Murat Reis the Elder
- For other articles with similar names, see Murat Reis.
Murat Reis the Older (Template:Lang-tr) was a Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral.
He was born in the island of Rhodes at the beginning of the 16th century. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it was probably around 1506, since he was known to be 103 years old when he died in 1609. [citation needed]
Early career
His career began when he joined Turgut Reis at a very young age. He also fought alongside Piri Reis in several expeditions. In 1534 Murat Reis accompanied Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha to Istanbul where they were received by Suleiman I and appointed to take command of the Ottoman fleet. While in Istanbul, Murat Reis participated in the construction of new warships at the naval arsenal on the Golden Horn.
Battle of Preveza
Murat Reis took part in all of the early naval campaigns of Turgut Reis. On September 25 and 26, 1538, he was assigned with the task of preventing the ships of the Holy League under the command of Andrea Doria from landing at Preveza, and he successfully repulsed them from the shoreline. On September 28, he took part in the main combat and played an important role in the Turkish victory at the Battle of Preveza, where he fought along with Turgut Reis in the center-rear wing of the Turkish fleet which had a Y shaped battle configuration. He continued to accompany Turgut Reis until being assigned as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Ocean fleet.
Commander of the Indian Ocean fleet
In 1552 Suleiman I assigned Murat Reis as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Ocean fleet (hence his commonly-known title Hint Kaptanı, i.e. Captain of the Indian Ocean.) He was the third commander to take this post after Hadım Süleyman Pasha and Piri Reis. The fleet, based in Basra on the Persian Gulf, consisted of 26 galleys and several smaller vessels. Murat Reis repaired these ships and, leaving 8 of them in Basra, set sail with 18 galleys to the Indian Ocean. There he encountered a Portuguese fleet of 25 galleys, which had set sail from their base in Goa. Murat Reis successfully engaged the numerically superior Portuguese force and after bitter fighting until nightfall, which ended in a stalemate with heavy losses on both sides, the Portuguese fleet retreated back to Goa and Murat Reis sailed back to Basra. The result, however, didn't please Suleiman I, who was expecting a decisive victory, and Murat Reis was removed from his post; which would be taken by another famous admiral, Seydi Ali Reis. Murat Reis rejoined Turgut Reis and continued to operate with him until the death of the famous seaman at the Siege of Malta in 1565.
Siege and conquest of Cyprus
In 1570 Murat Reis, in command of a fleet of 25 galleys, was assigned with the task of clearing the area between Crete, Rhodes and Cyprus for the build-up of the naval siege and eventual conquest of Cyprus. He was also assigned with the task of blocking the Venetian ships based in Crete from sailing to Cyprus and assisting the Venetian forces in that island. He continued to undertake this task until the eventual surrender of Famagusta, the final Venetian stronghold in Cyprus.
Canary Islands
In 1585 Murat Reis crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and took several of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, capturing the Spanish governor of the island of Lanzarote, who was later ransomed and released.
Engaging the Venetians and the Maltese Knights in the Levant
Murat Reis was later assigned with the task of controlling the lucrative trade routes between Egypt and Anatolia which were often raided by the Venetians and the Maltese Knights.
In 1609, Murat Reis heard of the presence of a Maltese fleet of ten galleys, including a famous large galleon armed with 90 cannons which was known among the Turks as the Black Inferno, under the command of a knight named Fresine, off the island of Cyprus, and sailed there to engage them. After successfully striking the Maltese ships with cannons from both long distance and close range, he severely damaged the Black Inferno and captured the ship. Six out of the ten Maltese galleys were captured. However, the old Murat Reis -defined as already 103 years old in most historic resources- was mortally injured during the combat. Halil Pasha rushed Murat Reis to Cyprus with his ship for medication, but it was too late.
Legacy
Murat Reis was buried in Rhodes, his birthplace, in accordance with his will. His tomb in Rhodes, which still stands, became a popular shrine for Turkish sailors in the following centuries, who visited his grave for good luck before setting sail to distant places.
Several submarines of the Turkish Navy have been named after Murat Reis.
References
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