History of the Republic of Venice to command such a galley. By 1563, the population of Venice had dropped to about 168,000 people. With the outbreak of another war with the Ottomans in 1570, Venice, Spain and the Pope formed the Holy League, which was able to assemble a grand fleet of 208 galleys, 110 of which were Venetian, under the command of John of Austria, half-brother of Philip II of Spain. The Venetians were commanded by Sebastiano Venier. The Turkish fleet, equal in number to the allied one, had sailed up the Adriatic as far as Lesina, and then returned to Lepanto in the Gulf
Gulf of Mannar Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ramsethu, also called Adam's Bridge, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the north between India and Sri Lanka. The estuaries of Thamirabarani River and Vaipar River of South India and the Malvathu Oya (Malvathu River) of Sri Lanka drain into