Hayreddin Barbarossa

c. 1478 – 4 July 1546

Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478-1546) was an Ottoman corsair and later grand admiral (Kapudan Pasha) of the Ottoman navy. Rising from privateering in the western Mediterranean alongside his brother Oruc, he brought Algiers under Ottoman protection and secured Ottoman naval dominance in the Mediterranean, most famously with his victory at the Battle of Preveza in 1538.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Hayreddin Barbarossa.

Life events

Birth of Khizr, later Hayreddin, on the island of Lesbos
c. 1478

He was born around 1478 in Palaiokipos on Ottoman-ruled Lesbos, the son of a former sipahi of Turkish origin and a Greek mother.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Began corsair operations in the Mediterranean with his brothers
c. 1505

In the early 1500s Khizr joined his brother Oruc in privateering against Christian shipping, operating from North African ports.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Capture of Algiers with his brother Oruc
1516

In 1516 the Barbarossa brothers seized Algiers from its local ruler, making it their base of operations.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Succeeded Oruc as ruler of Algiers after his brother's death
1518

When Oruc was killed fighting the Spanish in 1518, Khizr took command and inherited the name Barbarossa.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Placed Algiers under Ottoman sovereignty
c. 1519

Around 1519 Hayreddin offered Algiers to the Ottoman sultan and was made governor, bringing the western Mediterranean corsair state into the empire.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Appointed Kapudan Pasha, grand admiral of the Ottoman navy
1533

In 1533 Suleiman the Magnificent summoned Hayreddin to Constantinople and gave him supreme command of the Ottoman fleet.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Capture of Tunis for the Ottoman Empire
August 1534

In 1534 Barbarossa took Tunis from the Hafsid dynasty, though it was retaken by the forces of Charles V the following year.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Victory over the Holy League at the Battle of Preveza
28 September 1538

On 28 September 1538 Barbarossa defeated the combined Christian fleet under Andrea Doria, securing Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean for decades.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Retirement to Constantinople after a final Mediterranean campaign
1545

After campaigning in alliance with France in 1543-1544, including wintering his fleet at Toulon, Barbarossa retired to his palace in Constantinople.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Death of Hayreddin Barbarossa in Constantinople
4 July 1546

Barbarossa died on 4 July 1546 and was buried in a mausoleum by Mimar Sinan at Besiktas on the Bosphorus.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓