Contest for the Red Sea Route

Timeline

1. 1513Goa to Gulf of Aden · YemenAlbuquerque, acting on orders from Manuel I, led about twenty warships westward; the strategic objective was to capture Aden and control the Bab el-Mandeb strait, thereby blockading the Mamluk route for transshipping Indian Ocean spices via the Red Sea to Egypt and Syria.
2. 1513Port of Jeddah · Makkah ProvinceMamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri reinforced the defenses of Jeddah and Suez ports and dispatched a fleet to patrol the Red Sea. Venetian merchants depended on this route to obtain pepper and spices, forming a community of interest with the Mamluks to jointly resist Portuguese penetration.
3. 1513Bab el-Mandeb to the northern Red Sea · Red SeaAfter the failed siege of Aden, Portuguese forces still sailed into the Red Sea to plunder merchant ships, approaching Jeddah without success. Although the Mamluk trade route was disrupted, it was not severed; the contest prompted the Mamluks to seek Ottoman naval support, laying the groundwork for later joint expeditions in the Indian Ocean.