Everything about Kemal Reis totally explained
Kemal Reis (c.
1451 –
1511) was a
Turkish privateer and
Ottoman admiral. He was also the paternal uncle of the famous Ottoman admiral and cartographer
Piri Reis who accompanied him in most of his important naval expeditions.
Background and early career
Kemal Reis was born in
Gallipoli on the
Aegean coast of
Turkey around
1451. His full name was
Ahmed Kemaleddin and his father was a Turk named Ali from the city of
Karaman in central
Anatolia. He became known in
Europe, particularly in
Italy and
Spain, with names like
Camali and
Camalicchio.
Kemal Reis started his career as the commander of the naval fleet belonging to the
Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of
Euboea (Turkish:
Eğriboz) which was under
Ottoman control. In
1487 the
Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid II appointed Kemal Reis with the task of defending the lands of Emir Abu Abdullah, the ruler of
Granada, which was then one of the final
Muslim strongholds in
Spain. Kemal Reis sailed to Spain and landed an expeditionary force of Turkish troops at
Malaga, capturing the city and the surrounding villages and taking many prisoners. From there he sailed to the
Balearic Islands and
Corsica, where he raided the coastal settlements, before landing his troops near
Pisa in Italy. From Pisa he once again went to
Andalucia and in several occasions between
1490 and
1492 transported the
Muslims and
Jews who wished to escape
Spain to the provinces of the
Ottoman Empire which welcomed them. The Muslims and Jews of Spain contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. Kemal Reis continued to land his troops in Andalucia and tried to stop the Spanish advance by bombarding the ports of
Elche,
Almeria and
Malaga.
Admiral of the Ottoman Navy
In
1495 Kemal Reis was made an admiral of the Ottoman Navy by Sultan
Bayezid II who ordered the construction of his large flagship,
Göke, which could carry 700 soldiers and was armed with the strongest cannons of that period. Two large galleys of this type were built, one for Kemal Reis and the other for
Burak Reis. In October
1496, with a force of 5 galleys, 5 fustas, a barque and a smaller ship, Kemal Reis set sail from
Istanbul and raided the
Gulf of Taranto. In January
1497 he landed at
Modon and later captured several
Venetian ships at the
Ionian Sea and transported them, along with their cargo, to
Euboea. In March
1497 Sultan Bayezid II appointed him with the task of protecting the ships which carried valuable goods belonging to the religious foundations of
Mecca and
Medina from the frequent raids of the
Knights of St. John who were based in the island of
Rhodes at that time (in 1522 the Ottomans captured Rhodes and allowed the Knights of St. John to peacefully leave the island, who first relocated their base to
Sicily and later to
Malta in 1530.) Kemal Reis set sail towards
Rhodes with a force of 2 barques and 3 fustas, and captured a barque of the knights near Montestrato. He later landed at Stalimene (
Lemnos) and from there sailed towards
Tenedos (
Bozcaada) and returned to
Istanbul. In June
1497 he was given two more large galleys and in July 1497 he made the island of
Chios his base for operations in the
Aegean Sea against the
Venetians and the
Knights of St. John. In April 1498, commanding a fleet of 6 galleys, 12 fustas with large cannons, 4 barques and 4 smaller types of ships, he set sail from the
Dardanelles and headed south towards the Aegean islands that were controlled by the
Republic of Venice. In June 1498 he appeared in the island of
Paros and later sailed towards
Crete where he landed his troops at
Sitia and captured the town along with the nearby villages before sending his scout forces to examine the characteristics of the nearby Venetian castle. In July
1498 he sailed to
Rosetta (Rashid) in
Egypt with a force of 5 galleys, 6 fustas and 2 barques for transporting 300 Muslim pilgrims heading for
Mecca, who also had with them 400,000 gold ducats which were sent to the
Mamluk sultan by
Bayezid II. Near the port of Abu Kabir he captured 2
Portuguese ships (one galleon and one barque) after fierce fighting which lasted 2 days. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards
Santorini and captured a Venetian barque, before capturing another Portuguese ship in the Aegean Sea.
Ottoman-Venetian Wars
In January
1499 Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a force of 10 galleys and 4 other types of ships, and in July 1499 met with the huge Ottoman fleet which was sent to him by Davud Pasha and took over its command in order to wage a large scale war against the
Republic of Venice. The Ottoman fleet consisted of 67 galleys, 20 galliots and circa 200 smaller vessels.
In August 1499 Kemal Reis defeated the
Venetian fleet under the command of
Antonio Grimani at the
Battle of Zonchio which is also known as the Battle of Sapienza of 1499 or the
First Battle of Lepanto and was a part of the
Ottoman-Venetian Wars of 1499-1503. It was the first naval battle in history with cannons used on ships, and took place on four separate days: on August 12, 20, 22 and 25, 1499. After reaching the
Ionian Sea with the large Ottoman fleet, Kemal Reis encountered the Venetian fleet of 47 galleys, 17 galliots and circa 100 smaller vessels under the command of
Antonio Grimani near
Cape Zonchio and won an important victory. During the battle Kemal Reis sank the galley of Andrea Loredan, a member of the influential Loredan family of Venice. Antonio Grimani was arrested on
September 29 but was eventually released. Grimani later became the
Doge of Venice in 1521. The Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid II gifted 10 of the captured Venetian galleys to Kemal Reis, who stationed his fleet at the island of
Cefalonia between October and December, 1499.
In December 1499 the Venetians attacked
Lepanto with the hope of regaining their lost territories in the
Ionian Sea. Kemal Reis set sail from Cefalonia and retook Lepanto from the Venetians. He stayed in Lepanto between April and May
1500, where his ships were repaired by an army of 15,000 Ottoman craftsmen brought from the area. From there Kemal Reis set sail and bombarded the Venetian ports on the island of
Corfu, and in August
1500 he once again defeated the Venetian fleet at the
Battle of Modon which is also known as the
Second Battle of Lepanto. Kemal Reis bombarded the fortress of
Modon from the sea and captured the town. He later engaged with the Venetian fleet off the coast of
Coron and captured the town along with a Venetian brigantine. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards the Island of
Sapientza (Sapienza) and sank the Venetian galley
"Lezza". In September
1500 Kemal Reis assaulted Voiussa and in October he appeared at Cape Santa Maria on the Island of
Lefkada before ending the campaign and returning back to Istanbul in November. With the
Battle of Modon, the Turkish fleet and army quickly overwhelmed most of the Venetian possessions in
Greece.
Modon and
Coron, the "two eyes of the Republic", were lost. Turkish cavalry raids reached Venetian territory in northern
Italy, and, in 1503, Venice again had to seek peace, recognizing the Turkish gains.
In January
1501 Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a fleet of 36 galleys and fustas. In February 1501 he landed at the Island of
Euboea and at
Nafplion before heading towards
Corfu in March and from there to the
Tyrrhenian Sea where he captured the Island of
Pianosa along with many prisoners. In April 1501 with a fleet of 60 ships he landed at
Nafplion and
Monemvasia, causing the Venetian regional commander based at Corfu to call back the Venetian ships heading towards
Lebanon and the
Levant in order to strengthen the defenses of the
Repubblica Serenissima's remaining strongholds on
Morea. In May
1501, with a force of 8 galliots and 13 fustas, he escorted the cargo ships carrying construction material for strengthening the Ottoman fortresses on the islands of
Chios and
Tinos, where he captured the galley of Girolamo Pisani, the local Venetian commander, including the official standard of San Marco (St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice) along with another Venetian galley named
"Basadonna". From there he sailed to the port of
Zonchio, near
Navarino, with a force of 5 galliots and 14 fustas. The Turks landed there and captured the Venetian castle and the nearby settlements after a siege which lasted less than 10 hours. Kemal Reis also captured 3 Venetian galleys, a Venetian caravelle and several other local ships which were docked at the port of Zonchio. He took these ships first to
Modon and later to the Island of
Aegina, before sailing towards
Euboea. He later captured
Navarino from the Venetians, adding another important port to the Ottoman Empire. In June
1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the
Adriatic Sea and strengthened the Turkish defenses at Voiussa and
Vlore.
Operations in the West Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean
In July
1501 Kemal Reis, accompanied by his nephew
Piri Reis, set sail from the port of
Modon with a force of 3 galleys and 16 fustas and went to the
Tyrrhenian Sea, where he took advantage of the war between
Jacopo d'Appiano, ruler of
Piombino, and the
Papal forces under the command of
Cesare Borgia. The Turks landed at the Island of
Pianosa and quickly captured it, taking many prisoners. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the Channel of
Piombino and the Turks raided the coastal settlements in that area. In August
1501 Kemal Reis and his troops landed at
Sardinia and captured several coastal settlements while taking around 1,050 prisoners during fights against the local forces. He engaged several
Genoese warships off the coast of Sardinia, which later escaped northwards after being damaged by cannon fire. Still in August
1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the
Balearic Islands and the Turks landed at
Mallorca, where bitter fighting against the local
Spanish forces took place. From there Kemal Reis sailed to
Spain and captured 7 Spanish ships off the coast of
Valencia. Aboard these ships he found a strange feather headdress and an unfamiliar black stone. He was told by one of his prisoners that both came from newly discovered lands to the west, beyond the
Atlantic Ocean. The prisoner claimed to have visited these lands three times, under the command of a man named
Colombo, and that he'd in his possession a chart, drawn by this Colombo himself, which showed the newly discovered lands beyond the
Sea of Darkness. This map was to become one of the main source charts of the famous
Piri Reis map of 1513 which was drawn by the Turkish admiral and cartographer
Piri Reis who was the nephew of Kemal Reis.
After leaving Valencia, still in August 1501, Kemal Reis headed south and bombarded the coastal defenses of
Andalucia before landing his troops, where the Turks raided several ports and towns. Kemal Reis later sailed westwards and passed the
Strait of Gibraltar and entered the
Atlantic Ocean, where he and his men raided the Atlantic coasts of the
Iberian peninsula. From there Kemal Reis sailed southwest and landed on several of the
Canary Islands, where the Turks faced moderate opposition from the Spanish forces.
Piri Reis used the occasion, as in other voyages with his uncle, to draw his famous portolan charts which were later to become a part of the renowned
Kitab-ı Bahriye (
Book of Navigation). Kemal Reis later turned eastwards, where he followed the
Atlantic coastline of
Morocco and re-entered the
Mediterranean Sea through the
Strait of Gibraltar, landing on several ports of
Morocco and
Algeria on the way. From there Kemal Reis headed further east and captured several
Genoese ships off the coast of
Tripoli in
Libya. He also intercepted several
Venetian galleys in the area before sailing back to
Istanbul.
Return to the East Mediterranean
In May
1502 Kemal Reis set sail from
Istanbul with a fleet of 50 ships and headed towards
Euboea. In June
1502 he captured the Island of
Kos along with the Castle of San Pietro which belonged to the
Knights of St. John. From there he sailed to
Nafplion and bombarded its port until being called for assisting the defense of
Mytilene which was sieged by a joint
Venetian-
French fleet. In July
1502 he landed his forces on
Lesbos and fought against the
French soldiers in Mytilene which the Ottomans had earlier taken from the Genoese in 1462. In August
1502 Kemal Reis made the Island of
Lefkada his new base for operations in the
Ionian and
Adriatic Seas, where he raided the coastal settlements belonging to the
Republic of Venice and the
Republic of Ragusa, capturing several of them on behalf of the
Ottoman Empire. However, the strategic importance of the
Island of Santa Maura (as the Venetians called Lefkada) prompted the
Repubblica Serenissima to organize a huge fleet under the command of Benedetto Pesaro, which consisted of 50 galleys and numerous other smaller ships. The Venetians were joined by 13
Papal galleys under the command of Giacomo Pesaro, the brother of Benedetto who was the Bishop of
Paphos, as well as 3 galleys belonging to the
Knights of St. John in
Rhodes and 4 French galleys under the command of the Prégent de Bidoux. Overwhelmed by the size of the enemy fleet, Kemal Reis was forced to abandon Lefkada and sailed back first to
Gallipoli and later to
Istanbul, where, in October
1502, he ordered the construction of new ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the
Golden Horn.
In March
1503 Kemal Reis set sail from
Istanbul with his new ships and reached
Gallipoli where he took over the command of the Turkish fleet that was based there. However, he was caught by a severe illness and had to return back to Istanbul for treatment, which lasted a long time and caused him to remain inactive between November
1503 and March
1505.
In March
1505 Kemal Reis was appointed with the task of intercepting the
Knights of St. John in
Rhodes who caused serious damage on
Ottoman shipping routes off the coasts of
Anatolia, and he set sail from
Gallipoli with a force of 3 galleys and 17 fustas, heading first towards the Island of
Kos, which he'd earlier captured from the Knights, with the aim of organizing an assault on their base in nearby
Rhodes. In May
1505 Kemal Reis assaulted the coasts of
Rhodes and landed a large number of Turkish troops on the island, where they bombarded the castle of the Knights from land and took control of several settlements. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the islands of
Tilos and
Nisyros where he bombarded the fortresses of the Knights from the sea. Still in May
1505 Kemal Reis captured the Island of
Lemnos and assaulted the Island of
Chios, before returning back to
Modon in July
1505.
Return to the West Mediterranean and Spain
In September
1505 Kemal Reis assaulted
Sicily and captured 3 ships (one from the
Republic of Ragusa, the other two from Sicily) off the Sicilian coast.
In January
1506 he made the Island of
Djerba his new base and sailed to
Spain, where he once again landed at the coasts of
Andalucia and bombarded the ports of
Almeria and
Malaga. He also transported the final remnants of the surviving
Muslims and
Jews who had to suffer inhuman treatments since the
Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and brought them to
Istanbul.
In May
1506 Kemal Reis, commanding a force of 8 galliots and fustas, returned to the
Aegean Sea, and in June
1506 landed at the Island of
Leros with a force of 500
janissaries. There he assaulted the Venetian castle under the command of Paolo Simeoni. Throughout June
1506 he raided the
Dodecanese Islands before sailing back to the West Mediterranean with a fleet of 22 ships (including 3 large galleys and 11 fustas) where he landed on
Sicily and assaulted the coastal settlements. There he was confronted by the forces of the Viceroy of Sicily who was an ally of
Spain. In September
1506 Kemal Reis confronted a
Spanish fleet for defending
Djerba and captured a Spanish galley during combat. In October
1506 he landed at
Trapani in
Sicily and burned the
Genoese ships at the port, whose crewmen were however released because they'd no experience of naval warfare and were not deemed useful. He later bombarded the Venetian galley under the command of Benedetto Priuli. He responded to the cannon fire from the fortress of Trapani with the cannons on his ships. He later sailed to the Island of
Cerigo in the
Ionian Sea with a force of 3 galleys and 2 fustas, and exchanged fire with the Venetian fleet under the command of Girolamo Contarini. He later sailed back to
Istanbul.
Later operations in the East Mediterranean
In January
1507 Kemal Reis was appointed by
Bayezid II with the task of hunting the
Knights of St. John and set sail from
Gallipoli with a large fleet of 15 galleys and 25 fustas that were heavily armed with cannons. He engaged with the Knights in several occasions until August
1507, when he returned to
Istanbul. In August
1507 he sailed to
Alexandria with a cargo of 8,000 sets of oars and 50 cannons that were donated to the
Mamluk sultan by
Bayezid II for helping him in his fight against the
Portuguese fleet which often ventured into the
Red Sea and damaged Mameluke interests. Kemal Reis stayed in
Egypt until February
1508, and was back in
Istanbul in May
1508, where he personally coordinated the reparation and modification of his ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the
Golden Horn before setting sail once again towards the
Aegean Sea for confronting the Venetians and the Knights of St. John. In August
1508 he arrived at
Euboea with 2 galleys, 3 barques and numerous fustas. From there he sailed to
Tenedos where he repulsed an attack of the Knights and sank a ship near the port of Sizia. In November
1508 he captured a
Genoese galleass from
Savona off the island of
Tenedos. In January
1509, commanding a force of 13 ships, he assaulted the Castle of Coo near
Rhodes which belonged to the Knights of St. John. In February
1509, accompanied by the famous Turkish privateer
Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (known as
Curtogoli in the West) and commanding a larger fleet of 20 ships (4 galleys, 1 galleass, 2 galliots, 3 barques and 10 fustas) he assaulted the
City of Rhodes and landed a large number of
janissaries at the port. In only a few days 4 large assaults are made on the Castle of Rhodes as well as the walls of the citadel that surrounds the city. Towards mid February, in command of 3 galleys and 3 fustas, he chased the ships belonging to Knights that were escaping Rhodes for the safety of nearby islands, and captured 3 galleons and 9 other types of ships.
Final missions and death
Still in
1509 Kemal Reis sailed to the
Tyrrhenian Sea and landed at the coasts of
Liguria. He continued operating in the West Mediterranean for some time, until returning back to
Gallipoli. In September
1510 he set sail from Gallipoli with 2 galleys, 1 galliot and several fustas, and joined the Ottoman fleet of cargo ships in
Istanbul which were heading to
Alexandria and carried wood for building ships, sets of oars and cannons that were sent to the
Mamluks for their fight against the
Portuguese in the
Indian Ocean. The cargo fleet that Kemal Reis was to escort amounted to a total of 40 ships, 8 of which were galleys.
In early
1511, after passing the lands of the
Duchy of Naxos and being sighted for the last time in December 1510, 27 ships of the Ottoman cargo fleet were wrecked by a severe storm in the
Mediterranean Sea, including the ship of Kemal Reis, who died with his men.
Legacy
Several warships of the
Turkish Navy have been named after Kemal Reis.
Piri Reis wrote this poem for his uncle, from whom he learned so much, in the opening section of his famous
Kitab-ı Bahriye (
Book of Navigation):
Good friend, I want you
To remember us in your prayers,
And remember Kemal Reis, our master,
May his soul be content!
He had perfect knowledge of the seas
And knew the science of navigation.
He knew innumerable seas;
No one could stop him...
We sailed the Mediterranean together
And saw all its great cities.
We went to Frankish lands
And defeated the infidel.
One day an order from
Sultan Bayezid arrived.
"Tell Kemal Reis to come to me,"
It said, "and advise me on affairs of the sea."
So in 1495, the year of this command,
We returned to our country.
By the sultan's command we set out
And won many victories...
Kemal Reis sailed hoping to come back,
But was lost at sea.
Everyone once spoke of him;
Now even his name is forgotten...
The angel of death caught him
While he was serving Sultan Bayezid.
May God give peace to those
Who remember Kemal Reis with a prayer.
Kemal died and went to the next world
And we found ourselves alone in this.Further Information
Get more info on 'Kemal Reis'.
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