Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, Turkish was Hizir Yakup bin , and this coming from Arabic Khidr 'ibn Ya'qub It was an Ottoman Admiral who developed Corsair activities in the Mediterranean Sea during the 16th century. The pirate organization formed under the Ottoman protectorate came to have great control over the trade in the Mediterranean, causing serious headaches for the Spanish Empire, under the reign of Charles I, and almost all Christian Europe.

Barbarossa came into contact with the sea as a child, When his father a Potter of the island of Lesbos, He decided to buy a boat to trade with their products. Becoming both he and his brothers sailors, dedicated to international trade.

But during one of these commercial travel, When returning of Tripoli, Ilias and Aruh, two of the Barbarossa brothers were attacked by the Knights of St. John, proving the first of them dead and the second captured along with his father's ship. After three years Barbarossa he discovered that his brother was imprisoned in the Castle were the Knights of St. John in Bodrum, and moved to there to rescue him.

Barbarossa, joined his brother oruç Reis, that he had been at the service of the Korkud Prince and the Sultan of Egypt, in the island of Djerba, Tunisia, from where he attacked the coasts of the Western Mediterranean. The fame of his brother oruç was on the rise thanks to Muslims transported from Spain to the North of Africa, Hence got the name of “Baba Aruj” which means “Father oruç”, where the Spanish, French and Italians took the name of Barbarrosa,. At this time his brother oruç Reis after a series of victories over the Christians seized Algiers, naming Sultan of Algiers. Until in the year 1518, Charles marched to Oran where under the command of 10.000 Spanish and with thousands of Bedouin soldiers marched towards Tlemcen, where you were waiting for oruç Reis and one of his brothers Ishaq, under the command of 1.500 Turkish soldiers and 5.000 Moorish soldiers. The city resisted 20 days the Spanish attack, but it was finally conquered the brothers to die during the attack.

At this time was when Hizir took the place of his brother and inherited the name of Barbarossa, taking command of operations since then. Recapturing Tlemcen in the year 1.518. He followed this with the transportation of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula to North Africa, It provided a large number of grateful supporters.

From that year until 1.523 Barbarossa attacked the coasts of France and Spain on numerous occasions, coming to attack the ports of Provence, Toulon and Mallorca, even to capture several ships returning from the new world to Cádiz. Attacking up 1.530 the Christian territories in Mediterranean.

And 1.532 Suleiman I granted him the post of Kaptan-i Derya (Admiral of the fleet), giving the Government of the Sanjak, they were the provinces of Rhodes, Euboea and Chios in the Aegean Sea.

In the year 1.534 departed from Istanbul to the command of 80 galleys and captured Coron, Patras and Lepanto, until then it had been in possession of the Spanish. After crossing the Strait of Messina make incursions on the coasts of Calabria, where a large number of ships captured enemy. He destroyed the port of Cetraro, He sacked the islands of Capri and Procida and the port of Naples. As far as the vicinity of Rome. He continued plundering cities in the South of Italy and from there headed towards Tunisia, City that I took in the same year.

If only could keep her under his control for a year as King Charles I to command of a hispano-italiana force recaptured Tunisia, to have abandoned aware of the impossibility of defending Barbarossa.

He went to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where I landed again at Capri and conducted raids on the Spanish coast, coming to destroy the ports of Majorca and Minorca.

And 1.536 She was ordered to return to Istanbul to lead the attack of the Ottoman Empire against the Republic of Venice, capturing in 1.537 the cities of Otranto and Ugento and the fortress of Castro, as well as the Aegean and Ionian Islands who possessed the Venetian Republic. This led to the Republic of Venice to ask Pope Paul III to organize a “Holy League” to end the Ottoman domination in the Mediterranean.

Finally in 1.538 formed the Holy League, composed of the Papal States, Spain, the Republic of Venice, the Holy Roman Empire and the order of Malta. But Barbarossa defeated this multinational force at the battle of Preveza, thus ensuring total control of the Mediterranean from the Ottoman Empire during the following 30 years, until the defeat at the battle of Lepanto in 1.571.

After this victory he resumed its campaign against the Republic of Venice until in the year 1.540 Venice signed a peace treaty with Sultan Suleiman I in exchange for 300.000 ducats of gold and recognize the Turkish conquests.

Charles I own, aware of the value of Barbarossa offered to appoint him his Admiral-in-Chief, and give the Government of the Spanish territories in North Africa, but Barbarossa did not accept your offer. This prompted Charles to try to put an end to the influence of the pirate and laid siege to Algiers, Despite the fact that both his commander of the fleet and an already entered into years Hernán Cortés, that was in the campaign by express wish of Charles I, They advise him not to do so at the time of the year. Charles I ignored these tips, and much of its fleet perished in a shipwreck, and after a struggle in not very successful land decided to retire.

Barbarossa went to France to support the King of France, aliadado with the Ottoman Empire, Nice conquering and plundering San Remo, Liguria, Monaco and the Turbie. Finally, in the year 1.544, Suleiman I and Charles I signed a truce. That did not end with the wanderings of Barbarossa, who continued to attack the ports of Mediterranean, including Spanish possessions, Mallorca and Menorca.

He finally decided to return to Istanbul and built a Palace on the Bosphorus, where he remained until his death. It is a highly respected figure in Turkey for being largely responsible for the domain of the Ottoman Mediterranean during the time.

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