Castle of Bouka

The castle of Bouka (Greek: Κάστρο της Μπούκας, deriving from the Italian word bocca) was the first major Ottoman fortification of Preveza, in northwestern Greece. It was constructed by the Ottomans in 1478, in order to control the straits of the Ambracian Gulf.^{[1] [2]} During its life it underwent several improvements by the Ottomans and one by the Venetians, after they conquered it in 1684. In 1701, the Venetians blew the castle up before they handed Preveza over to the Ottomans, according to the terms of the Treaty of Karlowitz.^[3] The castle of Bouka was standing upon the site which today is called "Paliosaraga" (Greek: Παλιοσάραγα, which means "Old Seraglio"). The summer seraglio of Ali Pasha of Yannina was built on the castle's remains, during the early 1810s.^[4]

After Preveza's capture by the Greek Army in 1912, an Army Supply-Unit was based on the site of the castle.^[5] Today, there are very few remains of the castle of Bouka, despite the fact that the site has generally not been built up.^[6]

The castle lived for just over 220 years, from 1478 till 1701, under Ottoman and Venetian rule.

The castle was built by the Ottomans in 1478, fifteen years after their definite occupation of the region of Preveza and Riniassa.^[7] The date of the castle's construction is also mentioned in the Short Chronicle number 71.7: ἔκτισεν τὴν Πρέβεζαν ἐπὶ ἔτους ‚ςϡπς΄, which means: "He fortified Preveza in the year 6986" [Anno Mundi]. The year 6986 Anno Mundi corresponds to 1.9.1477 – 31.8.1478 in the Gregorian calendar.^[8]

Leonardo III Tocco, Count of Cephalonia, in a manuscript letter written on 31 March 1478, and addressed to a member of a powerful Venetian family, immediately recognised and pointed out that the construction of the castle at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf was a danger for the Republic of Venice. Because of this, he sent his relative, Bogordo di Tocco, to Venice in order to seek their assistance.^{[9] [10]} In Leonardo's letter the castle is mentioned as "castello ala bucca delo gulfo" ("castle at the mouth/entrance of the gulf").^[11]

During the first Ottoman years, the castle became known as Preveze kalesi, (the castle in the Passage), and it eventually gave its name to the small human settlement which was formed north of the castle.^[12] The first time that the name Preveza has been recorded, on a clearly dated document, is in a letter by f. Leonardo Michiel of Corfu, in 1481.^[13] Despite the fact that Preveza is mentioned in two versions of The Chronicle of Morea (the French version of the Brussels manuscript, and the Greek version of the Copenhagen manuscript), which are considered to be dated in the late 14th or the early 15th century, Karabelas refutes this view and proposes the re-dating of these two manuscripts.^[14]

The castle was presumably strengthened by the Ottomans in 1486-87, as well as in 1495 in order to ward off the imminent danger from the West, due to the conquering plans of the French king Charles VIII, which, however, were eventually abandoned.^[15] The castle was also improved in 1502, in 1530, in 1552 during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, in 1572, and by the Venetians, after they conquered Preveza, in 1684.^{[16] [17]}

When the great Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi visited Preveza, around 1670, he described Bouka as a castle guarded by a garrison of 250 soldiers, with narrow streets, and about 100 small houses without gardens, as well as a mosque constructed by Sultan Suleiman I (r. 1520 – 1566). Outside the walls of the castle there were 300 large houses with gardens and a bazaar with 100 shops.^[18]

During its Ottoman "life" the castle was attacked by opposing forces four times.

In 29 July 1481, a small fleet of twelve Catalan galleys and nine fustas, under the command of captain Vilamarino, after sailing via Corfu, they arrived at the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, where they noticed a new Ottonam castle, which was called Preveza. They attacked it and they temporarily conquered it, as it was defended by only fifteen Turkish soldiers. They looted it and went on towards the castle of Santa Maura.^[19]

At the end of January 1501, after the Ottomans had suddenly conquered Methone and Corone in the Peloponnese, the Venetians launched counter attacks. In this context, the Venetian fleet, under the vice-admiral Benedetto Pesaro, attacked Vonitsa in the Ambracian Gulf, and captured eleven Ottoman galleys, which had been built in the shipyards of Preveza. The Venetian fleet exited the Gulf on 29 January 1501, under the fire of the castle of Bouka.^[20]

In 28 September 1538, in the seas to the northwest of the Lefkas island, a famous sea battle took place, which in historically known as the Sea battle of Preveza. The Ottoman fleet, under Hayreddin Barbarossa, prevailed over the allied fleets of the Christian Powers of Europe. The castle of Bouka played a key role in this conflict.^[21]

During the night of the 2nd towards 3 May 1605, military forces of the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen of Pisa, under colonel Federico Ghislieri (Italian: Federico Fabio Ghislieri), landed on the west coast of the Preveza peninsula, near the present-day beach of Alonaki, and attacked the castle of Bouka, which was defended by an Ottoman force of 80–100 men. At dawn, the galleys of the corps, under vice-admiral Iacopo Inghirami, arrived within firing distance of the castle of Bouka, which they continuously bombarded and thus forced the Ottomans to capitulate. This was followed by the plundering and burning of the warehouses and buildings of the castle, as well as the settlement of Preveza by the Florentines, whose soldiers captured about 250 inhabitants of Preveza, both Muslims and Christians, and took considerable booty. When the flotilla reached Antipaxoi, the Christian prisoners were freed. The one-day sacking of Preveza by the Florentines cannot be considered as an occupation by them, since the Ottomans seem to have returned to the castle of Bouka a few days later.^[22]

The Venetians captured the castle on 29 September 1684, in the beginning of the 6th Ottoman Venetian war and they immediately made alterations to it. At the end of the war they had to give it up to the Ottomans.^{[23] [24]}

The castle was demolished by the Venetians in 1701, before surrendering the area to the Ottomans, in accordance to the provisions of the Treaty of Karlowitz and other bilateral agreements.^[25] Immediately after the demolition of the castle of Bouka and the handing over of Preveza, the Ottomans started constructing a large castle in order to defend the town and the straits of the Ambracian Gulf. The new stronghold was built one kilometre north of the demolished castle, at a distance of a cannon-shot from it, and it is now known as Castle of Saint Andrew (its name during the late Ottoman times was Iç Kale).^[26]