It is often said that nothing is new under the sun Great powers always fought in colonial wars,

both by using their proxies and directly While the Ottoman empire was on the rise in the early
16th century and fighting wars on numerous fronts, it was challenged by the burgeoning
Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean.Today’s video will explore the origins of the conflict
between the two empires, and cover the battle of Diu of 1538, as Portugal and the Ottomans fight
for dominance over India. Since Vasco da Gama first reached India after a circumnavigation of
Africa in 1498, the reach and power of the Portuguese had been growing rapidly in the Indian
Ocean. In 1500, the same Portuguese armada that had made first landfall in Brazil continued on
to India, bombarding Calicut and establishing Portugal’s first Asian factory in Cochin.
By 1504, Portuguese ships were regularly plundering Arab shipping in the Indian ocean, with a
blockade of the Red Sea earning them the ire of the Mamluk Sultanate and of their trading
partner Venice. But despite Venetian encouragement and Ottoman material support for a
coalition of Muslim powers against Portugal, little effective resistance was forthcoming in the
early years of this Portuguese piracy.
The political fragmentation of Western India allowed the Portuguese to find ready allies
despite their hostile bearing and the enmity of so many sultanates and city-states.
And Mamluk Egypt, ruled as it was by an elite slave-soldier class, had long neglected naval
concerns in favour of their famed cavalry armies.
After a decisive Portuguese victory at the Battle of Diu in 1509 against Calicut, the
Mamluks, and the Sultanate of Gujarat, Portugal’s dominance in the Indian Ocean would be
unchallenged for nearly three decades.
Central to these early Portuguese campaigns was Alfonso de Albuquerque, a masterful admiral
and statesman.
Acting with considerable autonomy in waters far distant from his homeland, he had already
seized Muscat and Hormuz before the Muslim stand at Diu, and was elevated to become
governor of Portuguese India in the same year, with the conquest of Goa following soon after.
Despite a failure to capture Aden, by his death in 1515 Alfonso had established an effective
network of ports and bases that would allow the Portuguese to fight on even terms a world
away from their home shores.
For the Mamluks, on the other hand, the loss of Indian trade was devastating.
The flourishing trade port of Alexandria fell into stagnation and decline, with spices instead
flowing into Lisbon.
In an attempt to make up the loss, the Mamluks turned to oppressive taxation, causing instability
and discontent.
This proved to be one of the greatest factors in allowing the Ottoman Sultan Selim to rapidly
defeat what had once been a major rival, with the local nobility of Syria defecting en masse
to Selim when he invaded in 1516.
By the beginning of February 1517, Ottoman armies had entered Cairo and subjugated the
nation.

In doing so, Selim indirectly landed his first blow against the Portuguese, as their initial
aim had been to capture Egypt and take control of the established trade routes rather than
diverting them through a long chain of expensive and vulnerable bases.
But Egypt’s change in rulers did not change the realities faced by Arab merchants in the
Indian ocean, and the Ottomans quickly found that they had inherited their predecessor’s
piracy crisis.
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Though no outright hostilities would occur between the Ottomans and Portuguese during
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the reign of Selim, there was no doubt that war was inevitable, and each empire sought
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to gain allies and influence among the local rulers of India and East Africa in order to
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strengthen their position.
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Of chief importance were the ports of Aden, Hormuz, Basra and Diu, most of which would
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change hands more than once over the decades to follow.
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In their search for allies against the Portuguese, the Ottomans found common cause with the
Somali
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Sultanates of Adal and Ajuran, and with the Sultanate of Gujarat in North-Western India.
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Gujarat had formerly been a dominant regional power before the Mughal Empire’s incursions
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by land and Portuguese power at sea left it weakened and diminished, forced into tributary
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status to stronger empires to retain its autonomy.
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After being on the losing side of the Battle of Diu, a humiliating defeat in the heart
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of its territory, Gujarat would turn to the Ottomans for aid in maintaining control of
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its crucial trade ports.
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With the Balkan and Persian wars still looming and without access to the Persian Gulf, however,
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direct Ottoman intervention would be minimal at first.
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Some efforts were made to shore up the Ottoman Red Sea fleet prior to the capture of Basra
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- in 1525, Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha reorganized the old Mamluk fleet, with Selman Reis again
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serving as admiral after a short imprisonment, possibly for his earlier defection to the
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Mamluks.

Having already beaten the Portuguese fleet once off Jeddah in 1517, arranging his galleys
in a tight formation under the cover of the shore batteries so as to force the ocean-going
Portuguese ships to either retreat or fight a Mediterranean-style battle of boarders and
fire ships, Selman managed to do what both the Mamluks and Portuguese had failed to do
and had secured effective control of Yemen by 1527.
This marked the first serious Ottoman challenge to Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean,
and Selman’s victories encouraged the numerous Muslim rulers in western India to turn to
the Ottoman Empire for protection as their suzerain.
In the following years, Ottoman soldiers and military experts would be sent to the courts
of Gujarat and Calicut, simultaneously strengthening the defenses of crucial port cities,
increasing
the influence of the Ottoman Sultan abroad, and giving credibility to his recently-adopted
title of Caliph.
One of these consulting Ottoman generals would soon be called on to do battle with the
Portuguese,
on the site of the Portuguese triumph of 1509 - Diu.
Together with Surat on the opposite side of the Gulf of Khambhat, Diu was among the most
important trading hubs of Western India, and would represent a major prize for the Portuguese.
It was thus in Diu that the Ottoman-Portuguese wars would start in earnest, with a large
Portuguese fleet of over 400 ships, carrying close to 6000 soldiers, attacking the city’s
Gujarati and Ottoman garrison in 1531.Led by Alfonso’s successor as governor of Portuguese
India, Admiral Nuno de Cunha, this new fleet was significantly stronger than the one that had
been victorious against the Mamluks in 1509.
And unlike the first fleet, this one carried a fearsome mixed army of Portuguese soldiers
and conscripted auxiliaries from the Malabar Coast, which had shown its effectiveness in
numerous engagements already. However, despite boasting complete naval superiority over the
mere 18 Ottoman ships arrayed against them, de Cunha had met his match in Mustafa Bayram.
The unparalleled Ottoman artillery crews dealt severe damage to the besiegers, while the
narrow waterways separating Diu island from the mainland frustrated Portuguese efforts
to bring the firepower of their large fleet to bear.
This first siege of Diu demonstrated the limitations of both empires - while de Cunha could
notnnn v x
overcome the combination of Gujarati numbers and Ottoman gunnery to capture the city, neither
could Mustafa Bayram destroy de Cunha’s fleet to end the threat it posed.
The fortress remained Gujarati, but the sea remained Portuguese, with de Cunha plundering
Surat and other poorly-defended Gujarati ports after withdrawing in defeat from Diu.
The Ottoman-Portuguese wars would not begin in earnest until seven years later, though.
In a bizarre twist, the roles of the two empires would be almost completely reversed in the
second siege.
Increasing military pressure from the Mughal Empire, combined with the inability of the
Ottomans to protect their maritime interests, drove Sultan Bahadur to sign the Treaty of
Bassein in 1534, and cede numerous islands and territories, including Bombay and Diu,
despite the successful defense of the city three years prior.
In the same year, Suleiman took Baghdad from the Safavids and gained the nominal fealty
of Basra, opening a new avenue to the Indian Ocean.
With his war in Persia ending and affairs in Europe quiet for the time being, Suleiman
finally turned to confront the Portuguese head-on, building shipyards in the Suez and
Yemen, and greatly expanding his Red Sea fleet.
The drowning of Sultan Bahadur during negotiations aboard a Portuguese vessel in 1537
provided
the spark of war, and in 1538 the Ottoman fleet under the command of Hadim Suleiman
Pasha attacked Diu Fort, laying siege to the same city they had helped defend seven years
prior.
Though the Ottoman fleet numbered only 80 ships compared to the 400 ships the Portuguese
had fielded in 1531, they were of heavier build than the light galleys comprising most
of the Portuguese fleet, and it carried a similar force of soldiers.
Though a naval engagement still would have favoured the Portuguese, the Ottoman armada
had caught the Portuguese largely by surprise and arrived unopposed on September 4th after
capturing and plundering Aden en route.
Da Cunha and other Portuguese admirals had expected the Ottoman fleet to make for Muscat
or Hormuz, but once again it was here - Diu.
Upon landing, the 6,000 Turkish soldiers aboard the royal galleys of the armada disembarked
to join a larger force of 16,000 Gujarati soldiers under the command of Khadjar Safar,
which had been besieging the fortress for the past two months, though with little success
due to a lack of ships and cannon.
Also present was the Ottoman captain Hoca Sefer, who had maintained a small Turkish
force in Gujarat after Mustafa Bayram’s departure to preserve the waning influence
of the Ottoman Sultan over their Indian ally.
With only 3,000 Portuguese in the fort, of which only 600 were soldiers under Antonio
de Silveira’s command, the vastly superior Ottoman and Gujarati numbers appeared
insurmountable,
especially when backed by Ottoman siege gunnery.
But the Portuguese still held a number of advantages.
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Firstly, the fort they were defending was newly-built along European lines, greatly
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superior to the outdated medieval fortifications it had replaced.
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A small bastion in the channel to the north, placed halfway between the fort and a redoubt
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on the mainland, allowed chains to be drawn across the Diu Channel to cut off the Ottoman
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galleys.
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Secondly, the alliance between Suleiman and Mahmud Shah III of Gujarat was weaker than
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it might seem.
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Despite the Portuguese having abandoned the city of Diu without battle upon the arrival
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of the Gujarati army, falling back into the fort to make their stand, a force of Ottoman
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janissaries ransacked it shortly after disembarking.
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The senseless damage enraged many Gujarati nobles, and with Mahmud Shah’s succession
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already disputed, he risked losing his throne if too much of the nobility turned against
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his Ottoman patrons.
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This diplomatic breakdown would hamper the Ottomans in the coming siege, with the Gujaratis
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reluctant to supply the hungry Ottoman force.
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And lastly, the Ottomans were not willing to risk their fleet in open battle so far
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from their home shores, putting them under pressure to capture the fort quickly before
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Portuguese reinforcements from Goa could arrive.
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Despite these various disadvantages, the Ottomans made rapid progress building siege works
about
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the surrounded fort, and by September 28th a punishing bombardment was underway.
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But the first hasty attempts to storm the walls were repulsed with significant losses.
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As the volleys continued over the coming month, various attempts would be made to weaken the
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defenses.
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First, Khadjar Safar targeted the Portuguese strongpoint on the north bank of the Diu Channel,
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assaulting it with Gujarati forces backed up by Ottoman guns.
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The small fort’s 40 Portuguese defenders held firm, however, and Khadjar’s attempt
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to smoke the defenders out with fire ships was foiled when a Portuguese nighttime attack
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lit the craft prematurely.
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This initial Portuguese victory would be short-lived - on October 1st, the redoubt’s commander
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Francisco Pacheco was forced to surrender after narrowly beating back a second assault
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by hardened Janissaries.
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Despite an agreement between Suleiman Pasha and Pacheco to grant safe passage to the fort,
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the remaining defenders were imprisoned on the Pasha’s galley.
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The redoubt had been silenced, though this was a small victory, and all the Ottomans
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had to show for most of a month of effort.
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In attempt to avoid the losses a continued siege would entail, Suleiman Pasha had the
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captured Pacheco write a letter de Silveira, detailing the good treatment he had received
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on the Pasha’s galley, and the overwhelming power of the Ottoman army, in an attempt to
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secure de Silveira’s surrender.
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This would prove unsuccessful, however, with de Silveira viewing Pacheco’s imprisonment
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as an act of treachery by Suleiman.
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With the negotiations a failure, the Ottomans returned to the siege, with the last of their
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artillery unloaded and in place by October 5th.
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But even with the full force of their army brought to bear, attempts to assault the fortress
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through the partially-collapsed bulwarks on October 12th and 13th failed, and the efforts
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of Ottoman sappers to breach the walls with gunpowder charges were hampered by barricades
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erected within the walls by the Portuguese noncombatants.
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The next target of the besiegers would be the sea fort in the Diu channel, with Ottoman
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galleys attempting to storm it on October 27th and 28th.
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But without any surrounding landmass to disembark besiegers on, attackers would be forced to
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scale the sea fort’s walls directly from their galleys, a difficult task in the face
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of the cannonfire and fire bombs of the well-stocked Portuguese garrison.
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18 galleys in total would be committed between the two attacks, but despite significant
casualties,
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the defenders of the sea fort successfully weathered the attacks and forced the battered
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galleys into retreat.
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After the failure to capture the sea fort, the cracks were beginning to show in the allied
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siege effort.
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The simmering dispute between the Ottomans and the Gujarati nobility left Suleiman Pasha’s
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army in a precarious position for supplies, and despite the strength of the Ottoman fleet,
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they were unable to prevent swift Portuguese foists from making landings to resupply and
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reinforce the defenders.
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Faced with the possibility of being cut off by the Portuguese fleet in Goa, Suleiman Pasha
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could not risk prolonging the fruitless siege.
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On October 30th, the Ottoman forces began withdrawing back to their ships.
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De Silveira knew better than to drop his guard while still surrounded, however.
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His vigilance would pay off when the Ottoman retreat proved to be a last ruse by Suleiman
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Pasha, who launched a massive final attack on the morning of the 31st.
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The majority of the Ottoman-Gujarati army, as many as 14,000, attacked under a heavy
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artillery barrage.
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The 600 soldiers that had held the fort at the beginning of the siege had since dwindled
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to 100 or fewer, with more of the soldiers now imprisoned on Ottoman galleys than remaining
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to defend the fort.
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But with the situation as dire as it had become, much of the fort’s civilian population took
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up arms in its defense as well, with some sources suggesting a group of female soldiers
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saw active duty in the frenzied battle.
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The damage to the fortress bulwarks was severe, and at several points along the walls Gujarati
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or Ottoman soldiers succeeded in winning their way onto the ramparts to raise their banners
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above the beleaguered fort.
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But just as in the initial assaults, the time constraints the besiegers faced worked against
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them.
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In their haste to crush the remaining opposition, the troops attacking the walls were exposed
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to significant friendly fire from the ongoing cannon volleys.
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Though the fighting on October 31st would stretch the defenders to the breaking point,
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the attackers were again repulsed - and though similar attacks on the following days would
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have inevitably ended in an Ottoman victory, no more would be forthcoming.
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A relief force of 24 Portuguese galleys was mistaken for the vanguard of the governor’s
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powerful Goa fleet, while a small sortie by the remaining defenders created the impression
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that the fort was still garrisoned to withstand another attack.
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On November 6th, the Ottoman fleet hurriedly embarked for Yemen, while Khadjar Safar
torched
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his camp and withdrew to the mainland.
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A mere 40 soldiers remained fit for battle inside the fort when the relief fleet arrived,
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yet they had held off the largest Ottoman expedition ever dispatched to India, with
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the Turkish armada returning to Yemen 1200 men lighter.
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The failure to capture Diu was a major loss for the Ottomans, weakening their influence
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in India and straining their critical alliance with the Gujarat Sultanate.
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Spice would continue to work its way around the Cape of Good Hope, with even the merchants
20:35
of Venice at times forced to purchase from their Portuguese rivals.
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But Suleiman’s efforts in the Indian ocean had not been for naught.
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The construction of shipyards in Basra and Aden had greatly strengthened the Ottoman
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position compared to the feeble Mamluks, while Ibrahim Pasha and Selman Reis’ improved
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fleet had forced the Portuguese to end their long Red Sea blockade.
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Therefore, though the Ottomans had failed to drive the Portuguese from the Indian Ocean,
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they did succeed in reinvigorating the Egyptian spice trade, with Arab and Indian merchants
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again braving the risk of Portuguese piracy to sell their wares in Alexandria.
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The old and new trade routes would uneasily coexist over the next decades as the rival
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empires competed for dominance.
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Next time on the Ottoman-Portuguese Wars, we cross the Indian Ocean to the African theatre,
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where the mighty nations of Ethiopia and Adal battle for dominance under the watchful eyes
21:35
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