Battle of Preveza (1538): Sides, Course and Significance

The Battle of Preveza was fought on 28 September 1538, in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The fleet of the kapudan pasha (grand admiral) Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha forced the numerically superior Crusader fleet under Andrea Doria to withdraw. The fighting took place off the fortress of Preveza, at the mouth of the Gulf of Narda (Arta), in what is today western Greece. With this victory, Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean became definitive.

Quick Summary

The main engagement of the Battle of Preveza took place on 28 September 1538 (4 Jumada al-Awwal 945 AH) and lasted five hours.
The Ottoman fleet was commanded by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha, Suleiman’s kapudan pasha.
Facing it was the combined fleet of Spain, the Papacy, Austria, Venice, Portugal, Malta and Genoa.
According to İdris Bostan, 122 Ottoman galleys fought a fleet of 140 galleons and 168 galleys.
The news reached the sultan on 14 October; in 1540 Venice made peace and withdrew from the alliance.

When, where and between whom?
The road to the battle
The Crusader alliance and the Aegean campaign
The meeting of the two fleets and their forces
The council of war and the commanders
How did the battle unfold?
Losses, the news of victory and the aftermath
Why was it a historic victory?
Frequently asked questions

Representative digital illustration of the Battle of Preveza, showing sailing warships on a rough sea — Representative illustration. In reality the Ottoman fleet consisted of galleys; the large sailing galleons were on the allied side.

When, Where and Between Whom Was the Battle of Preveza Fought?

The main engagement of the Battle of Preveza took place on 4 Jumada al-Awwal 945 by the Hijri calendar, or 28 September 1538 by the Christian calendar. The two fleets had also clashed several times in the preceding days. The fortress that gave the battle its name stood at the northern entrance to the Gulf of Narda.

Under which sultan did the Battle of Preveza take place?

The battle was fought in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, that is, Suleiman I. The sultan himself, however, was not present at the battle; at the time he was returning from his Moldavian campaign. According to Feridun Emecen’s entry on Suleiman I in the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the sultan had entered Suceava, the capital of Moldavia, on 15 September. For the sultan’s campaigns and his reign, see our article on the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent.

Between whom was the Battle of Preveza fought?

The battle was fought between the Ottoman fleet and the combined Crusader fleet of the European states. The core of the alliance was made up of Spain, the Papacy and Austria. Genoa, Malta, Portugal and Venice also joined it. At the head of the combined fleet was Andrea Doria, the admiral of the Spanish fleet.

The Road to the Battle of Preveza: Barbaros and the Corfu Campaign

Hızır Reis, known by the epithets Barbaros and Hayreddin, was a seaman who had brought Algiers into the Ottoman lands. When Andrea Doria took Coron on the coast of the Morea in 1532, Suleiman summoned Hızır Reis to Istanbul. In 1534 Barbaros was placed at the head of the fleet with the rank of beylerbey (governor-general) of Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid (the Archipelago). In this way the command of the fleet, previously on a par with the post of sanjak bey (district governor) of Gallipoli, was raised to the rank of beylerbey.

According to the encyclopedia’s entry “Kapudan Paşa”, Barbaros played an important part in organizing the shipyard (tersane) and in developing the Turkish type of galley. We described the navy’s place within the state in our article on Ottoman military organization.

Why did the Corfu campaign of 1537 come to nothing?

In 1537 Suleiman directed his seventh major campaign against Corfu, an island belonging to Venice. According to Emecen, this campaign was in the nature of a preparation for an invasion of Italy. Barbaros’s fleet and the sultan’s land army met at Vlorë (Avlona), and on 25 August troops were landed on the island. According to the entry on Corfu, some 50,000 soldiers took part in the siege, but the fortress could not be taken. The same entry states that the siege was lifted on 6 September because of bad weather and, perhaps more importantly, for political reasons.

According to Bostan, on the way back from the campaign Barbaros captured the Cyclades, the Duchy of Naxos (Nakşa) and some of the Sporades. The entry on Venice likewise counts the years 1537–1540 as one of the periods of war between the two states.

How Was the Crusader Alliance Formed?

After this, the Ottomans turned to the Venetian islands and territories in the Aegean and the Adriatic. In response, in February 1538 the Christian states formed an alliance under the leadership of Pope Paul III. According to İdris Bostan, the aim was to win the struggle for supremacy at sea and drive the Ottomans out of the Mediterranean. From March 1538 the allied fleet began to gather at Corfu.

Barbaros’s Aegean campaign of 1538

Meanwhile, word came that Doria was waiting near Crete to seize the ships carrying cargo from Egypt to Istanbul. Barbaros, for his part, sailed from Istanbul on 7 June 1538 with forty galleys. He was accompanied by 3,000 Janissaries and by the beys (sanjak governors) of Alanya (Alâiye), Hamid-ili, Kocaeli and Teke-ili. On the way he was joined by an additional fleet of ninety ships and by twenty ships that Salih Reis brought from Egypt.

In the Aegean, Barbaros captured many islands or made them pay tribute, and in July he raided the coasts of Crete. The allied fleet, meanwhile, completed its assembly on 7 September and laid siege to the fortress that would give the Battle of Preveza its name. Barbaros received this news at Euboea (Eğriboz).

How Did the Two Fleets Meet in the Gulf of Narda?

Setting out at once, Barbaros sent Turgut Reis ahead as a vanguard with a volunteer squadron of twenty ships. Off Zante (Zenta), Turgut came upon an enemy squadron of forty ships and reported the situation to Barbaros, who was at Modon. Doria, on learning that the Ottoman fleet was approaching, withdrew to Corfu. Barbaros, in turn, plundered the island of Cephalonia in retaliation for the damage done to the fortress.

Barbaros reached the fortress on 24 September, repaired and strengthened it, and took up a position of readiness inside the gulf. The entry on Narda also records that before the battle he drew his fleet back into this gulf. The next day the allies returned and anchored off the fortress. Because the mouth of the gulf was shallow, the allied galleons could not get in; but the Ottoman fleet’s way out had also been closed.

The forces of the two sides at the Battle of Preveza

Noting that the figures vary, İdris Bostan breaks down the allied fleet by state as follows:

Spain and Portugal: 80 galleons
Venice: 10 galleons and 70 galleys
The Papacy: 36 galleys
Malta: 10 galleys
Genoa: 1 galleon and 52 galleys
Other states: 49 galleons

In all there were 140 galleons, 168 galleys and a large number of transport ships, and the fleet had 55,000 soldiers on board. On the Ottoman side there were 122 ships of the galley type and 20,000 soldiers. Şerafettin Turan gives the allied fleet as 208 or 246 ships. The entry “Bahriye” (Navy), on the other hand, speaks of 600 ships, 302 of them warships.

The Council of War and the Commanders

The difference in strength between the two sides led to disagreements over how to act. In the council of war held by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha, it was proposed that the fleet should stay in the gulf. Sinan Reis and his supporters, on the other hand, proposed landing the troops and positioning them on the shores facing the allied fleet; in this way the fortress would also be protected. Barbaros opposed this, arguing that units entering Doria’s line of fire would easily be destroyed. In his view, the battle had to be fought outside the gulf.

In the allied headquarters, by contrast, the idea of landing troops to take the fortress and trapping Barbaros in the gulf prevailed. Doria objected: if the fleet had to pull back in a storm, the soldiers ashore would be left in danger. The Ottoman garrison repulsed three assaults made in line with this plan. Moreover, there was no agreement among the allied commanders.

The main commanders named in the sources are as follows:

Ottoman side: the kapudan pasha Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha, Turgut Reis, Salih Reis, Seydi Ali Reis, Murad Agha, Güzelce Mehmed Reis and Sinan Reis.
Allied side: the commander-in-chief Andrea Doria, Vincenzo Cappello with the Venetian squadron, Marco Grimani with the papal squadron, and Bondulmier at the head of the great Venetian galleon in the front line.

According to the entry on Turgut Reis, Turgut took part in the battle with his own ship as a volunteer captain of levends (Ottoman marines) and distinguished himself on several occasions. In European sources he is known as Dragut.

How Did the Battle of Preveza Unfold?

25 and 27 September: the first clashes

An allied attack on 25 September was beaten off by the ships of Güzelce Mehmed Reis, Murad Agha and Turgut Reis. On Friday 27 September, Barbaros sailed out of the gulf with his fleet. After moving six miles out, he drew up his ships in a crescent, and the galleys opened fire with the three guns each carried in the bow.

Taken by surprise, Doria put his fleet in a dangerous position with a faulty manoeuvre. When Barbaros sent a squadron of forty ships to split the allied line in two, Doria ordered a withdrawal towards Corfu. As darkness fell, the Ottoman fleet anchored outside the gulf, off the fortress.

28 September: the day the wind dropped

The decisive day of the Battle of Preveza was 28 September. Doria came back on the decision of the council of war, although he himself did not want to. Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha again drew up his fleet in a crescent and took up position in the centre himself. According to Bostan, Salih Reis was on the right wing and Seydi Ali Reis on the left, while Turgut Reis was behind the line with his squadron of volunteer captains. Şerafettin Turan, however, writes that the ships were drawn up in the shape of a curved dagger, and gives the right wing to Turgut Reis and the left to Salih Reis.

The allies were drawn up side by side in three lines: in front the galleons, serving as a shield; in the middle the galleys; and at the rear the smaller ships. At the head of the front line was Bondulmier’s great Venetian galleon, and at the head of the galleys was Doria. The wind blowing from the south favoured the allies and hampered the Ottoman galleys.

As Bostan relates, to raise his men’s morale Barbaros had two verses of the Qur’an written on pieces of paper and cast into the sea. These were probably the verses of the surahs al-Shura and al-Ahzab that speak of the wind. Then the wind dropped, and the galleons, which moved under sail, were left motionless. Doria had the galleons in the front line open fire; but the range of these guns was short, and the cannonballs fell into the sea.

Representative digital illustration of a sea battle between large sailing galleons and oared ships — Representative illustration.

The guns of the Ottoman galleys reached farther, and in the counter-attack the first targets were the galleons in front. An attempt by the allied galleys to outflank the Ottomans was broken up by heavy gunfire and by Turgut Reis’s own flanking movement. Doria tried several more times to catch the Ottoman ships between two fires. Each time, Barbaros’s counter-manoeuvres foiled the attempt.

Meanwhile, most of the allies’ leading galleons were destroyed. Finally Barbaros broke through the first line and attacked Doria’s galleys. When Turgut Reis also closed in from behind, Doria, facing the danger of annihilation, decided to withdraw. It is claimed that, because of this, the Venetian commander Cappello accused him of not fighting. In Turan’s account, on the other hand, Doria avoids engaging and heads for the open sea.

The fighting lasted five hours. The Ottoman fleet pursued the retreating enemy; but a storm blew up, darkness fell, and Doria, who had put out his lanterns, was lost from sight. After a two-hour pursuit Barbaros turned back and waited at Santa Maura (Ayamavra) until morning. He then returned to his base with a large number of captives and much booty.

Losses, the News of Victory and the Aftermath

Losses and captives

The two entries give different figures for the losses in the Battle of Preveza. According to Bostan, the allies lost 128 ships of the galleon type. Turan, on the other hand, writes that thirty-six allied vessels were captured and 2,175 people were taken prisoner. According to him, Ottoman losses were quite light.

How did the news of victory reach the sultan?

The news was carried by Hasan Bey, the son of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha, who delivered it on 14 October 1538 to Suleiman, then at Yanbolu. The dignitaries of the state listened standing to the fetihname (letter announcing the victory) sent by Barbaros, and the news was received with great joy. After staying in Edirne for a while, Suleiman returned to Istanbul on 27 November and was welcomed with great ceremonies.

The fortress of Nova and peace with Venice

Doria, for his part, attacked Nova (Castelnuovo) in the Bay of Kotor, on the coast of Herzegovina, with the ships he had left. He took the fortress on 27 October 1538 and left 3,000–4,000 soldiers there.

The Ottoman fleet, which had returned to Istanbul because the season was over, was made ready again during the winter. Barbaros set out on 2 June 1539 with 155 ships and 27,204 men. By land, the troops of five sanjaks under Ulama Pasha also joined. Nova was retaken on 7 August 1539, after a siege lasting three weeks.

According to Turan, Venice made peace with the Ottomans in 1540 and left the alliance. Emecen, too, writes that the treaty with Venice determined the status of the Aegean islands taken by Barbaros. Bostan notes that the ahidname (treaty) dated 3 October 1540 contains the full list of the islands taken from Venice.

Representative digital illustration of red-sailed ships sailing off a mountainous coast at sunset — Representative illustration.

Why Was the Battle of Preveza a Historic Victory for the Ottomans?

According to Bostan, the great importance of the Battle of Preveza comes from the fact that it made Ottoman dominance in the Mediterranean definitive. Here Bostan also cites Braudel: with this battle the Christian states definitively lost their supremacy in the Mediterranean. According to the same entry, the Ottomans, until then essentially a land power, now began to pursue a policy at sea in the full sense as well. According to Turan, on the other hand, after the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish supremacy was established in the central Mediterranean as well.

According to Bostan, the types of ship played as large a part in the victory as Barbaros’s tactics. This success of the galleys led the Ottoman navy to prefer this type of ship for a long time. Turan, too, writes that Ottoman seafaring reached the peak of its power in the time of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha.

According to Turan, King Francis I of France drew closer to the Ottomans again after the Battle of Preveza; this rapprochement led to the joint Nice campaign of 1543. Charles V’s expedition against Algiers in 1541, meanwhile, ended in a rout because of a storm.

The allied European states were able to confront the Ottomans again only in 1571, at Lepanto. We traced how this supremacy fared down to Lepanto and Chesma in our article When did the Mediterranean become a Turkish lake? According to the entry on Venice, the next war between the two states came in 1570–1573, during the conquest of Cyprus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the Battle of Preveza?

The Battle of Preveza was won by the Ottoman fleet under the command of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha. Andrea Doria withdrew when his fleet was in danger of being destroyed.

How many ships took part in the Battle of Preveza?

According to İdris Bostan, at the Battle of Preveza the allies had 140 galleons and 168 galleys against the Ottomans’ 122 galleys. Other entries give figures such as 208, 246 or 600 ships.

What was the first Turkish naval battle?

The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam’s entry on Çaka Bey describes the fleet of forty ships built by Çaka Bey, who captured İzmir in the late 11th century, as “the first Turkish open-sea fleet”. The entry also presents this fleet’s defeat of a Byzantine fleet that had come to save the islands as Çaka Bey’s first naval victory. The Ottoman victory of 1538 came long after these firsts.

What is the significance of the Battle of Preveza?

The Battle of Preveza showed that supremacy in the Mediterranean had passed to the Ottomans. Venice then made peace and withdrew from the alliance. The Crusader powers, for their part, were able to confront the Ottoman fleet again only in 1571.

Conclusion

The Battle of Preveza was a great victory won during Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha’s term as kapudan pasha, which began in 1534. On a day when the wind dropped, a vastly superior allied fleet fell back before the fire of the galleys. Although the figures for losses vary from source to source, the outcome was clear: for a long time the Crusader powers could not confront the Ottoman fleet together. That is why the Battle of Preveza is regarded as a turning point for Ottoman seafaring as much as for the Christian states.