Ottoman Capture of Aden

Timeline

1. 1538Port of Aden · YemenTo answer Gujarat's call for aid and cut Portuguese pressure on Red Sea spice and pilgrimage routes, Suleiman I ordered Egypt's governor Hadım Süleyman Pasha to assemble an Indian Ocean fleet. The fleet passed Kamaran through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, arriving at Aden on 3 August 1538, intending to first control the gateway before advancing east to Diu.
2. 1538Aden · YemenThe Tahirid emir of Aden, Amir bin Dawud, was accused of pro-Portuguese leanings. Hadım Süleyman Pasha summoned him to his flagship and executed him, then captured and sacked Aden without a siege, leaving a garrison that gave the Ottomans an anchorage outside the Bab el-Mandeb.
3. 1538Aden · YemenAfter the failed siege of Diu, the fleet returned to Aden, landing about a hundred cannon and strengthening the defenses. Hadım Süleyman Pasha then advanced along the Tihama, bringing Zayla, Zabid, and other places under Ottoman suzerainty; Aden and Yemen were organized as a beylerbeylik, placing the Red Sea gateway in imperial hands.