| Conquest of Tunis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofSpanish–Ottoman wars | |||||||||
 The Ottoman fleet attackingTunis at La Goulette in 1574. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Spanish Empire |  Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Gabrio Serbelloni (POW) | Occhiali[2]Koca Sinan Pasha[2] | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Total men: 7,000 | 250–300 warships Total men: 100,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 6,700 killed 300 prisoners | 25,000[3] (Spanish claim) | ||||||||
Theconquest of Tunis in 1574 marked the conquest ofTunis by theOttoman Empire over theSpanish Empire, which had seized the place a year earlier. The event virtually determined the supremacy inNorth Africa vied between both empires in favour of the former,[4] sealing the Ottoman domination over eastern and centralMaghreb,[5] with the Ottoman dependencies in Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli ensuing coming to experience a golden age ascorsair states.[4]
Tunis hadinitially been conquered by the Ottomans underHayreddin Barbarossa in 1534. In the next year, however,Holy Roman EmperorCharles V had launched a major expedition andcaptured it in turn. He established a garrison and a vassal ruler in the person ofLhacène of theHafsid dynasty. TheBey ofAlgiersUluj Ali Pashacaptured Tunis in 1569 for the Ottoman Empire, but in the aftermath of the 1571 Christian victory at theBattle of Lepanto,John of Austriare-conquered Tunis in October 1573.[4][6]
In 1574,William of Orange andCharles IX of France, through his pro-Huguenot ambassadorFrançois de Noailles,Bishop of Dax, tried to obtain the support of the Ottoman rulerSelim II in order to open a new front against the Spanish kingPhilip II.[7] Selim II sent his support through a messenger, who endeavoured to put the Dutch in contact with the rebelliousMoriscos of Spain and the pirates of Algiers.[8] Selim also sent a great fleet to attackTunis in the Autumn of 1574, thus succeeding in reducing Spanish pressure on the Dutch.[8]
In the Battle ofLa Goleta, Selim II mustered a fleet of between 250 and 300 warships, with about 75,000 men.[9] The Ottoman fleet was commanded bySinan Pacha andAlūj Ali.[10] The Ottoman fleet combined with troops sent by the governors ofAlgiers,Tripoli, andTunis, giving a combined strength of about 100,000.[11] The army attacked Tunis and La Goleta; thepresidio of La Goleta, defended by 7,000 men, fell on 24 August 1574. The last Christian troops in a small fort opposite Tunis surrendered on 13 September 1574.[11]
John of Austria attempted to relieve the siege with a fleet of galleys fromNaples andSicily but failed due to storms.[12] The Spanish crown, being heavily involved in the Netherlands and short of funds was unable to help significantly.[12]
Miguel de Cervantes, future author ofDon Quixote, participated in these events as a soldier, and was among the troops of Don Juan of Austria which tried to rescue the city.[3] He claims that the Ottomans led 22 assaults against the fort of Tunis, losing 25,000 men, while only 300 Christians survived.[3] He wrote about the battle:
"If Goleta and the fort, put together, held barely 7,000 soldiers, how could such a small force, however resolute, come out and hold its own against so huge an enemy army. And how can you help losing a stronghold that is not relieved, and especially when it is surrounded by a stubborn and very numerous army, and on its own ground?"
— Cervantes, DQ I, 39.[3]
Abd al-Malik, the future Moroccan King, participated in the 1574 conquest of Tunis on the side of the Ottomans.[13]
Gabrio Serbelloni was the commander of the fort of Tunis. The general of La Goleta, Don Pedro Portocarerro, was taken as a captive toConstantinople, but died on the way.[3] The captured soldiers were employed as slaves on galleys.[3]
The battle marked the final establishment of Ottoman rule in Tunis, putting an end to theHafsid dynasty and the Spanish presence in Tunis.[6]
The success of the Turks underOcchiali[1][14] in the battle of Goleta managed in reducing Spanish pressure on the Dutch, and leading to negotiations at the Conference ofBreda.[8] After the death of Charles IX in May 1574, however, contacts weakened, although the Ottomans are said to have supported the 1575–1576 revolt, and established, in 1582, a consulate in Antwerp (De Turks-Griekse Natie).[15] The Ottomans eventually made a truce with Spain, and shifted their attention to their conflict withPersia in theOttoman–Safavid War (1578–1590).[8] The Spanish crown fell intobankruptcy on 1 September 1575.[12]
After the truce, Ottoman-Spanish hostilities resumed in 1591, even if they would not reach the magnitude of yesteryear.[16]
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