The Mediterranean

• CAPTURE OF BELGRADE 1521-

  • A highly fortified city that Suleiman’s predecessors had failed to take​
  • Strength of the Ottoman army – Janissaries, sipahis and lightly armed horsemen (akinjis)​
  • Guns set up on an island in the Danube kept up a fierce bombardment, and a flotilla of Ottoman ships sailing upstream prevented any relief of the city by water​
  • Surrender – August 1521​
  • The Danube valley now offered a highway into Hungary and central Europe (Balkans)…..​
• Suleiman turned to the western Mediterranean and North Africa
• The eastern Mediterranean was under Suleiman’s control
• Suleiman viewed Rhodes as an obstacle to his naval supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean and a threat to shipping routes with Egypt
• The island of Rhodes had been held by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem for 200 years
• Suleiman reached victory because of the strength and his tactics- mines under the walls to break in
• Reasons for Suleiman wanting to take Rhodes

  • Obstacle to his naval supremacy
  • Threat to shipping routes with Egypt
• Barbarossa captured Algiers in 1525- this gave base for the ottoman empire to attack ships- piracy.
• 1534- Barbarossa captures Tunis- disrupted the balance which angered Charles V
• 1533- Barbarossa becomes captain of Ottoman navy- incredible naval strength now
• Charles V recaptures Tunis in 1535
• URNING POINT: Battle of Prevesa 1538 – disaster for joint Spanish, papal and Venetian fleets ​vs Barbarossa​. Assured Ottoman naval supremacy in Eastern Mediterranean for 3 decades.
• Charles’ failure to recapture Algiers 1541​- he wanted revenge for the siege of Buda. He embarked late in the campaign season. He experienced very bad weather and lost many ships- 15 with no anchors
• The battle of Prevesa was a turning point because it allowed the Ottomans to control the eastern mediterranean sea. This meant that they could raid european shipping without fear of retaliation from the christians. It also made them more powerful as an empire. They were able to expand their territory further into Europe.
• Charles’ loss of Tripoli 1551​