Hayreddin Barbarossa
Awards & Honours
0
Awards Won
4
Honours
2
Records
Hayreddin Barbarossa's record is not measured in trophies but in the map of the Mediterranean. He won the Battle of Preveza in 1538 against a Holy League fleet commanded by Andrea Doria, a victory that broke the coalition's naval power and gave the Ottomans the upper hand at sea for decades. He captured Algiers in 1516, drove the Spanish from the Peñón in 1529, took Tunis in 1534, and campaigned alongside the French in the 1540s. He was the first corsair to be made Kapudan Pasha, and he turned freelance raiding into a state instrument of empire. His name still marks Turkish naval tradition, and Turkey's first seismic research vessel carries it.
Honours & Distinctions
Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy)
Appointed commander of the Ottoman fleet, the highest naval office in the empire.
Beylerbeyi of Algiers
Made governor of Algiers after offering the city to the Ottoman Empire.
Honorific name Hayreddin
Meaning goodness of the faith, granted by Sultan Suleiman.
Sobriquet Barbarossa
Italian for redbeard, inherited from his brother Oruç.
Records & Feats
First corsair to become Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy
Barbarossa rose from freelance corsair to grand admiral, a first for a former pirate in Ottoman service.
Decisive naval victory at Preveza
Defeated the Holy League fleet under Andrea Doria on 28 September 1538, breaking the coalition's naval power for decades.