The siege of Bahrain of 1559 occurred when forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, commanded by the governor of the Lahsa eyalet Mustafa Pasha, attempted to seize Bahrain, and thus wrest control of the island and its famed pearl trade from the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

. The siege was unsuccessful, and the Portuguese defeated the Turks when reinforcements were dispatched by sea from the fortress of Hormuz.

Background

Bahrain was then a dominion of the King of Hormuz, himself a puppet of Portugal ever since the Portuguese took over Hormuz in 1515. In 1538, the Ottoman Empire captured the port city of

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, gaining access to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, and thus coming into contact with the Portuguese. In 1552 the Lahsa Eyalet was established. Its governor, Mustafa Pasha intended to capture Bahrain and its famed pearl fishing that was developed there. To this effect, he mustered two galleys and 70 transport boats to ferry some 800Svat Soucek (2008): ''The Portuguese and Turks in the Persian Gulf'' i
Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the Early Modern Period
p. 37 to 1200Saturnino Monteiro (2011): ''Portuguese Sea Battles - Volume III - From Brazil to Japan 1531-1579'' p. 218 men from

Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

over to Bahrain.

Siege

The Turks landed in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in July, and promptly attacked the

Bahrain fort The Qal'at al-Bahrain (; ), also known as the Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site located in Bahrain. Archaeological excavations carried out since 1954 have unearthed antiquities from an artificial mound of height contain ...

with artillery pieces. It was defended by the Hormuzi

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

governor Morad Shah (''Rax Morado'' in Portuguese), ahead of 400

mercenaries, who held firm against the Ottoman bombardment, and dispatched a fast craft to Hormuz with a distress signal. Upon receiving the distress signal, the captain of Hormuz Dom António de Noronha dispatched his nephew Dom João de Noronha with a reinforcement of 10 light galleys (foists) to Bahrain, and ordered captain Álvaro da Silveira at

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

to proceed there with his forces aboard a war-caravel and a few light-galleys. Because Dom João was young and inexperienced though, upon reaching Bahrain the Turks scattered his small fleet. Captain Álvaro da Silveira was more successful: Taking the route towards

Al-Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

, he was able to approach Bahrain from the west rather than east, and thus trick the Turks into believing his fleet were friendly reinforcements sent from Basra. Taking advantage of morning haze, Álvaro da Silveira was able to surprise and capture the Ottoman fleet, thus trapping the Turks on the island. The Turks lifted the siege, but retreated to a palm-grove where they set up camp. Several weeks of skirmishing elapsed, as the Portuguese were unable to dislodge the Turks. Dom

António de Noronha Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

even commissioned the chief-architect Inofre de Carvalho, by chance then conducting renovations in the fortress of Hormuz, to build a very large war-wagon, armed with artillery pieces: Eventually, an outbreak of plague befell the Turks and Portuguese, causing great losses on both sides, and the Turks offered terms. Dom Ántónio de Noronha permitted that the Turks be ferried back to Al-Qatif on November 6, in exchange for relinquishing their weapons and paying an indemnity of 12,000 ''cruzados'' or one million ''akçes'', which they agreed.

Aftermath

The siege of Bahrain of 1559 marked the end of Ottoman attempts to challenge Portuguese hegemony in the Persian Gulf.Svat Soucek (2008): ''The Portuguese and Turks in the Persian Gulf'' i
Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the Early Modern Period
p. 36 The Ottomans would only make another attempt against the Portuguese 21 years later, when admiral Mir Ali Beg commanded a small fleet to the east-African coast in 1580.

References

{{coord missing, Bahrain

16th century in Portuguese India Former Portuguese colonies

Wars involving Bahrain

Background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References