Aydın Reis (died 1535) was an Ottoman admiral, known to the Spanish as "Cachidiablo" and to the Italians as "Cacciadiavolo."

Early years

He was a Turk from

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

, Central Anatolia (modern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). In the late 15th century he was the subordinate of Kemal Reis, the most important sea man of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Bayazid II. He took service under Ottoman Empire as a captain. He then worked in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

under

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

rule and after the death of Kemal Reis in 1511, he sailed to the

Barbary coast The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

(North West

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) to attend the forces of

Oruç Reis Aruj Barbarossa ( 1474 – 1518), known as Oruç Reis () to the Turks, was an Ottoman corsair who became Sultan of Algiers. The elder brother of the famous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, he was born on the Ottoman island of Midilli (L ...

, an Ottoman privateer who had established his own state. He took part in the conquest of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1516. After the death of Oruç Reis in 1518, Oruç's brother

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

voluntarily accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

. So Aydın Reis returned to Ottoman service.Biography portal
/ref>

Battle of Formentera

One of the most important projects of the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century was evacuation and resettlement of some of the Muslims and Jews from the former

Al Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

lands after the defeat of the last Arab stronghold in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

. Aydın Reis participated in this project and in 1529, in collaboration with Salih Reis, he began transferring Muslims from the port of

Oliva Oliva (, ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Safor in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting t ...

, east Spain to Ottoman lands. But Spanish fleet chased them. So Aydın Reis landed the passagers in

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

and engaged with Spanish fleet near the isle

Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...

in which the Spanish fleet was defeated and Rodrigo Portuondo, the commander died in the combat. History makes little mention the day when Aydin reis took on Spain's eight large war galleys with his much smaller fleet which by all the rules of war, should have gone the other way, and defeated them (Ernle Bradford, "The Sultans Admiral").

Later years

After the battle of Formentera, he was called to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

to be rewarded by Suleyman I (so called the ''Magnificent''). After Hayreddin Barbarossa was appointed as the admiral of the Ottoman navy, Aydın Reis was promoted to be the commander of the fleet in Algiers. He participated in the conquest

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

in 1534 (to be lost to Spain the next year.) He died in

Bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

(modern Annaba,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in 1535) from natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reis, Aydin Year of birth unknown 1535 deaths Sailors from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century sailors Ottoman Empire admirals 16th-century Ottoman military personnel People from Karaman Turks from the Ottoman Empire