In previous articles, we talked about some of the famous corsairs and admirals of the Maghreb and the Ottoman Empire. We will now continue this story. First, let's talk about two famous Turkish sailors who became famous not only in battles, but also left a significant mark in science, literature and culture.
Piri reis
Ahmet ibn-i-el-Hajj Mehmet el-Karamani, better known as Piri Reis, is not only a famous cartographer, but also a captain of a Turkish warship, and an admiral of the Indian Ocean fleet based in Suez.
He was born in 1470 and was the nephew of the Ottoman admiral Kemal-Reis, the same one who, by order of Sultan Bayezid II, evacuated some of the Jews from Spain on the ships of his squadron, who were forced to leave the country after the Edict of Granada was issued by the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand and died in a shipwreck in 1511.
On the ship of Kemal Reis, at the age of 17, our hero took part in the attack on Malaga and until the death of this admiral (1511) fought at sea with the Spaniards, Venetians and Genoese, and then until 1516 was engaged in cartographic work. A fragment of his first card, published in 1513, could be seen on the 10 lire banknote of the 8th series, which was in circulation from January 1, 2005 to January 1, 2009:
His main work, Kitab-i-bakhriye (Book of the Seas), was published in 1521: it is an atlas containing 130 descriptions and navigational charts of the Mediterranean coasts and ports. In 1526, an expanded version of the atlas was published, in which there were already 210 maps. The work was truly grandiose and arouses great respect, since in his work Piri Reis studied a huge number of sources, including ancient ones (the earliest date back to the 4th century BC) and those that have not survived to our time. In addition, Piri Reis himself indicates that he used maps that were available on captured Spanish and Portuguese ships (including those captured in the Indian Ocean), Arabic maps, as well as a copy of the Columbus map, the original of which has been lost.
Piri Reis (or the unknown author of the maps used by him) correct ideas about the shape and size of the Earth are surprising to modern geographers. And some of these maps, which depicted the coast of Brazil, the Andes, the Falkland Islands and even the outlines of Antarctica, are considered fake by many historians. But on these fragments of maps the original autographs of Piri Reis have been preserved, which finally confuses the situation.
Especially the "map of Antarctica" made a lot of noise. On it, however, there is no Drake Passage, no ice cover, there are images of rivers, forests and animals, but the outlines of the coast of Princess Martha, Queen Maud Land and the Palmer Peninsula are quite recognizable. At the same time, modern researchers believe that the found map is a fragment of another, and the "center of the world" on the lost "big" map should be Cairo or Alexandria. Therefore, it has been suggested that the primary source was a map from the famous Alexandria library that has not come down to our time.
However, there are versions that it is not Antarctica that is depicted on this map, but the eastern coast of South America (somewhat distorted), the coastline of Central America (also the eastern coast) or southeast Asia with Japan.
In 1516, Piri Reis returned to the fleet, took part in the conquest of Egypt and Rhodes, actively cooperating with Khair ad Din Barbarossa and Kurdoglu Reis. In 1524, it was his ship that Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha chose to travel to Egypt.
In 1547, having received the rank of admiral "Reis", he was sent to Suez, where he became the commander of the Indian Ocean fleet.
He inflicted several serious defeats on the Portuguese, occupying Aden, Muscat, the Qatar Peninsula and the islands of Kish, Hormuz and Bahrain, forcing the Portuguese to withdraw from the Arabian Peninsula.
For disobeying the order of the Sultan, Piri Reis was executed at the age of 84, but modern Turkey is proud of him, his name was given to the first Turkish-made submarine launched in December 2019.
Sadie Ali-reis
In the famous battle of Preveza, which was described in the article "Islamic pirates of the Mediterranean", the right flank of the victorious fleet of Khair ad-Din Barbarossa was headed by Salah Reis (described in the article "The Great Islamic Admirals of the Mediterranean"). The left was commanded by Seydi Ali Reis.
He was born in Galata in 1498, his grandfather served as chief of the naval arsenal, his father was in charge of Bahriye Dârü's-Sınaası (literally - something like “the center of the naval industry). It is not surprising that the boy went on this part - he began his service in the naval arsenal. In 1522 he took part in the siege of Rhodes, which ended with the expulsion of the Hospitallers from this island. Then he served under the command of Sinan Pasha and Turgut Reis (they were described in the article "Disciples" of Khair ad-Din Barbarossa ").
Seidi-Ali received the admiral's post at the end of 1552, when he was appointed commander of the Indian Ocean fleet.
Arriving in Basra (a port in the Persian Gulf), he organized the repair and arming of 15 galleys with new guns, which were then to be transferred to Suez. Having put the ships of this squadron in order, he went to sea with them, and after 10 days collided with the Portuguese fleet, which consisted of 25 ships, among which were 4 large sailing ships, 3 galleons, 6 patrol ships and 12 galleys. The fierce battle ended in a draw, many ships were seriously damaged, one of the Portuguese galleons was sunk. With the onset of darkness, the squadrons dispersed, and did not dare to enter into a new battle.
A new clash with the Portuguese occurred 18 days later: the son of the Portuguese governor of Muscat (Oman), at the head of 34 ships, attacked the already battered Ottoman squadron. In this battle, each side lost 5 ships. A few days later, Seydi-Ali-Reis brought the remaining ships to the port of Gwadar (now part of the modern Pakistani province of Baluchistan), where he was warmly welcomed by the locals and was finally able to replenish food and fresh water supplies. On the way to Yemen, the squadron was caught in a storm that lasted 10 days and carried them off the coast of India. They were able to dock about two miles from the city of Daman. During this storm, the ships received such damage that it was almost impossible to repair them: according to Seydi-Ali, it was just a miracle that they were able to get to the coast on them. By agreement with the ruler of Gujarat (now a state in western India), the ships with all their weapons were handed over to the local authorities in exchange for the right of free movement and a promise to pay for them, not to Admiral Seydi-Ali, but to the Port authorities. Many of the Ottoman sailors went into the service of the local sultan, at the head of the remaining Seidi-Ali-reis moved to Surat. From there he began his overland journey (which lasted two years and three months) to Constantinople: through Delhi, Kabul, Samarkand, Bukhara, Iraq, Anatolia.
Suleiman the Magnificent Seydi-Ali-reis brought letters from the rulers of 18 states, which he visited during his journey.
The sultan accepted his apology for the loss of the ships, ordered his salary to be paid for 4 years, and appointed a muteferrik to the court position, which assumed a daily salary of 80 ahche.
But this admiral nevertheless became famous not for the naval service, but for the book "The Mirror of the Countries", translated into many languages: this is a description of his great journey, which has not lost its historical and literary significance in our time.
Sadi Ali is also known as the author of many poems written under the pseudonym Katib-i Rumi (The Bookman of the West).
"First" (Senior) Murat-Reis
Another great pirate admiral of the Maghreb was born into an Albanian family in 1534 - either on the island of Rhodes, or in Albania. When the boy was 12 years old, he, like Giovanni Galeni, was captured by one of the captains of the Barbary pirates - a certain Kara Ali, and, having also converted to Islam, joined the corsairs. However, there is another version, according to which Murat joined the pirates voluntarily, and not to anyone, but immediately to Turgut-Reis. It is also known that for some time Murat served on the Piri-Reis ship.
The first of Murat's independent raids was unsuccessful - his ship crashed on the rocks - in 1565. But already during the second raid, he captured three Spanish ships.
Further, he was subordinate to Uluja-Ali, who became the ruler of Algeria. In 1570, at the head of 25 galleys, he participated in the capture of the last Venetian fortress in Cyprus - Famagusta.
In 1578, Murat Reis, commanding a squadron of 8 galiots, attacked two large Sicilian ships off the coast of Calabria, capturing one of them and, forcing the flagship (on board which was the Duke of Terra Nova), to throw himself onto the rocks. In 1585, he, the first of the Algerian pirates, went to the Atlantic, visited the Moroccan Salé and attacked Lanzarote, the northernmost of the Canary Islands: he captured three hundred prisoners, including the governor.
In 1589 he won a battle with the hospital galley "La Serena", which was leading a captured Turkish ship to Malta.
After that, Murat Reis was appointed commander of the galley fleet of Algeria.
In 1594, Murat, commanding four small galiots, captured two Tuscan galleases.
This pirate admiral died in 1609, when his ships clashed in battle with a squadron of 10 French and Maltese ships, among which was the famous "Galleono Rossa" - a 90-gun battle galleon known as "Rosso Inferno" ("Red Hell" or "Infernal Red"). Then 6 out of 10 enemy ships were captured, including the "Red Galleon", 160 cannons and 2,000 muskets, as well as 500 sailors and soldiers, but Murat-Reis was mortally wounded. The admiral died on the way to Cyprus and, according to his will, was buried on the island of Rhodes.
In Turkey, one of the submarines was named in his honor.
Piiale Pasha
Another great admiral of the Ottoman Empire, Piyale Mehmed Paşa, was either Hungarian or Croat, born in Hungary in 1515. He came to Turkey as a child (probably after the Battle of Mohacs - August 29, 1526), was converted to Islam and made a dizzying career, becoming the third person in the empire.
The boy, apparently, turned out to be extremely intelligent and talented, because he was sent to Enderun, a school located in the third courtyard of the Topkapi palace complex, where the most capable "foreign boys" were trained, taken from the conquered Christian countries according to the "devshirme" system (this was told about in the article "Janissaries and Bektashi").
The education at this school was very serious and included seven stages: "Small Chamber", "Large Chamber", "Sokolnichy Chamber", "Military Chamber", "House of the Economy", "Treasury Chamber" and, the highest level - "Personal chambers" … The further the student advanced along these steps, the more prestigious the position he later occupied.
Graduates of the "Military Chamber" were usually sent to serve in the unit of the Sipahs. Those who graduated from the "House of Economics" were engaged in economic support of the palace and mosques, or were sent to serve in the guards cavalry units (kapi kullari - personal slaves of the Sultan). Graduates of the "Treasury Chamber" became palace employees, or were also sent to the Sultan's Guard. Pupils who were trained in the chamber of "Private chambers" became senior pages, valets, squires of the Sultan, or equestrians. Our hero, passed all the steps of Enderun, and in 1547 we see him in the position of kapyjibashi - the head of the internal security of the Sultan's palace. At this time he was 32 years old. Agree that in Hungary this boy, the son of a poor shoemaker, would not even dream of such a career.
Suleiman I (the Magnificent) generally appreciated this admiral very much and in 1566 even married his granddaughter to him - the daughter of shehzade (the title of son or grandson of the Sultan), the future Sultan Selim II (her name was Gevkheri Mulyuk Sultan), which was an incredible honor.
Selim was the son of the "fatal woman of the Ottoman Empire" - Roksolana (Khyurrem Haseki-Sultan), and in Turkey he was called "Fair-haired". But he went down in history under the nickname "Drunkard".
Having never seen Roxolana, Titian decided that she should look like this:
But such Suleiman and Roksolana appear before us in an engraving by an unknown artist (about 1550):
The inscription on this twin portrait reads:
“La piu bella e la piu favorita donna del gran Turcho dita la Rossa” (The most beautiful and most beloved woman of the Great Turk, Russian).
And this is a frame from the TV series "The Magnificent Century":
But back to the gallant admiral and son-in-law of the Ottoman sultans, Piyale Pasha.
In 1554, Piiale was appointed Pasha of Galipoli, together with Turgut Reis attacked the islands of Elba and Corsica, and in 1555 he commanded a Turkish squadron operating in alliance with the French fleet.
In 1556, his squadron captured Oran and Tlemcen, in 1557 - Bizerte, in 1558 - the island of Majorca, where many Christians were taken prisoner. In the same year, acting together with Turgut Reis, he captured the city of Reggio di Calabria.
The threat to the Mediterranean coasts of Christian countries was so great that on the initiative of the Spanish king Philip II, an alliance was created, which was joined by the Republic of Genoa, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the papal region and the Hospitaller Order. The Duke of Medinaceli, Viceroy of Sicily, was appointed to command the Spanish ships. The allies of the Spaniards were led by Giovanni Andrea Doria - the son of the nephew of the famous Genoese admiral (Andrea Doria, he was described in previous articles). Later, Giovanni will take part in the Battle of Lepanto.
A landing (about 14 thousand people) was landed on the island of Djerba, the Turkish fort Bordj el-Kebir fell, the sheikhs of Djerba recognized the power of Philip II and agreed to a tribute of 6 thousand Ecu. However, the allies did not have time to enjoy their victory properly: on May 11, the fleet of Piiale Pasha approached Djerba, which included the ships of Turgut Reis.
The naval battle took place on May 14 in the strait near the Kerkenna Islands: the allied fleet of Christians was practically destroyed. Two months later, European troops surrendered on Djerba. About 5,000 soldiers and officers were taken prisoner, including Don Sancho de Levia (squadron commander of Sicily), squadron general of Naples Don Berenger Keckennes and the commander of the Spanish garrison of Djerba don Alvare de Sande, who later rejected the offer, having accepted Islam, to lead the Turkish army in the war with Persia. This triumph of Piyale Pasha was overshadowed by the accusations of the Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha that the admiral had not surrendered the son of Duke Medinaceli Gaston to the Ottoman authorities in order to receive a ransom for him himself. But the vizier died, and the investigation was not completed. Moreover, in 1565 the successful admiral was appointed kapudan pasha. They say that then he found his mother and brought her to Constantinople, where she lived, remaining a Christian.
As kapudan pasha, he led an expedition against Malta (Great Siege of Malta). Seraksir (commander-in-chief of the ground forces) he had Kizilakhmetli Mustafa Pasha, a little later arrived Turgut-Reis, who will die during the siege of Fort St. Elm.
It was not possible to capture Malta then.
"Only with me my armies achieve triumph!", - Sultan Suleiman said on this occasion.
Seraskir of this expedition was demoted, but Piyale Pasha did not lose the position of the Sultan. In April of the following year, he captured the islands of Chios and Naxos without a fight, and then plundered the coast of Apulia.
In September 1566, Sultan Suleiman died, his son Selim ascended the throne of the Ottoman Empire (recall that Piyale Pasha was married to his daughter).
During his coronation in Constantinople, another revolt of the janissaries broke out, who threw Piyale Pasha, who had gone to them for negotiations, from his horse. They calmed down only after receiving significant sums of money as "gifts" and achieving a salary increase. In addition, Piyale Pasha was forced to cede the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet to the Age Janissary Muezzinzade Ali Pasha. It was he who commanded the Ottoman fleet in the battle of Lepanto (1571), and, according to many, his incompetence was one of the main reasons for the defeat:
"The great admiral of the Ottoman fleet in his life did not even command a rowing boat", - wrote on this occasion the Turkish historian of the 17th century Kyatib elebi.
(The Battle of Lepanto was described in the article "The Great Islamic Admirals of the Mediterranean.")
But back to Piyale Pasha. Having received the post of the second vizier, after the defeat at Lepanto, he worked together with Uluj Reis on the restoration and reform of the Ottoman fleet. The last time this admiral went to sea was in 1573, when the Ottomans again plundered the coast of Apulia. He died in Constantinople - January 21, 1578.
The deaths of the most famous and fearsome pirates of the Maghreb and the great admirals of the Ottoman Empire did not greatly improve the situation of their opponents - Christians. So, if in 1581 the Algerian fleet consisted of 26 warships, then in 1616 there were 40 ships in the Algerian combat fleet. It was divided into 2 squadrons: the first, of 18 ships, cruised off Malaga, the second (22 ships) controlled the sea between Lisbon and Seville.
According to the calculations of modern researchers, only one of the English and Scottish merchant ships from 1606 to 1609. Barbary pirates captured at least 466. From 1613 and 1622. Algerian corsairs alone captured 963 ships (including 447 Dutch and 253 French). And in the period from 1625 to 1630, they captured another 600 ships. Catholic priest Pierre Dan reports that in 1634 there were 25 thousand Christians in the position of slaves in Algeria, in Tunisia there were 7 thousand, in Tripoli - from 4 to 5 thousand, in Sal - about 1.5 thousand people.
As a result, at the beginning of the 17th century, the coasts of Puglia and Calabria were practically deserted; at that time, the locals risked mainly pirate-related "commercial affairs" of robbers and smugglers, or completely poor people who fled from debts or were persecuted by the authorities of other Italian lands for committed there crimes.
