| Salah Rais | |
|---|---|
| 7th King of Algiers | |
| Reign | 1552–1556 |
| Predecessor | Hasan Pasha |
| Successor | Muhammad Kurdogli |
| Born | c. 1488 Alexandria,Egypt |
| Died | c. 1568 Algiers,Algeria |
| Issue | |
| Kingdom | Algiers |
| Religion | Islam |
Salah Rais (Arabic:صالح ريس) (c. 1488 – 1568) was the 7th King of Algiers,[1] anOttomanprivateer. He is alternatively referred to asSala Reis,Salih Rais,Salek Rais andCale Arraez in several European sources, particularly in Spain, France and Italy.[2]
In 1529, together withAydın Reis, he took part in theTurkish-Spanish battle near the Isle ofFormentera, during which the Ottoman forces destroyed the Spanish fleet, whose commander,Rodrigo de Portuondo [es], died in combat.
In 1538 he commanded the right wing of the Turkish fleet at the navalBattle of Preveza, where the Ottoman forces underBarbarossa Hayreddin Pasha defeated theHoly League ofCharles V under the command ofAndrea Doria.
In 1551, due to his success in the conquest ofTripoli (Libya) together withTurgut Reis andSinan Pasha, he was promoted to the rank ofPasha and became theBeylerbeyi (Ottoman equivalent ofGrand Duke) ofAlgiers and theBahriye Beylerbeyi (Admiral) of the Ottoman West Mediterranean Fleet.
Salah Reis was born inAlexandria[3] inOttoman Egypt or Kazdağ nearÇanakkale[4] and was ofTurkish,[5]Egyptian,[6]Arab orMoorish origin.[7][1]
At a very young age he joined the fleet ofOruç Reis (Aruj Barbarossa), the most famous of the Ottoman corsairs and privateers fromAnatolia who sought fortune in the West Mediterranean by operating from their bases on theBarbary Coast. He gained experience in seamanship as a crew member of the Barbarossa brothers, Oruç Reis andHızır Reis, and soon became one of their chief lieutenants.
Salah Rais was around 30 years old when Oruç Reis died in 1518 during a battle against the Spaniards in Algeria. From 1518 onwards, he joined the fleet of Hızır Reis, who inherited the title ofBarbarossa from his older brother,Baba Oruç (Father Aruj).
In 1520 he went toDjerba together with Hızır Reis andTurgut Reis, and later that year assaultedBône, which was under Spanish control.
In 1529, commanding a force of 14galliots, Salah Rais assaulted the Gulf ofValencia before joining the fleet of Aydın Reis which took part in the Turkish-Spanish War near the Isle ofFormentera, where the Ottoman forces destroyed the Spanish fleet, whose commander, Rodrigo de Portuondo, died in combat. During the war, Salah Rais captured the galley of Captain Tortosa and took the son of Admiral Portundo, the Spanish commander, as a prisoner of war.
The Ottoman SultanSuleiman the Magnificent summonedBarbarossa toConstantinople, who set sail in August 1532, with Salah Rais as an officer in his fleet. Having raidedSardinia,Bonifacio in Corsica, the Islands ofMontecristo,Elba andLampedusa, the fleet captured 18 galleys nearMessina and learned from the captured prisoners thatAndrea Doria, theGenoese admiral in the service of theEmperor Charles V, was on his way toPreveza. Barbarossa proceeded to raid the nearby coasts ofCalabria and then sailed towards Preveza. Doria's forces fled after a short battle, but only after Barbarossa, accompanied by Salah Rais andMurat Reis, had captured seven of their galleys. Barbarossa arrived at Preveza with a total of 44 galleys, but sent 25 of them back to Algiers and headed to Constantinople with 19 ships, one of which was commanded by Salah Rais, who, along with Murat Reis, was one of the 19 men received by Suleiman the Magnificent atTopkapı Palace. Suleiman appointed BarbarossaKaptan-ı Derya (Admiral of the Fleet) of the Ottoman Navy andBeylerbeyi (Governor General) of North Africa. Barbarossa was also given the government of theSanjak (Province) ofRhodes and those ofEuboea andChios in the Aegean Sea. Salah Rais, on the other hand, was promoted to the rank ofCommodore.
In 1533 Barbarossa and Salah Rais operated together against the Spanish-controlled ports in theMediterranean Sea.
In July 1535 Salah Rais was appointed by Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha for the task of defendingTunis. Accompanied by Cafer Reis and very few Turkish soldiers, Salah Rais encountered the forces of Girolamo Tuttavilla, Count ofSarno, whose fortress was near the city walls ofLa Goulette. Salah Rais pretended to retreat and eventually routed and trapped the forces of Tuttavilla, who followed him. Tuttavilla was killed in combat, and his fortress was captured by the Turks. Still in July 1535, Salah Rais assisted Hasan Reis (later Hasan Pasha), the son of Barbarossa, in governing Algiers. In 1536 Barbarossa and Salah Rais were called back toConstantinople to take command of the Ottoman naval attack on the HabsburgKingdom of Naples. In July 1537 the Turks landed atOtranto and captured the city, as well as the Fortress of Castro and the city ofUgento inApulia.
In August 1537, Lütfi Pasha and Barbarossa led a huge Ottoman force, in which Salah Rais also took part, that captured the Aegean and Ionian islands belonging to theRepublic of Venice, namelySyros,Aegina,Ios,Paros,Tinos,Karpathos,Kasos andNaxos. In the same year Barbarossa capturedCorfu from Venice and once again raidedCalabria. These losses caused Venice to askPope Paul III to organize aHoly League against the Ottomans.
In February 1538, Pope Paul III succeeded in assembling a Holy League (comprising the Papacy, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice and the Maltese Knights) against the Ottomans, which was to be commanded byAndrea Doria, the chief admiral ofCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Salah Rais, now aBahriye Sancakbeyi (Rear Admiral, Upper Half) commanded the 24 galleys which formed the right wing of the Ottoman fleet during theBattle of Preveza in September 1538, in which the numerically inferior Turkish forces ofBarbarossa Hayreddin Pasha won an overwhelming victory over the Holy League under the command ofAndrea Doria. In one of the most famous incidents of the battle, Salah Rais and his men boarded and assaulted theGaleone di Venezia (Galleon of Venice), the huge Venetian flagship under the command of Alessandro Condalmiero (Bondumier), together with two other Venetian galleys which were drifted away from the rest of the Venetian fleet due to the heavy loss of oarsmen which resulted from the bitter fighting.
In June 1539 Salah Rais set sail from Constantinople with 20 galleys, and near Cape Maleo joined the fleet of Barbarossa which was appointed with the mission of recapturing Castelnuovo (Herceg Novi) from the Venetians. On the way to Castelnuovo their combined fleet captured the islands ofSkiathos,Skyros,Andros andSerifos from the Venetians. In August 1539 Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha,Turgut Reis and Salah Rais laid siege to Castelnuovo and took the city back. They also captured the nearby Castle of Risan and later assaulted the Venetian fortress of Cattaro and the Spanish fortress of Santa Veneranda near Pesaro. The Turkish fleet later took the remaining Christian outposts in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Venice finally signed a peace treaty with SultanSuleiman the Magnificent in October 1540, agreeing to recognize the Turkish territorial gains and to pay 300,000 gold ducats.
According to some Turkish resources, in 1540, Salah Rais was together withTurgut Reis in Girolata,Corsica, where the two were captured by the combined forces of Giannettino Doria (Andrea Doria's nephew), Giorgio Doria and Gentile Virginio Orsini while repairing their ships at the harbour. These sources also mention that Salah Rais and Turgut Reis were both forced to become oar slaves in Genoese ships until they were liberated by Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha in 1544, who threatened to attack the port ofGenoa with his massive fleet of 210 ships.
French, Italian and Spanish sources, however, acknowledge the captivity (1540) and liberation (1544) of Turgut Reis, but make no mention of the captivity of Salah Rais. It is probable that the close friendship between Salah Rais and Turgut Reis and their numerous joint operations may have possibly caused a confusion.
In fact, according to French, Italian and Spanish sources, Salah Rais took part in the Franco-Ottomanconquest of Nice (Nizza) on 5 August 1543, which was commanded by Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha. According to the same sources, following the conquest of Nice, Salah Rais commanded the Ottoman force of 20 galleys and 3 fustas which assaulted theCosta Brava in Catalonia, Spain, in that same year. In early October 1543, Salah Rais landed his troops atRosas and sacked the city. The following day, Salah Rais appeared at the Medas Islands (Illes Medes) about 1 km off the coast ofL'Estartit, before proceeding toPalafrugell andPalamós, the latter being severely sacked following a fierce battle for its capture. From there Salah Rais proceeded to the nearby San Juan de Palamós, which was likewise sacked, and captured the Spanish galleyBribona off the coast of Calelh, a fishing village in the area. He later landed his troops atEmpúries (Ampurias) andCadaqués, capturing and sacking both cities, before sailing toAlgiers. He was spotted sailing together with Barbarossa in the spring of 1544.
In mid June 1548 Salah Rais appeared atCapo Passero in Sicily with a force of 18 ships, before appearing atGozo in Malta with 12 ships – having sent 6 of his ships to Algiers where they would join Turgut Reis, upon the order that he received from Hüseyin Çelebi.
In the Autumn of 1550Andrea Doria contacted Salah Rais and attempted to convince him for serving Spain instead of the Ottoman Empire, but failed.
In June–August 1551, Salah Rais joined the fleet ofSinan Pasha andTurgut Reis, and played an important role in the conquest ofTripoli (Libya), which had been a possession of theKnights of St. John since 1530, when it was given to them byCharles V of Spain. He bombarded the fortress of the Knights from a distance of approximately 150 steps, eventually forcing Gaspare de Villers, their commander, to surrender. Salah Rais returned to Constantinople, where, due to his success in the conquest of Tripoli, he was promoted to the rank ofBahriye Beylerbeyi (Admiral) of the Ottoman West Mediterranean Fleet and was appointed as theBeylerbeyi (the Ottoman equivalent ofGrand Duke) ofAlgiers in 1551.
In April 1552 he reached Algiers, and later set sail towardsSicily, where he captured aMaltese ship. In the summer of 1552, he joined the forces of Turgut Reis who landed at the Gulf ofNaples, and together with him later assaulted the coasts ofLazio andTuscany. From there Salah Rais sailed toMarseille, before capturing and sacking the Island ofMajorca (Mallorca).
From Majorca he sailed back to Algiers, where he prepared his troops to march overland to theSahara Desert and expand the OttomanVilayet (Province) ofAlgeria inwards. The troops advanced south and captured the city ofTouggourt, built around anoasis in southern Algeria. From there the Turks marched towardsOuargla, finding a ghost city whose inhabitants fled upon hearing their arrival.
In 1549, the new ruler ofMorocco,Mohammed ash-Sheikh successfully ousted theWattasid sultanAli Abu Hassun, the latter ruled only overFes and its region and had just declared himself a vassal of the Ottomans.[8] ash-Sheikh even capturedTlemcen ending theAbdelwadid dynasty rule over the city.[8] He was now advancing further east in Algeria and attacked the Ottoman Turks.[8] This triggered an Ottoman counterattack, who recapturedTlemcen in 1552 and advanced to Fes where they reestablished the Wattasid king Ali Abu Hassun in 1554, in turn he rewarded them with the port of "Badis" on the Mediterranean coast, which had been previously captured from the Spanish in 1522.[8] But this lasted only a few months as in September 1554, Mohammed ash-Sheikh recaptured Fes and defeated Abu Hassun and his Ottoman allies, in thebattle of Tadla.[8]
In 1555 the French Navy, then allied with theOttoman Empire ofSuleiman the Magnificent, sent a detachment toAlgiers to ask the assistance of Salah Rais against the Spaniards. Salah Rais accepted the request and conceded 22 of his galleys, carrying Turkish soldiers and cannons, to the service of the French fleet. Later, with his remaining force of 40,000 men, he laid siege toBougie. After 14 days of continuous artillery bombardment, he destroyed the two main defenses of the city walls: the Fortress of Vergelette which controlled the entrance of the port, and the Spanish castle which stood right in front of the city walls. The Spanish Governor of Bougie, Alfonso di Peralta, decided to make peace with Salah Rais instead of continuing to defend the city until the bitter end. According to the pact, the Turks allowed all the surviving Spanish inhabitants of Bougie to safely return to Spain with their belongings, and the Spanish forces to take away their cannons and weapons. However, even though the Governor, Alfonso di Peralta, could sail safely toValencia, together with 20 of his high-ranking officials, on a French ship, some of the Spanish civilians (around 400 men, 120 women and 100 children) were captured and enslaved by the corsairs operating in the area. Alfonso di Peralta was arrested as soon as he entered the port of Valencia andCharles V ordered his execution for treason, which took place in a public square ofValladolid.
Later that year, Salah Rais conqueredPeñón de Vélez de la Gomera from the Spaniards, before sailing toConstantinople where he was received by the Sultan.
In 1556 he left Constantinople and set sail towards the Spanish stronghold ofOran in Algeria, which he assaulted with a force of 30 galleys. He destroyed the Spanish forts defending the entrance of the port, but could not capture the city itself due to the fierce resistance by the local population as well as the Spanish army garrison. He then retreated his fleet to Algiers.
In April 1563, commanding a force of 10,000 soldiers, he once again laid siege to Oran andMers-el-Kébir, this time also with the assistance ofTurgut Reis who supported him with a force of 20 ships and 20 pieces of siege artillery. Oran once again defended itself to the bitter end, until it was saved by a large Spanish force which arrived in June, but the Turks bombarded and destroyed the Fortress of Mers-el-Kébir.
In August 1565 Salah Rais took part in the TurkishSiege of Malta and commanded a force of 15,000 soldiers which attackedFort Saint Michael. Towards the end of August he managed to set up a powerful mine which breached the walls of Castiglia, and attacked the bastion with 4,000 men. In the meantime,Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha commanded the main attack against Fort Saint Michael, until he was almost killed by a cannon fire which severely wounded him. Salah Rais then took his place and placed his troops around the ruins of the Bastion of Castiglia. The Turks managed to captureFort Saint Elmo on the main island, but at the cost of too many casualties, including the famousTurgut Reis who was 80 years old when he died in Malta, shortly before the capture of Fort Saint Elmo. The siege was eventually lifted when a large Christian fleet that was assembled to support the Maltese Knights reached the island.
The Siege of Malta was also the final mission of Salah Rais, who was around 77 years old at that time. He died inAlgiers 3 years later, in 1568, close to the age of 80, just like his lifelong friendTurgut Reis.[9]
Turgutlu andSalihli are two neighbouring town centers within the Province ofManisa in theAegean Region ofTurkey.
Salah Rais was from the generation of great Turkish seamen in the 16th century such asKemal Reis,Oruç Reis,Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha,Turgut Reis,Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis,Piri Reis,Piyale Pasha,Murat Reis andSeydi Ali Reis.
He played an important role in theBattle of Preveza (1538) which secured the Turkish domination of the Mediterranean during his lifetime, until theBattle of Lepanto (1571) which took place 3 years after his death.
He vastly enlarged the Ottoman territories in northwestern Africa and extended them to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean.
Several warships of theTurkish Navy have been named after Salah Rais.
