- Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis
Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (1487 – c. 1535) was a Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral, as well as the Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of
Rhodes . He played an important role in the Ottoman conquests ofEgypt (1517) andRhodes (1522) during which he commanded the Ottoman naval forces. He also helped establish the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet based inSuez , which was later commanded by his son,Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis .Kurtoğlu was known as Curtogoli in
Europe , particularly inItaly ,France andSpain . He is also alternatively referred to as "Cadegoli", "Cadoli", "Gadoli", "Kurtog Ali", "Kurdogli", "Kurdogoli", "Kurdoglou", "Cartugli", "Cartalli" and "Orthogut" in several European resources.Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis was the father of
Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis , the Admiral-in-Chief of the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet who commanded the Turkish naval expedition toSumatra inIndonesia (1568-1569) in order to protect it from Portuguese aggression. The Ottoman fleet arrived to theAceh province in 1569, whose ruler, Sultan Alaaddin, had earlier declared allegiance to theOttoman Empire in 1565. This event marked the easternmost Ottoman territorial expansion. Aceh effectively remained as an Ottoman protectorate until the late 18th century, and an ally of the Ottoman Empire until 1904, when it largely went under Dutch control.Background
The name "Kurtoğlu" means "Son of Kurt (Wolf)" in Turkish, a family name which Muslihiddin inherited from his father, Kurt Bey, a Turkish seaman from
Anatolia who went to northwestern Africa forprivateering together with the other famous Turkishcorsair s of that period such as theBarbarossa brothers, Oruç Reis and Hızır Reis.Hızır Reis became a close friend of Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin, who named his son after him. Oruç Reis, Hızır Reis,
Kemal Reis ,Piri Reis and Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis operated together in the Mediterranean in many occasions. In 1522 Hızır Reis (later known as Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha) sent his private fleet to assist the forces of Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis during the Ottoman conquest ofRhodes , which was the base of theKnights of St. John .Early career as a privateer
In 1508 Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis obtained permission from the
Hafsid Sultan Abu Mohammed Abdullah to useBizerte as his base for operating in the western coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The Sultan, in return, was to receive 1/5 of his gains. Kurtoğlu assembled a fleet of 30 ships, carrying 6000 corsairs, and in the summer of 1508 he assaultedLiguria , where he landed his troops atDiana Marina and sacked the city. The following year he received an appeal from the Ottoman SultanBayezid II to participate in the assault againstRhodes , and in February 1509 he took part in the Ottoman expedition to Rhodes against theKnights of St. John in command of 17 ships and transported theJanissaries to the island. However, the siege did not succeed and was eventually lifted. In August 1509, near the mouth of the Tiber River in centralItaly , he engaged two Papal galleys under the command of Baldassarre di Biassa and captured one of them. In September 1510, with a force of 9 fustas, he landed at the island ofAndros which was under Venetian control, and took dozens of captives who were later ransomed. Still in September, with a force of 6 fustas, he landed at the Genoese-controlled island ofChios and forced the governor to pay 100,000 "aspri" (silver coins) in return for the release of the island.Between 1510 and 1514 Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin operated in the
Tyrrhenian Sea and the coasts ofSpain , bringing the maritime traffic in the areas aroundSicily ,Sardinia ,Calabria and theKingdom of Naples to a near halt. In the summer of 1514, with a galley and 3 fustas, he captured a Genoese flotilla nearCorsica , including its captain, Matteo Trucco.In February 1515 Kurtoğlu assaulted
Rhodes and in July he landed atChios , from where he set sail to raid the coasts ofSicily . Later that year he appeared off the coasts ofLiguria where he captured a Genoese galley and towed it, along with its crew, to his base inBizerte .In February 1516 he appeared off the island of
Corfu where he received a message from the Ottoman sultanSelim I , who was inEdirne (Adrianople) at the moment, and invited Kurtoğlu to serve in the Ottoman navy. Kurtoğlu was to play a key role in the Ottoman conquests ofEgypt in 1517 andRhodes 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 toTuscany and blocked almost every single vessel near the port ofCivitavecchia . 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 ofCatalonia in Spain.In May 1516, together with Hızır Reis (Barbarossa) and
Piri Reis , he once again landed at Liguria. The Genoese allied themselves with the Papal forces under the command ofFederigo Fregoso ,archbishop of Salerno , in their fight against Kurtoğlu. They were also joined by the forces under the Pregeant of 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 ofPiombino and landing at the islands ofGiannutri andElba , where they sieged the local fortress.In June 1516 Kurtoğlu landed at
Puglia and took nearly 800 prisoners. From there he set sail to the Tyrrhenian Sea and captured a Sicilian ship which had recently arrived fromEngland and emptied its cargo at the port of Genoa before returning back to Sicily. He then sailed back toDjerba .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 inEgypt (1516-1518). Kurtoğlu accepted the offer and immediately began preparations, but the Franco-Spanish attack onLa Goulette andBizerte in August 1516 delayed his participation. The Franco-Spanish forces were joined by the Papal fleet under the command of Federigo Fregoso, Archbishop ofSalerno , which also carried a force of 1000 soldiers. They were escorted by the force of Paolo Vettori who commanded 5 Papal ships (3 galleys and 2 brigantines), the force of Giovanni and Antonio di Biassa who commanded 4 Papal galleys, the force ofAndrea Doria who commanded 8 Genoese galleys, and the combined forces of the Pregeant of Bidoux, Bernardino d’Ornesan and Servian, which amounted to 6 galleys and 3 galleons. The combined Spanish-French-Papal-Genoese fleet had searched for Kurtoğlu in the vast area betweenElba ,Capraia ,Corsica andSardinia before arriving at the coasts ofTunisia . 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 6 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 Turks and Tunisians and were forced to retreat, during which they lost 2 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 theAdriatic Sea . In September 1516 he took part in the Ottoman naval campaign against the Mamelukes in Egypt.Later in September 1516, he arrived at
Chios with 4 galliots and 18 fustas, where he filled his ships with water and other supplies, before sacking the ports ofCrete (Candia) which was under Venetian control. At the vicinity of Cape Maleo inRhodes he spotted 2 Venetian ships, one of which headed towardsKithira (Cerigo) where its crew managed to land but was forced to abandon the ship to the forces of Kurtoğlu, while the other Venetian ship was captured in the sea, together with its crew and captain, Marino Falier, who had 2000 ducats of gold but was forced to pay 3000 more for obtaining his liberty. In the meantime Kurtoğlu captured two more Venetian vessels - onecaravel and onegalleon . He later sailed towards Fraschia, Retimo andChania in Crete, where he captured several other ships. After leaving Crete he assaulted four other Venetian-controlled islands in theAegean Sea :Mykonos ,Skyros ,Serifos andMilos . From there he sailed towardsCalabria with 15 ships and landed atCrotone , where he bombarded the city’s fortress. He later sailed towardsPuglia with 2 galleys, 3 galliots, 6 fustas and 4 other ships, and landed atSalento before sackingSupersano , where he also captured several prisoners but liberated them in exchange of 1200 gold ducats. From there Kurtoğlu set sail towards theAdriatic Sea , where 2 Venetian galleys started following him from visual distance to spy on his moves. At the vicinity of Cape Santa Maria inLefkada (Leuca) other Turkish corsairs joined his fleet, which reached a new total of 22 ships. Towards the end of September 1516 he sailed towardsOtranto and captured a Venetian ship fromZakynthos (Zante) before capturing 2 Papal fustas. The Venetians felt intimidated of his fleet and seemed powerless to stop his actions in the Adriatic Sea. In October 1516 Kurtoğlu landed atLavinio with a force of 18 fustas, where he hoped to capturePope Leo X who was there at the moment for participating in a royal hunt; but the sentinels of thePapacy brought the news of Kurtoğlu’s incursion in time and thePope was safely galloped back toRome . Kurtoğlu, in the meantime, sacked every single settlement betweenLavinio andAnzio , before returning back to his ships and setting sail towards the Island ofElba which he captured and sacked. In November 1516 he landed atSardinia before returning back toBizerte .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. SultanSelim 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.Following the return of the Ottoman fleet back to
Istanbul , Kurtoğlu assaulted theKnights of St. John inRhodes with an Ottoman force of 35 ships. From there he set sail towardsChios andAnatolia , where he resupplied his ships before heading towardsPianosa with 13 vessels (1 galley, 3 galliots, 9 fustas) where he encountered the fleet ofAndrea Doria , which he chased until the vicinity of Cape Sant’Andrea inElba , where more Genoese ships appeared. There he assaulted the flagship of Andrea Doria with his own galley and 5 fustas, while the other Ottoman ships engaged the remaining Genoese vessels. The fighting ended in a stalemate and both sides suffered hundreds of losses.Establishment of the Ottoman Egyptian Fleet (Alexandria) and Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet (Suez)
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 RiverNile and sailed southwards until reachingCairo , before returning back to Alexandria where he captured a ship from theRepublic of Ragusa .In July 1517, together with the Ottoman Sultan
Selim I who appointed Kurtoğlu as the Commander of the Ottoman Egyptian Fleet and wanted to personally tour the newest Ottoman province which also provided the title ofCaliph to the Ottoman dynasty, Kurtoğlu sailed down the River Nile with a force of 25 vessels, which included large ships like galleys, galliots and fustas. Kurtoğlu established the Ottoman Red Sea and Indian Ocean Fleet, based inSuez , which was to confront the Portuguese fleet based inGoa on several occasions throughout the 16th century. In this period Kurtoğlu received a daily salary of 80 "aspri" (silver coins). Towards the end of the month he set sail with his fleet fromAlexandria , which carried 500 additionalJanissaries , and headed to theDardanelles . In October 1517 he appeared inRhodes and in December he sacked the Venetian-controlled island of Naxos, which was the center of theDuchy of Naxos . However, theOttoman Empire was allied with theRepublic of Venice at that time, andPiri Reis sentSelim I ’s order to Kurtoğlu for him to release the Venetian captives. In January 1518 Kurtoğlu arrived atConstantinople (Istanbul ) and was reassigned with the command of another large fleet, despite the protests of the VenetianBaylo in the city.In March 1518 Kurtoğlu captured a Venetian ship near
Mytilene inLesbos , and later that month once again assaulted Naxos. In October 1518 the VenetianBaylo filed another complaint to theSublime Porte , claiming that Kurtoğlu captured 3000 Venetians and transported them to Anatolian ports. In December 1518 Kurtoğlu joined forces with the fleet ofPiri Reis and patrolled the waters betweenGökçeada (Imbros) andChios .Commander of the Ottoman Navy during the Siege of Rhodes (1521-1522)
In March 1519 Kurtoğlu returned back to Istanbul and in September 1519
Selim I assigned him with the command of the Ottoman fleet which was being prepared to captureRhodes , the seat of theKnights 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 Istanbul 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 toWallachia , in July 1521.In early 1522 Kurtoğlu returned back to Rhodes and attempted to capture the ship of
Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam , Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, while he and the Pregeant of Bidoux were returning back fromMarseille and entering the port of Rhodes. In May 1522, with 30 galleys, Kurtoğlu appeared at Cape Sant’Angelo, and between June and July he commanded the final and successful OttomanSiege of Rhodes (1522) , together with Kara Mahmud, under the supreme command of Mustafa Pahsa (and later ofSuleiman the Magnificent , who personally took the overall command of the siege on 28 July 1522). Kurtoğlu landed his troops at the island on June 26, 1522, and towards the end of July he appeared before the City of Rhodes. The Ottomans eventually captured the island by the end of December 1522.anjak 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 bySuleiman the Magnificent .In March 1524, Kurtoğlu collected a large force of troops from
Anatolia and ensembled his fleet inRhodes before setting sail toEgypt , where he put down the mutiny ofJanissaries in bothAlexandria and later on the coasts ofLebanon together with Ayaz Pasha. He returned back to Egypt in April 1524.Back in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas
In August 1524 he arrived at
Euboea with a force of 1 galley, 2 galliots and 15 fustas, and from there he set sail towardsPuglia , landing atOtranto and Gallipoli, where he also captured a large ship along with 7 other vessels. From there Kurtoğlu sailed to the Gulf ofTaranto andSicily , where he landed his troops and assaulted numerous ports, before sailing towards theTyrrhenian Sea and theBarbary Coast in northwesternAfrica .Return to the East Mediterranean
In May 1525 Kurtoğlu arrived at the coasts of
Crete (Candia) where he captured four Venetian ships. In August 1525 he was back inIstanbul with his own galley, while he left his other ships atTinos , where he had captured a total of 27 vessels (6 galleys, 2 large ships, 1 galleon and 18 fustas). In Istanbul he received 3 large ships and 10 galleys from Suleiman the Magnificent and set sail to combat the Knights of St. John, who now operated from their new base inSicily and damaged Ottoman shipping (the Knights later moved toMalta in 1530, which became their final seat) together with the Maltesecorsair s 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 atMethoni (Modon) before sailing toRhodes with the captured ships. From there he sailed to Istanbul, arriving in November 1527.Final operations and death
In April 1530 Kurtoğlu left the
Dardanelles with a force of 36 galleys and sailed toRhodes . In June 1530 he appeared at the coasts ofSicily with 20 galleys and started chasing Formillon, a famous French corsair of that period, who damaged Ottoman shipping. He then returned back to Istanbul, and left the city in March 1532, arriving at Rhodes in April 1532. In August 1532 he went toZakynthos (Zante) where he had talks with Vincenzo Capello, Admiral-in-Chief of the Venetian Fleet, who later commanded the Venetian forces at theBattle of Preveza in 1538. From the Venetians he bought 400 gold ducats worth of silk and clothes, before setting sail towardsMethoni (Modon), during which he captured two Venetian ships (a galley named "Zena" and another vessel) together with their cargo. The Venetian governor of Zante (Zakynthos), Matteo Barbarigo, asked Kurtoğlu to give back the "Zena", but Kurtoğlu refused. The two sides encountered each other, and during the skirmish Kurtoğlu damaged a Venetian galleon while bombarding the Venetian ports of Zante andKefalonia . In February 1533 he returned back to Rhodes.In May 1533, while Barbarossa was sending a ship that he captured from the Venetians from Alexandria to Istanbul, 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
Finike inAnatolia and rescuing its precious cargo. In June 1533 he appeared offKoroni (Coron) with 25 ships, before towing a Venetian ship captured by the Turks to Rhodes. Still in June, sailing with a force of 4 galliots and 2 brigantines, he captured two Venetian galleys near Samos which carried armaments that were sent for defending the Venetian castle near Coron from Turkish 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 Ottoman Turks, to sail away. In the meantime he liberated a Turkish ship that was captured by the Knights of St. John and brought it to Rhodes, before returning back 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 betweenMilos 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 Turkish seamen in the 16th century like Hızır Reis, Oruç Reis,
Kemal Reis ,Piri Reis ,Turgut Reis , Murat Reis,Piyale Pasha and many others.He played a key role in the conquests of
Egypt (1517) andRhodes (1522). Egyptde 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 inSuez , with other later homeports inAden andBasra .His son
Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis became famous for commanding the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet against the Portuguese forces based inGoa and leading the Turkish naval expedition toSumatra inIndonesia (1568-1569).Aceh province inSumatra declared allegiance to theOttoman 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.ee also
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Turkish Navy
*History of the Turkish Navy External links
* [http://www.dallog.com/tdsa1/kurtoglu.htm Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (Turkish)]
References and sources
* E. Hamilton Currey, "Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean", London, 1910
* Bono, Salvatore: "Corsari nel Mediterraneo" ("Corsairs in the Mediterranean"), Oscar Storia Mondadori. Perugia, 1993.
* [http://www.corsaridelmediterraneo.it/indice/a.htm 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; ISBN 0-393-01205-0
* [http://www.theottomans.org/english/chronology/index.asp# The Ottomans: Comprehensive and detailed online chronology of Ottoman history in English.]
* [http://ansiklopedi.turkcebilgi.com/Kronoloji_Osmanl%FD_Tarihi Comprehensive and detailed online chronology of Ottoman history in Turkish.]
* [http://www.dzkk.tsk.mil.tr/TURKCE/tarihiMiras.asp?strAnaFrame=TarihiMiras&strIFrame=INDEX Turkish Navy official website: Historic heritage of the Turkish Navy (in Turkish)]
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