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Oruç Reis

Type Figure Region Algiers Time c. 1474–1518 Also known as Red-bearded Oruç

Oruç Reis (c. 1474–1518), also known as Aruj Barbarossa, was born on Lesbos under Ottoman rule and was the elder brother of Hayreddin Barbarossa.…

Timeline

  1. c. 1501–1515Djerba and the Tunisian coast · TunisiaWith his brothers Khizr and Ishak he based himself at Djerba and Tunis, raiding Spanish, Papal States and Italian shipping while repeatedly ferrying Muslims and Jews evacuating from Iberia, his fame spreading across the western Mediterranean. By this stage he had already lost an arm, yet still used galley tactics against Habsburg sea power.
  2. 1516–1517Algiers · AlgiersIn 1516, invited by the city's ruler Salim al-Tumi, he led a Turkish-Kürek joint force into the city, failed to immediately take the Spanish-held Peñón fortress, then eliminated al-Tumi and declared himself sultan. Around 1517 he offered Algiers to Selim I in exchange for the Ottoman title of bey, firearms and troops, turning a privateering port into an imperial outpost in the western Mediterranean.
  3. 1517–1518Tlemcen · TlemcenHe pushed inland, controlling Miliana, Médéa, Ténès and elsewhere, and occupied Tlemcen in 1517–1518, directly threatening the Spanish stronghold at Oran. The Spanish besieged the city for about half a year; when Oruç turned back to rescue stragglers during a breakout, he was killed by a spear. Hayreddin immediately took over the Algiers fleet and sought aid from Istanbul.

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