BARBAROSSA

 

       

                                                                                   

Hundreds of warships were anchored in the Bosphorus at that time ... a sight not commonly seen in the city of Istanbul. Not so many warships are anchored together near a capital city except by enemy forces or coup attempts. But the ships did not arrive that day for defense or attack.

                                                   

Cannons came out of each of the ships. They started firing into the sky. The city of Istanbul shed tears of boredom. The Sultan, one of the most powerful men in world history, prayed for his companion at a tomb in the city. On the day that the city of Istanbul received the physical body of the Sultan of the Sea into its heart, their artillery once again shook for that Sultan.

 

The above was the burial ceremony of Khilr Khairaddin Barbarossa, the great Captain Pasha whom the European colonial powers fearfully called the sea.

 

Sixteenth century, ..

It was a time when European sailors were intoxicated by the sea movements of the Renaissance without fearing the intensity and wildness of the Mediterranean Sea.

They have committed on the shores of Africa and Asia the heinous sins that will never be washed away, no matter how many pages of history are turned. From the transatlantic slave trade in the west to the brutal killings and looting by people like Vasco da Gama on the east Indian coast are only a small part of it. Among them were pirates operating with the tacit consent of many European empires.

 

Thus, in the Orientalist language, a red-bearded Mohammedan with a cheerful face, a calm nature and a heart set on fire, dominates the heart of the Mediterranean, 'Khilr Barbarossa'.

 

Naval history has never seen such a person before or since. In the sea empire from Gibraltar to the Mediterranean, there was not a single colonial warrior who did not dare to hear the name Barbarossa.

 

Hisier was born in 1478, the son of a merchant in Ottoman Greece. He had three brothers. They once killed Hisier's father and brother, who were taken captive by the Templars on the roads during a trade trip. Hisir's first military operation was to free his captive elder brother, Uruj. Hisar and Uruz, who were later liberated, served as naval aides to the Ottoman Mamluk Empires off the coast of Africa. That goodness earned him the name Baba.

 

Hisier later met his brothers Urub Baba and Isaac in Tunis in 1509. The brothers gained world attention in 1512 when they chased away the Spanish navy that invaded Algeria. Although there are two theories that the name Baba Urooj is derived from Lopi and not from the red bearded men, they later became known as the Barbarossa brothers.

 

The world later saw the Barbaros brothers establishing dominance in the Strait of Gibraltar. With the Spanish occupation of 1516, the whole of the Algerian coast came under the control of the Barbaros brothers. The brothers who came to power decided that the then Turkish Sultan Salim Yaouz could become a vassal state. Sultan Urooj Baba, who accepted the demand of the Barbaros brothers, was appointed Bailey Bai of North Africa. But it did not last long. Urub Baba and Ishaq, who had gone to fight the Spanish invasion of 1518, were killed, and Hisier did not make any move for four years. Europe also felt that the harassment of the Barbaros brothers was over.

 

In 1520, Sulaiman, son of Salim Yaouz, took over the rule of the Ottoman Turks, or 'Sulaiman the Great' in European parlance. In 1522 Suleiman decided to invade Rhodes. Perhaps knowing the history of Hisar, the Sultan invited Hisar to accompany him. It is to be understood that the murders of his father and brothers had by then turned Hisier into a battery of hatred. There was a belief among the pagan Turks that they were a hybrid of wolf and man. Although their religion and culture later changed, they still believe that they are the image of the wolf. Hisir Barbarossa was literally turning into a wolf back then ... the sea wolf who was the killer of European ships ....

 

After the conquest of Rhodes by the Sultan and Hisier, the Sultan released Hisier into the Mediterranean. The European shores were falling one by one in front of that last Barbaros brother. Pervez, Sicily, MosaAnd so on.

 

Hisier, the sea wolf, put Europe to sleep. Some Spanish historians describe Hisier's war period after 1522 as "no one on the European shores from the Gulf of Gibraltar to Messina Square could eat or sleep in peace". Barbarossa was a divine justice who taught the westerner, who was only accustomed to oppression and sleep deprivation, not to sleep.

 

In any case, Europe was unwilling to allow Hisier's wars to continue. The European colonies met under Pope Paul III. In the end, they decided to end Hisar Barbarossa in the Mediterranean. For that, they formed a Holy League with Spain, Genoa, Papal State and Hapsburg. With the Knights of Malta. In 1538 they formed a large army of about 300 ships and 55,000 warriors under the command of Andrea Doria. The stage was set for the worst sea battle the world had ever seen. Their decision was to attack Pervez. Maybe that was their first foolishness. How suicidal it is to go into his den and attack the most intelligent sailor in world history.

 

Barbarossa's army consisted of just 140 ships and 20,000 soldiers. But what was written in Pervez was a new history. Hisar Barbarossa defeated the European army in the largest battle ever seen in naval history. A large part of the European army led by Andre Doria, which came to drown the sea wolf, sank in the Mediterranean.

 

Barbarossa sank ten European ships at sea, burned three and captured 36. European forces were subsequently wrecked beyond repair.

 

Barbarossa, who visited Suleiman after the Battle of Pervez, was honored with the title of Khairdeen, which means "Khair" of the religion. And appointed Sultan's Naval Admiral ...

 

Barbarossa, who became the dictator of the Mediterranean, continued to subjugate every anchored shore. After Pervez, Barbarossa's conquests on the Italian - Spanish coast seemed to undermine Europe's existence at various stages. It was the dream of all the emperors of that time to have a captain like Barbarossa. It was once attempted by the Spanish Emperor Charles V. But the brave warrior who planted the flag of faith on his chest and plate was not ready for it.

 

Solomon and Hizar ruled the sea empire from Bosphorus to Gibraltar with justice. The Ottomans then dominated the Mediterranean for about forty years.

 

After Pervez, the European powers did not fail to make some efforts against Barbarossa. Charles V was one of them who went directly to recapture Algiers. But they were paralyzed. Later, Barbarossa and his group appeared in several European cities. Owned wherever he went. It was the then French government that, with the force of friendship, withdrew Barbarossa, who was next to Rome on the banks of the Tiber, along the Nice, Ragio Calabria, Campania and Lazio.

 

By 1545 CE, Barbarossa had retired, ending the Sea Wars. It was during this time that he wrote his autobiography with Murad Sinan Reyes. It was written under the title Ghazawat e Hayraddin Pasha (Haydaddin's victories). Like all historians, Pasha did not live long after his mission. In 1546 CE, the great sailor said goodbye to his home on the northwest coast of the Bosphorus.

 

But resentment against Hisier is not over in Europe. Many Orientalist historians have described him as a robber. In a Eurocentric world where heroes like Vasco and Columbus, who valued humanity and value, are the heroes, justice can be plundered ....

 

To this day, military ships passing in front of a tomb built by the unique artist Mimar Sinan in Besiktas, Istanbul, remember their valiant predecessor ... As they pass by the grave where their heroism ends, their hearts are perhaps the fourth line of an Arab Nath with memories of lost glory ....

 

 في البحار كان حوتا بربروسا

 

"At sea we had a whale named Barbarossa ...."