The 16-year First Venetian–Ottoman War (1463-1479) was particularly devastating for Venice, as it not only consumed significant economic and human resources but also resulted in the permanent loss of an important part of its "maritime empire," namely Euboea. So, in 1471, right in the middle of this war and after Euboea had fallen into Ottoman hands the previous year, the feudal lords of Crete, perhaps frightened, sent an embassy to the mother city to persuade Venice to provide them with military assistance through necessary equipment against the increasingly threatening Turks.