397 | Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I invades Greece capturing many strongholds until the Greeks sue for peace and become a tributary of the Ottomans. This came a year after defeating a coalition of the Europe's Christian forces –in one of the largest crusading armies, it contained forces from France, Germany, England, Hungary and ships from the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, Genoa, and Venice– at the Battle of Nicopolis (in Bulgaria) and devastated the countryside around Budapest in Hungary. |
| 1430 | Ottoman Turks, under Sultan Murad II, capture Salonika in Greece from Venetians with help from the Duke of Milan. |
| 1461 | Ottomans conquer Greece and the Aegean. |
| 1482 | Jem Sultan (b. 1459), son of Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II, sends a letter to Pierre d'Aubusson, with his two trusted companions, Dogan Bey and Firenk Suleyman Bey, requesting refuge. Jem Sultan temporarily stayed in Pisidia after losing the war for succession to Ottoman throne to his brother Bayazid II. He is advised to seek asylum in Europe rather than Asia as the Christian rulers seeking leverage against the rising Ottomans would be more amenable to Jem's position. Firenk Suleyman was a European convert to Islam (Firenk being a corruption of"Frank" meaning "French" or "European") who provided superior communication capacities with the Knights. On 29 July, Jem (also spelled Cem) will land in Rhodes to a welcoming and curious crowd. Jem's residence is known to the present day as the Palace of Zizim. After 34 days in Rhodes, Jem set sail to France accompanied by his entourage of 57 and a 300 knight escort. |
| 1499 | At the first Battle of Lepanto, the Ottoman navy defeats the Venetians annexing some Venetian islands and coastal holdings in the Aegean and Ionian seas. |
| 1516 | A Mamluk ambassador comes to Rhodes to demand the surrender of Prince Murat, son of Jem Sultan. Murat fled Cairo fearing he woud be given up to the Ottomans and executed. The Knights refused the Mamluk offer. Murat converted to Catholicism and took the name Pierre Mehmet Sayd. In 1492, Pope Alexander establishes the Principate de Sayd as a fief for the descendents of Jem and King Ferrantino names Pierre Mehmet Viscomte de Sayd. Some branches of Maltese nobility claim direct descent to this Ottoman line even today. |
| 1522 | The island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean falls to Suleiman the
Magnificent. The Knights are allowed to leave the island with their property and the citizens are granted freedom of worship and property. Suleiman demands the surrender of Prince Murat, known as Pierre Mehmet Sayd, and has him executed. Some records state that Little Jem, grandson of Jem Sultan, was also executed, but European records state that he went with the Knights to their new base in Malta. |
| 1551 | Ottoman navy sweeps the Western Mediterrancean. Bastia in Corsica falls. |
| 1556 | Ottomans attack Corsica. |
| 1565 | Ottoman Admiral Draghut Rais dies during an attack on the Knights of St. John stronghold of the island of Malta. The siege is lifted. |
| 1566 | Suleiman the Magnificent dies. Ottomans capture the Genoese held island of Chios. |
| 1570 | Ottomans begin a conquest of the island of Cyprus from Venice. |
| 1571 | In response to the capture of Cyprus, the Christian forces– Spain, the papacy, and Venice– under Don Juan defeat the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto (Greece). The victory is a significant one for the Christians as it shatters the image of Turkish naval invincibility; however, due to internal instabilities and the immediate renovation of the Ottoman navy, Europe cannot consolidate the win. Christendom counts Miguel Cervantes, renowned author of Don Quixote, among the many wounded; he lost the use of his left arm earning the nickname el manco de Lepanto (the one-handed soldier of Lepanto). The Ottomans suffer heavy losses, but thanks to Uluj Ali, the Turkish left were saved. |
| 1669 | Candia falls giving Crete to the Ottomans. |
| 1685 | Venetians attack Ottoman Greece. |
| 1687 | The Venetian force occupies Greece. During the battle, the Parthenon sustained heavy damage. During transportation to Venice as trophies, the chariots and horses of Athena fell and were badly damaged. |
| 1718 | The Peace of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire and Venice and Austria followed Ottoman wars with the two European powers over Crete, Greece, and parts of the Balkans. |
| 1798 | A Tunisian raid on the island of San Pietro, near Sardinia, sees the capture of nearly 1,000 slaves. |
| 1803 | Napoleon forces Tunis to free all the slaves captured in the San Pietro raid in 1798 |
| 1821 | Greek insurrection against Ottoman rule begins in Morea igniting the Greek War for Independence. |
| 1822 | Greeks proclaim their independence at Epidauros. The Ottomans occupy Chios initiating the Battle of Chios. The Ottomans invade the Grecian peninsula and besiege Missolonghi. |
| 1823 | Ottomans lift the siege on Missolonghi. |
| 1825 | Ottoman Sultan Mahmud appeals to Egypt's Muhammad Ali for help against the Greek revolt. The latter sends his son Ibrahim with a fleet and an army to Morea while the Ottomans dispatch Reshid Pasha from the north. The European powers give their support to the Greeks. |
| 1827 | At the Battle of Navarino of the Greek War for Independence, French, British, and Russian ships destroy the Turko-Egyptian fleet. |
| 1828 | Egyptian forces begin the evacuation of Greece. |
| 1832 | The Treaty of London officially establishes Greece as an independent country. |
| 1877 | Turkey transfers Cyprus to British control. |
| 1930 | Turkey signs Treaty of Friendship with Greece and joins the League of Nations. |
| 1953 | The French force Moroccan Sultan Muhammad V into exile in Corsica. |
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