The capture of Aden of 1548 was accomplished when Ottomans under

Piri Reis Ahmet Muhiddin Piri ( 1465 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis ( tr, Pîrî Reis or ''Hacı Ahmet Muhittin Pîrî Bey''), was a navigator, geographer and cartographer. He is primarily known today for his maps and charts collected in his ''Kita ...

managed to take the harbour of Aden in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

from the Portuguese on 26 February 1548.

Background

Aden had already been captured by the Ottomans for

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

in 1538 by

Hadim Suleiman Pasha Hadim is a town and district of Konya Province in the Akdeniz region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,941 of which 16,620 live in the town of Hadim. History The area now known as Hadim was settled by a tribe o ...

, in order to provide an Ottoman base for raids against Portuguese possessions on the western coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.''The history of Aden, 1839-72'' by Zaka Hanna Kour p. 2
/ref> Sailing on to India, the Ottomans failed against the Portuguese at the

siege of Diu A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

in September 1538, but then returned to Aden where they fortified the city with 100 pieces of artillery. From this base, Sulayman Pasha managed to take control of the whole country of Yemen, also taking

Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gover ...

. In 1547, Aden arose against the Ottomans however and invited the Portuguese instead, so that the Portuguese were in control of the city.

The Battle

Ali bin Suleyman al-Tawlaki who was a local chieftain fought the Ottoman navy of 60 ships of various sizes which arrived on 15 November 1547 until he died, then he was succeeded by his son, Mohammed, who kept resisting until a small Portuguese fleet arrived on 19 January 1548. However, the Portuguese were forced to retreat to

Zeila Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Bibl ...

, where 120 sailors were captured, and their ships were burned. Eventually, the Ottomans managed to win and the city was captured by

on 26 February 1548.

Aftermath

Piri Reis would continue with successes against the Portuguese with the capture of Muscat (1552).

Notes

{{coord, 12, 47, 52, N, 45, 01, 27, E, region:YE, display=title Aden Ottoman period in Yemen Piri Reis Suleiman the Magnificent Aden Aden 1548 in Asia Capture of Aden 1548 in Portugal