Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis

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Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis
Bornc. 1487
Died1535
Barbary Corsair
AllegianceOttoman Empire
Years activec. 1508–1535
RankAdmiral
Base of operationsMediterranean
Battles/warsOttoman–Mamluk War
Siege of Rhodes

Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (1487 – c. 1535) was the

admiral of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of Rhodes. He played an important role in the Ottoman conquests of Egypt (1517) and Rhodes (1522) during which he commanded the Ottoman naval forces. He also helped establish the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet based in Suez, which was later commanded by his son, Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis
.

Kurtoğlu was known as Curtogoli in Europe, particularly in Italy, France and Spain.[1] He is also alternatively referred to as Cadegoli, Cadoli, Gadoli, Kurtog Ali, Kurdogli, Kurdogoli, Kurdoglou, Cartugli, Cartalli and Orthogut in several European resources.[1]

Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis was the father of

Dutch
control.

Background

The name Kurtoğlu means Son of Kurt (Wolf) in

Hayreddin Barbarossa became a close friend of Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin, who named

Knights of St. John
.

Early career as a privateer

In 1508 Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin obtained permission from the

Janissaries to the island. However, the siege did not succeed and was eventually lifted. In August 1509, near the mouth of the Tiber River in central Italy, he engaged two Papal galleys under the command of Baldassarre di Biassa and captured one of them. In September 1510, with a squadron of nine fustas, he landed at the island of Andros, which was then under Venetian control, and took dozens of captives who were later ransomed. Later in September, with a squadron of six fustas, he landed at the Genoese-controlled island of Chios
and forced the governor to pay 100,000 aspri (silver coins) in return for the release of the island.

Between 1510 and 1514 Kurtoğlu operated in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the coasts of Spain, bringing the maritime traffic in the areas around Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, and the Kingdom of Naples to a near halt. In the summer of 1514, with one galley and three fustas, he captured a Genoese flotilla near Corsica, including its captain, Matteo Trucco.

In February 1515 Kurtoğlu assaulted Rhodes and in July he landed at Chios, from where he set sail to raid the coasts of Sicily. Later that year he appeared off the coasts of Liguria where he captured a Genoese galley and towed it, along with its crew, to his base in Bizerte.

In February 1516 he appeared off the island of Corfu where he received a message from the Ottoman sultan Selim I, who was in Edirne (Adrianople) at the moment, and invited Kurtoğlu to serve in the Ottoman navy. Kurtoğlu was to play a key role in the Ottoman conquests of Egypt in 1517 and Rhodes in 1522.

In April 1516, with a force of 20 ships, he assaulted and sacked the coastal towns of Liguria, where he also captured a galley. In mid April, he captured a fleet of 18 Sicilian trade ships which were heading to Genoa, and sent them to his base in Bizerte. From there he went to Tuscany and blocked almost every single vessel near the port of Civitavecchia. The Papal States prepared a fleet under the command of Giovanni di Biassa and Paolo Vettori to engage him. Later in that month Kurtoğlu assaulted the coasts of Catalonia in Spain.

In May 1516, together with Hayreddin Barbarossa and

archbishop of Salerno, in their fight against him. They were also joined by the forces under Prégent de Bidoux, Bernardino d’Ornesan and Servian, which together amounted to 6 galleys e 3 galleons. In the meantime, the combined fleet of Kurtoğlu, Hızır Reis and Piri Reis, which amounted to a total of 27 ships (4 galleys and 24 fustas) assaulted the port of Civitavecchia, before sailing through the Channel of Piombino and landing at the islands of Giannutri and Elba
, where they sieged the local fortress.

In June 1516 Kurtoğlu landed on the coast of Apulia and took nearly 800 prisoners. From there he sailed around Calabria to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where he captured a Sicilian ship which had recently arrived from England and emptied its cargo at the port of Genoa before returning to Sicily. He then sailed back to Djerba.

Admiral of the Ottoman Navy

While in Djerba, Kurtoğlu received the ‘’Kapucubaşı’’ of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I who asked him to become an admiral of the Ottoman navy and join the Ottoman expedition against the Mameluke Empire based in Egypt (1516–1518). Kurtoğlu accepted the offer and immediately began preparations, but the Franco-Spanish attack on La Goulette and Bizerte in August 1516 delayed his participation. The Franco-Spanish forces were joined by the Papal fleet under the command of Federigo Fregoso, Archbishop of Salerno, which also carried a force of 1,000 soldiers. They were escorted by the force of Paolo Vettori who commanded five Papal ships (three galleys and two brigantines), the force of Giovanni and Antonio di Biassa who commanded four Papal galleys, the force of Andrea Doria who commanded eight Genoese galleys, and the combined forces of Prégent de Bidoux, Bernardino d’Ornesan and Servian, which amounted to six galleys and three galleons. The combined Spanish-French-Papal-Genoese fleet had searched for Kurtoğlu in the vast area between Elba, Capraia, Corsica and Sardinia before arriving at the coasts of Tunisia. From there the combined fleet set sail towards Bizerte. The French and Genoese ships hid themselves behind the Isle of Galitta at night before attacking the port of Bizerte in the morning. Several of Kurtoğlu's ships which were anchored at the harbour were destroyed, but during the fighting Kurtoğlu managed to capture six French galleys, which he later used during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The Genoese forces landed at the port but were repulsed by the Ottomans and Tunisians and were forced to retreat, during which they lost two galleys.

Kurtoğlu finally left Bizerte and set sail to join the Ottoman fleet which headed towards Egypt. On his way he landed at Albania, where he captured a Venetian ship near the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. In September 1516 he took part in the Ottoman naval campaign against the Mamelukes in Egypt.

Later in September 1516, he arrived at

Papacy brought the news of Kurtoğlu's incursion in time and the Pope was safely rushed back to Rome. Kurtoğlu, in the meantime, sacked every single settlement between Lavinio and Anzio, before returning to his ships and setting sail towards the Island of Elba, which he captured and sacked. In November 1516 he landed at Sardinia before returning to Bizerte
.

Commander of the Ottoman naval expedition to Egypt (1517)

In March 1517 Kurtoğlu joined a vast Ottoman fleet heading towards Egypt with his own force of 30 ships near

Bozcaada (Tenedos) and once again took part in the Ottoman campaign against the Mameluke Empire. Sultan Selim I
assigned him the command of patrolling the Egyptian shores and preventing the escape of Tuman Bay (Tomanbay), the last Mameluke sultan, who finally surrendered on April 14, 1517.

Establishment of the Ottoman Egyptian Fleet and Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet

In June 1517 Kurtoğlu entered the port of Alexandria with a huge Ottoman fleet of 170 ships, capturing 2 Genoese ships carrying 100,000 ducats worth of cargo on the way. Still in June, with several light vessels, he entered the River Nile and sailed southwards until reaching Cairo, before returning to Alexandria where he captured a ship from the Republic of Ragusa.

In July 1517, together with the Ottoman Sultan

Duchy of Naxos. However, the Ottoman Empire was allied with the Republic of Venice at that time, and Piri Reis sent Selim I’s order to Kurtoğlu for him to release the Venetian captives. In January 1518 Kurtoğlu arrived at Constantinople (Istanbul) and was reassigned with the command of another large fleet, despite the protests of the Venetian baylo
in the city.

In March 1518 Kurtoğlu captured a Venetian ship near

Naxos. In October 1518 the Venetian baylo filed another complaint to the Sublime Porte, claiming that Kurtoğlu captured 3000 Venetians and transported them to Anatolian ports. In December 1518 Kurtoğlu joined forces with the fleet of Piri Reis and patrolled the waters between İmroz (Imbros) and Chios
.

Commander of the Ottoman Navy during the Siege of Rhodes (1521–1522)

In March 1519 Kurtoğlu returned to Constantinople and in September 1519

Knights of St. John. The conquest was eventually conducted by Selim I's son, Suleiman the Magnificent
, following his father's death in 1520.

In May 1521 Kurtoğlu set sail from Constantinople with a large fleet of 30 galleys and 50 fustas, and headed towards Rhodes for his first attempt of conquering the island. Kurtoğlu also wanted to take revenge from the Knights of St. John, who had killed two of his brothers and kept another one as a prisoner in the island. Arriving at Cape Maleo in Rhodes with his fleet, Kurtoğlu landed his troops on the island and attempted to capture the Grand Master of the Knights, Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, who managed to escape. Kurtoğlu later blocked the entrance of the Channel of Rhodes and sank several vessels at the port while capturing a Venetian ship from Crete. Realizing the impossibility of conquering the island with the number of soldiers in hand at that moment, Kurtoğlu postponed the final siege to a further date, requesting further reinforcements.

In the meantime, Kurtoğlu joined the forces of Kara Mahmud and participated in the Ottoman naval expedition to Dobruja and the following land expedition to Wallachia, in July 1521.

In early 1522 Kurtoğlu

City of Rhodes
. The Ottomans eventually captured the island by the end of December 1522.

Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of Rhodes

Following the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes at the end of 1522, Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis was appointed Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of Rhodes by Suleiman the Magnificent.

In March 1524, Kurtoğlu collected a large force of troops from

Janissaries in both Alexandria and later on the coasts of Lebanon
together with Ayaz Pasha. He returned to Egypt in April 1524.

Back in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas

In August 1524 Kurtoğlu arrived at Euboea with a force of one galley, two galliots, and fifteen fustas, and after some time there he set sail again towards Apulia, landing at Otranto and Gallipoli, where he captured a large ship along with seven other smaller vessels. From Gallipoli Kurtoğlu sailed across the Gulf of Taranto and reached Sicily, where he landed his troops and assaulted several ports, before sailing North into the Tyrrhenian Sea and then south to the Barbary Coast of northwestern Africa.

Return to the East Mediterranean

In May 1525 Kurtoğlu arrived at the coasts of

corsairs who joined them in such attacks. In April 1527 he was assigned with another mission to combat the Christian corsairs, which he conducted with 10 galleys. In July 1527 he arrived at Cape Maleo with a force of 4 galleys, 3 fustas and a brigantine, and captured 2 Venetian galleys while sinking the Venetian ship named Grimana. He sold the seized cargo at Methoni (Modon) before sailing to Rhodes
with the captured ships. From there he sailed to Constantinople, arriving in November 1527.

Final operations and death

In April 1530 Kurtoğlu left the

Kefalonia
. In February 1533 he returned to Rhodes.

In May 1533, while Barbarossa was sending a ship that he captured from the Venetians from Alexandria to Constantinople, a squadron belonging to the Republic of Venice tracked down the ship and started bombarding it. Kurtoğlu, hearing the sound of bombardments from a distance, arrived in time to save the ship and chase away the Venetian forces, while towing the ship to the port of

Samos which carried armaments that were sent for defending the Venetian castle near Coron from Ottoman attacks. He then sailed to Coron and forced the Venetian commander Francesco Nicardo, who was appointed with the task of defending the area from the Ottomans, to sail away. In the meantime he liberated an Ottoman ship that was captured by the Knights of St. John and brought it to Rhodes, before returning to Coron and continuing his blockade of the area with a force of 40 ships, which prevented the arrival of the Venetian support fleet. In August 1533 he sailed back to Rhodes. In September 1533 he patrolled the area between Milos
and Cape Maleo to search for Venetian ships and Christian corsairs who operated in the area. In October 1533 he patrolled the areas near Rhodes, where he stayed until his death in around 1535.

Legacy

Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis was from the generation of great Ottoman seamen in the 16th century like Barbarossa,

Piyale Pasha
and many others.

He played a key role in the conquests of Egypt (1517) and Rhodes (1522). Egypt de facto remained an Ottoman province until 1882, de jure until 1914. Rhodes remained as an Ottoman island until 1912.

Kurtoğlu established the Ottoman Egyptian Fleet based in Alexandria, and the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet based in Suez, with other later homeports in Aden and Basra.

His son Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis became famous for commanding the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet against the Portuguese forces based in Goa and leading the Ottoman naval expedition to Sumatra in Indonesia (1568–1569). Aceh province in Sumatra declared allegiance to the Ottoman Empire in 1565, and effectively became a part of the Ottoman Empire with the arrival of the Ottoman fleet and stationing of the Ottoman troops in 1569. This event marked the easternmost Ottoman territorial expansion.

See also

External links

References and sources

  1. ^ a b c Bono, Salvatore: Corsari nel Mediterraneo (Corsairs in the Mediterranean), Oscar Storia Mondadori. Perugia, 1993.
  • E. Hamilton Currey, Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean, London, 1910
  • Bono, Salvatore: Corsari nel Mediterraneo (Corsairs in the Mediterranean), Oscar Storia Mondadori. Perugia, 1993.
  • Corsari nel Mediterraneo: Condottieri di ventura. Online database in Italian, based on Salvatore Bono's book.
  • Bradford, Ernle, The Sultan's Admiral: The life of Barbarossa, London, 1968.
  • Wolf, John B., The Barbary Coast: Algeria under the Turks, New York, 1979;
  • The Ottomans: Comprehensive and detailed online chronology of Ottoman history in English.
  • Comprehensive and detailed online chronology of Ottoman history in Turkish. Archived 2012-12-05 at archive.today
  • Turkish Navy official website: Historic heritage of the Turkish Navy (in Turkish)