The article examines the role of naval battles in the fate of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI century. Special attention is paid to key personalities, thanks to whom the Ottoman fleet almost always won naval battles. Among them, a special place was occupied by Hayreddin Pasha Barbarossa and Turgut Reis, former pirates who came under the rule of the Ottoman sultans. It is noted that thanks to their wisdom and courage, it was possible to expand the territory of the empire to its maximum size and turn the Ottoman Empire into the most powerful maritime state of the XVI century. In addition, the work examines the naval campaigns in which the Ottoman Empire took part, as well as its successes and failures in these battles. The author notes that the key battle in the fate of the Ottoman Empire was the Battle of Preveza with the Holy League. The author comes to the conclusion that the territories of the empire reached their maximum size by the middle of the XVI century precisely thanks to regular victories in naval battles.
For citation:
Kozub E.A., Manahov I.A. Naval battles in the fate of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI century, Ivanovo State University Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2022, iss. 2, pp. 94—101.