Mediterranean Sea summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Mediterranean Sea.

Mediterranean Sea, Inland sea enclosed by Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its west-east extent is approximately 2,500 mi (4,000 km), while its average north-south extent is about 500 mi (800 km). The Mediterranean Sea occupies an area of about 970,000 sq mi (2,510,000 sq km). It has a maximum depth of about 16,000 ft (4,900 m). In the west the Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean. In the northeast the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, and the Bosporus link it with the Black Sea. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea in the southeast. A submarine ridge between Sicily and Africa divides the sea into eastern and western parts, which are subdivided into the Adriatic, Aegean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, and Ligurian seas. Its largest islands are Majorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, and Rhodes. The Rhône, Po, and Nile rivers form its only large deltas.

Battle of Lepanto Summary

Battle of Lepanto, (October 7, 1571), naval engagement in the waters off southwestern Greece between the allied Christian forces of the Holy League and the Ottoman Turks during an Ottoman campaign to acquire the Venetian island of Cyprus. The battle marked the first significant victory for a

Suez Canal Summary

Suez Canal, sea-level waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western

The western Mediterranean during the Punic Wars

Punic Wars Summary

Punic Wars, (264–146 bce), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. The origin of these conflicts is to be found in the

Ionian Islands Summary

Ionian Islands, island group off the west coast of Greece, stretching south from the Albanian coast to the southern tip of the Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos), and often called Heptanesos (“Seven Islands”). The islands are Corfu (Kérkyra), Cephallenia (Kefaloniá), Zacynthus (Zákynthos),