The Ottoman campaign against Hormuz took place in 1552–1554. An Ottoman fleet led by Admiral

Piri Reis Muhiddin Piri ( 1470 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis (), was an Ottoman cartographer, admiral, navigator, corsair, and geographer. He is primarily known today for his cartographic works, including his 1513 world map and the '' Kitab-ı ...

and

Seydi Ali Reis Seydi Ali Reis (1498–1563), formerly also written Sidi Ali Reis and Sidi Ali Ben Hossein, was an Ottoman admiral and navigator. Known also as Katib-i Rumi, Galatalı or Sidi Ali Çelebi,Danışan, Gaye. 2019. “A Sixteenth-Century Otto ...

was dispatched from the Ottoman harbour of

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

to eliminate the Portuguese presence from the northwestern part of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, and especially their fortress at

Hormuz Island Hormuz Island (; ), also spelled Hormoz, Ormoz, Ormuz or Ormus, is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Geography Hormuz Island has an area of . Located in the Strait of Hormuz, off the Iranian coast, the island is part of Hormozgan Provin ...

Preliminaries

The Ottomans were able to take possession 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 ...

from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

during the

Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555) The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 was one of the many military conflicts fought between the two arch rivals, the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Safavid Empire led by Tahmasp I. Ottoman territorial gains were confir ...

. The Ottomans were then able to capture several key positions in 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 ...

. In 1550, they captured

Qatīf Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd In ...

. In the 1552–1554 expedition, the Ottoman force consisted in 4

galleons Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels drafted ...

, 25

galleys A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist ...

, and 850 troops, dispatched from the Ottoman harbour of

.''Maritime India-Trade, Religion and Polity In the Indian Ocean'' by Pius Malekandathil p.11

/ref>

Sieges of Muscat and Hormuz

The fleet managed to sack Portuguese Muscat, Oman, Muscat, modern

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, in August 1552 in the Capture of Muscat. Soon, however, the Ottomans departed. However, they were unsuccessful in the Siege of Hormuz in September 1552.''The Cambridge history of Islam'' Peter Malcolm Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis p.33

/ref> Ultimately, the fleet managed to occupy and control the coasts of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, as far north as

, so as to facilitate their trade with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The fleet went up to

, then an Ottoman harbour. They were unable to capture

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 1559. Meanwhile, during the year 1553,

was leading an expedition against the Portuguese into the

, but he was unsuccessful.

and his galleys would be taken in an ambush (

Battle of the Gulf of Oman The Battle of the Gulf of Oman was a naval battle between a large Portuguese armada under Dom Fernando de Meneses and the Ottoman Indian fleet under Seydi Ali Reis. The campaign was a catastrophic failure for the Ottomans who lost all of their ...

) by Portuguese forces while he was trying to bring back his fleet from

in August 1554.

References

Sources

* * {{Major Ottoman sieges Campaign against Hormuz Campaign against Hormuz Conflicts in 1552 Hormuz Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts 1552 in Asia 1552 in the Ottoman Empire Hormuz Island 16th century in Iran

Preliminaries

Sieges of Muscat and Hormuz

See also

References

Sources