Murat Reis the Elder ( tr, Koca Murat Reis; sq, Murat Reis Plaku 1534 – 1609) was an Ottoman

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

, who served in the Ottoman Navy. He is regarded as one of the most important

Barbary corsairs The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

Early career

Born into an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

family on

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

in 1534 he began his career when he joined the crew of

Turgut Reis Dragut ( tr, Turgut Reis) (1485 – 23 June 1565), known as "The Drawn Sword of Islam", was a Muslim Ottoman naval commander, governor, and noble, of Turkish or Greek descent. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended ...

at a very young age. He also fought alongside

Piri Reis Ahmet Muhiddin Piri ( 1465 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis ( tr, Pîrî Reis (military rank), Reis or ''Hacı Ahmet Muhittin Pîrî Bey''), was a Navigation, navigator, Geography in medieval Islam, geographer and Cartography, cartographer. ...

in several expeditions. In 1534 Murat Reis accompanied Hayreddin Barbarossa Pasha to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

where they were received by Suleiman I and appointed to take command of the Ottoman fleet. While in Constantinople, Murat Reis participated in the construction of new warships at the naval arsenal on the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

Battle of Preveza

Murat Reis took part in all of the early naval campaigns of Turgut Reis. On September 25 and 26, 1538, he was assigned with the task of preventing the ships of the Holy League under the command of

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...

from landing at

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

, and he successfully repulsed them from the shoreline. On September 28, he took part in the main combat and played an important role in the Ottoman victory at the

Battle of Preveza The Battle of Preveza was a naval battle that took place on 28 September 1538 near Preveza in Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece between an Ottoman fleet and that of a Holy League assembled by Pope Paul III. It occurred in the same area in ...

, where he fought along with Turgut Reis in the center-rear wing of the Ottoman fleet which had a Y-shaped battle configuration. He continued to accompany Turgut Reis until being assigned as the Commander-in-Chief of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

fleet.

Siege and conquest of Cyprus

In 1570 Murat Reis, in command of a fleet of 25 galleys, was assigned with the task of clearing the area between

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

for the build-up of the naval siege and eventual conquest of Cyprus. He was also assigned with the task of blocking the Venetian ships based in Crete from sailing to Cyprus and assisting the Venetian forces in that island. He continued to undertake this task until the eventual surrender of

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...

, the final Venetian stronghold on the island.

Canary Islands

In 1585 he led the first expedition of the Barbary corsairs in the Atlantic Ocean and captured several of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. During the attacks, among others he captured the Spanish governor of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

, who was later ransomed and released.

Mediterranean campaigns

Murat Reis was later assigned with the task of controlling the lucrative trade routes between

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

which were often raided by the Venetians, the French and the Maltese Knights. In 1609, he heard of the presence of a joint French-Maltese fleet of ten galleys, including the famous ''Galeona Rossa'', a large

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...

armed with 90 cannons which was known among the Ottomans as the ''Red Inferno'', under the command of a knight named Fresine, off the island of Cyprus, and sailed there to engage them. After successfully striking the enemy ships with cannons from both long distance and close range, he severely damaged the ''Red Inferno'' and captured the ship. Six out of the ten French-Maltese galleys were captured, along with the 500 soldiers aboard, and the total of 160 cannons and 2000 muskets which they carried. During the battle Murat Reis was seriously injured. In 1609 he took part in the siege of

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...

, during which he died.

Legacy

Several submarines of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

have been named after Murat Reis (see

Oruç Reis-class submarine The ''Oruç Reis''-class submarines were ordered by the Turkish Navy from the British company Vickers in 1939. They were similar to the British S-class submarines, but slightly smaller. They had the S-class machinery but only four bow torped ...

). One of the municipalities that form the City of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, which was once the regional capital of the Ottoman

Eyalet Eyalets ( Ottoman Turkish: ایالت, , English: State), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

(1517–1830), is named Bir Mourad Raïs (''Murat Reis'

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

'') in his honor. Under the name Morato Arráez'', he is mentioned in several literary works of the

Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age ( es, Siglo de Oro, links=no , "Golden Century") is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and the Spanish H ...

, for example by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

and

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio ( , ; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature ...

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.
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 Navy official website: Historic heritage of the Turkish Navy
(in ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Murat Reis the Elder 1534 births 1638 deaths Piri Reis Sailors from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire admirals Naval history of the Ottoman Empire People from Rhodes Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Cyprus 16th century in Portugal 16th century in Spain Ottoman Iraq Ottoman Greece 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century Albanian people 17th-century Albanian people