BARBAROSSA
Known to the Turks as Barbaros Hayreddin, he was the greatest, most greatly feared, and most successful of all the
Ottoman Naval
warriors. Originally from Mytilene, one of the Greek Islands, he and his brother
Oruç had established themselves as successful privateers against
Christian
targets by 1512, when Sultan Selim I came to power. Hayreddin had two memorable
naval encounters with the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria, and, although under
somewhat unclear circumstances, Hayreddin bested the Italian both times. He died
in 1544 (of natural causes) and was succeeded as Kapudan Pasha by Turgut Reis (Turgut
Pasha). Piri Reis was a nephew...
Originally, he and his brother joined forces successfully with Sultan Selim I (The
Grim) in about 1515, but he really came to glory under Selim's son,
Süleyman
The Magnificent. Barbarossa was virtually unstoppable in the Mediterranean
during his Ottoman lifetime; first as an ordinary Commander and then as Grand
Admiral of the Fleet (Kapudan Pasha) between about 1515 to 1544. The following
personal description of Barbarossa comes to us from Captain Muhlis Ergin of the
Turkish Naval Museum (Ankara, December 1998)....
Hayreddin was clever, and bright as a youngster though he had a tendency to mock
his contemporaries. When he was a young man, he was noted for his impressive way
of speaking, and he was brave but prudent, and a strong willed person. He was born
with the fighting instinct and he had a bold manner. As an adult, he was a
successful Mediterranean commander because of his cleverness and speed of
comprehension. He took care to educate his subordinates, several of whom became
admirals. He treated his colleagues nicely, politely, and thus was loved by them.
In private affairs, he was cheerful, elegant, and a teller of jokes. Once, Hayreddin Pasha publicly complimented his subordinate Turgut; "Turgut is more
advanced than I". With this he showed his humility and nobility. Physically, he
was dark-skinned, of an average height, and had a massive bone and body
structure. His hair, beard, eyebrows and eyelashes were luxuriant (some reports
say he was red-haired), and his eyebrows touched each other. Turgut Reis'
daughter was married to his son. According to this information we may assume
that he was married, but there is no source indicating the factual details. He
spoke all the main Mediterranean languages such as Greek, Arabic, Spanish, Italian
and French. And he loved music.
