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Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sixteenth-century |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire |
| Branch |  Ottoman Navy |
| Service years | Unknown |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Unit | Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet |
| Commands | Admiral of the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet |
| Conflicts | Ottoman expedition to Aceh |
Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis was anOttoman admiral who is best known for commanding theOttoman naval expedition toSumatra inIndonesia (1568–1569).
Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis was the son of the famousOttoman privateer and Ottoman admiralKurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis, who was known asCurtogoli inEurope, particularly inItaly,France andSpain.[1] The nameKurtoğlu orKurdoğlu meansSon of Kurt (Wolf) inTurkish, apatronymicepithet of Muslihiddin, derived from the name of Muslihiddin's father, Kurt Bey, aTurkish seaman fromKayseri inAnatolia who went to northwestern Africa forprivateering together with the other famous Ottomancorsairs of that period such as theBarbarossa brothers,Oruç Reis andHızır Reis.[1] Hızır Reis became a close friend of Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin, who named his son after him.[1]Oruç Reis,Hızır Reis,Kemal Reis,Piri Reis andKurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis often sailed together in theMediterranean Sea.[1]
In 1565, Sultan Alaaddin ofAceh declared allegiance to theOttoman Empire and sent a request for assistance to the Ottoman SultanSuleiman the Magnificent (which was received by the Grand VizierSokollu Mehmet Pasha due to the absence of Suleiman who was heading for theBattle of Szigetvár, his final military campaign) for defending his land fromPortuguese aggression. Due to Suleiman's death in 1566, the Ottoman naval expedition toSumatra was sent by his son,Selim II, who appointed Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis with the mission.
Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis was the Admiral-in-Chief of the Ottoman Indian Ocean Fleet based inSuez, with other homeports inAden andBasra. In 1568 he set sail with a force of 22 ships carrying soldiers, military equipment and other supplies, but was prevented to cross the Indian Ocean by the campaigns in Yemen. Only some of the cannons were shipped to the Sumatran sultanate (Göksoy, "Ottoman-Aceh relations", 78).
