Turkish Navy - Ottoman Empire (XIV.-XIX. Century)
Undoubtedly, the rise and the decline of the Ottoman Empire were closely related to the capabilities of her Navy. The Ottomans had a powerful Navy when they were ruling 3 continents and honoring glorious victories. Equally, the loss of superiority on the seas was an important factor in the deterioration of the institutions of the Empire. In fact, it was impossible for the Ottomans, which had expanded over 3 continents, to survive by ignoring the maritime activities. The history of the Ottoman Navy can be analyzed in 3 main periods: The period of the Fleet Commanders (1324-1390), the period of the Commander in Chiefs of the Navy (1390-1867) and finally the period of the Navy Ministry (1867-1922).
The Period of the Fleet Commanders (1324-1390)
In 1323, the territory of the Ottoman principality reached to the Sea of Marmara with the conquest of Karamürsel. In 1324, the principality of Karesi sent a fleet of 24 ships under the command of Mürsel Bey to the Ottomans. In some sense, this deployment was the first stage of the foundation of the invincibility of the Ottoman Navy. After the Ottoman Principality established its sovereignty in the Eastern Marmara, the institutionalization of the Naval Forces started. In 1327, the first Ottoman shipyard was constructed in Karamürsel and the first Ottoman ship was built there. The Navy was organized into a hierarchical system and Kara Mürsel Bey became the Commander of the Fleet. He took his place among the pioneering sailors in the history of the Turkish Navy as the first Fleet Commander.
In 1334 and 1337 respectively, Gemlik and Izmit were captured, and thus it became easier for the Ottomans to pass through the Sea of Marmara to expand its dominance over Rumelia. Following Karamürsel; Izmit, Gelibolu and finally Istanbul became the centers of the Turkish Maritime.
The Period of Commander in Chiefs of the Navy (1390-1867)
The modern organization of the Ottoman Navy commenced in the period of Bayezid I (1389-1403). After the completion of the construction of the Gelibolu Naval Base in 1401, the term "Commander in Chief of the Navy" was used in the Ottoman Navy. Saruca Pasha was the first Commander in Chief in the history of the Turkish Navy. During the period of Mehmet II the Conqueror, the Ottomans, after the conquest of Istanbul, headed towards the Mediterranean after firmly establishing their sovereignty in the Aegean and the Black Sea. In 1455, Mehmet II the Conqueror constructed the Istanbul Shipyard (Tersane- i Amire) in Kasimpasa and it was highly regarded by all foreign countries. It was one of the largest shipyards in the world.
During the same period, studies made by Turkish maritime scientists contributed to the world's maritime. Muhiddin Piri Reis was one of the most important scholars in the Turkish Maritime history and he was well known through his excellent cartographic studies. In 1513 and 1528, he drew two world maps. Another gift from Piri Reis to the history of the world's Maritime was his manual "The Navigation (Bahriye)", which he wrote twice in 1521 and 1525. In this unique work, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean were depicted in all aspects.
The Turkish Navy provided logistic support to the Ottoman Army during the march of Selim I towards Egypt. After the conquest of Egypt by Selim I (1512-1520), the Ottomans developed an interest in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
After Selim I, Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) also attached great importance to the Ottoman Navy and it enjoyed its golden age during his reign. During this period, Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha and his brothers Oruç and Ilyas Reis, as well as many famous Turkish sailors such as Selman Reis, Murat Reis and Seydi Ali Reis, established an absolute dominance over the Mediterranean with their extraordinary brilliance in commanding the Ottoman Navy.
The maritime knowledge, experience and the tactical ingenuity of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha was best demonstrated in the Preveze Naval Battle on 27 September 1538.
The Crusader Fleet under the command of Andrea Doria was utterly bewildered by these strikes and they dispersed in panic. The Crusader Fleet became overwhelmed and withdrew suffering heavy losses. This victory left Barbaros as the undisputed master of the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, in 1538, Hadim Süleyman Pasha set out for the Arabian Sea with a fleet of 72 units and captured Aden. By gaining the mastery of the Persian Gulf, as well as of the Red Sea, the Ottomans controlled all the routes leading from the Near East to India. In 1543, the Magnificent sent a fleet of 110 galleys, under the command of Barbaros, to support France against Spain. That was the last expedition of Barbaros; he died in 1546 and occupied a distinctive place amongst the Great Turkish Admirals.
In 1543, Süleyman the Magnificent sent a fleet of 110 galleys, under the command of Barbaros, to support France against Spain. That was the last expedition of Barbaros; he died in 1546 and occupied a distinctive place amongst the Great Turkish Admirals.
On 14 May 1560, the Ottoman Navy under the command of Piyale Pasha, the Commander in Chief of the Navy, defeated the Crusader Fleet at Djerba. The Crusaders had come to capture Tripoli and oust the Turks from North Africa. Turgut Reis contributed considerably to the Victory of Djerba.
During this glorious century the Ottoman Navy was honored with many victories under the command of its eminent sailors Salih Reis, Aydin Reis, Murat Reis, Selman Reis, Seydi Ali Reis, Hasan Reis, Piyale Pasha and Kiliç Ali Pasha. The Ottoman battle ships asserted a powerful presence in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to maintain the Ottoman sovereignty and played a significant role as an instrument of foreign policy for the Ottoman Empire to accomplish its political objectives.
The successors of Süleyman the Magnificent could not conduct the maritime activities in the same triumphant manner. Incompetent pashas who had no knowledge of naval affairs were assigned Commander in Chief, simply because they had close relations with the palace. This caused a gradual deterioration of the Ottoman dominance of the seas.
The Ottomans, after Süleyman the Magnificent, proved unable to adapt to the changing conditions or to grasp the emerging technological assets of Europe, partly because they had failed to overcome the political and economic problems.
The Ottoman Navy lost two thirds of its ships in the Lepanto Naval Battle in 1571 against the Crusader Fleet, which had been built to conquer Cyprus. In this Battle, Uluç Ali Reis, the Governor of Algeria, who was the commander of the port wing of the Navy, managed to save his 40 ships through successful tactical maneuvers.
Uluç Ali Reis, in recognition of his bravery at Lepanto, was later named "Kiliç Ali Pasha" and assigned Commander in Chief by Selim II. Despite many difficulties, Kiliç Ali Pasha did his utmost till the end of his life to maintain the presence and dominance of the Ottoman Navy in the Mediterranean and died in 1587.
In the late 17th and the early 18th centuries, the conversion of all ships to sailing vessels (galleons) had barely been completed when, in July 1770, the Ottoman Navy of 26 ships was completely defeated and destroyed by a surprise attack by the Russian Navy in Çesme in Izmir.
Heeding the warning of that defeat, Sultan Mustafa III decided to educate and train naval officers in contemporary techniques. Baron de Tott, a French engineer, was employed to supervise the rehabilitation efforts of the Ottoman Navy. On 18 November 1773, the "Naval Engineering School", which was the core of today's Naval Academy, was founded by Algerian Ghazi Hasan Pasha. That was not only the foundation of an ordinary school but it was the beginning of a period in which, for centuries, highly qualified statesmen and naval officers were to be educated and trained to serve the Turkish Nation. On 22 October 1784, the Naval Engineering School was renamed the Imperial Naval Engineering College.
In Europe by the end of the 18th century, ships equipped with steam propulsion were beginning to be commissioned. As in the case of the conversion of ships to galleons, the Ottoman Navy only caught up with this innovation in the middle of the 19th century, a delay of almost half a century.
In 1826, Sultan Mahmut II (1808-1839) disbanded the Janissary Corps. This eradication was known as the "Auspicious Event". The vision of the education and the style of the uniforms of the Ottoman Army as well as that of the Navy were renewed. At the same time several military personnel were sent abroad to be educated and trained. Within the framework of these innovations, the Naval High School was established in Heybeliada (One of the Princes' Islands in Istanbul) in 1852.
Even while the reconstruction efforts of the Ottoman Army were underway, the Ottoman Navy continued to face some great disasters. On 20 October 1827, just one year after the demise of the Janissary Corps, the combined Ottoman-Egyptian Navy, which had been moored at the Navarino Harbor of Peloponnesus as a countermeasure against the Greek rebellions, was attacked by the combined naval squadrons of England, France and Russia, and lost 58 ships and 6000 sailors. At Navarino, the Ottoman State lost not only her Navy, but also most of her experienced sailors, in whom a great deal of education had been invested.
The Crimean War (1853-1856) was the first war in history in which the Ottoman Empire allied itself with the Western States. On 30 November 1853, the Ottoman Navy was completely devastated by the surprise offensive action by the Russian Fleet at the Sinop Harbor on the coast of the Black Sea. That attack caused the Ottomans to lose a great number of ships and crews. Even though the galleon Mahmudiye and the other battleships of the Ottoman Navy performed bravely against the Russians, their efforts could not lessen the destructive effect of the Sinop raid. By March 1854, England, France and the Ottoman State had formed a formal alliance against Russia. The Crimean War demonstrated that the survival of the Ottoman Empire could not be preserved without a credible Navy.
This paved the way for the strengthening of the Ottoman Navy with armored ships and steamships. Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) did his utmost to improve and modernize the Ottoman Navy. While he was in power, more than 100 ships (25 of them armored) were built at the Istanbul, Izmit, Gemlik and Mudanya Shipyards as well as at shipyards abroad. In 1864, the Naval War College was founded in Kasimpasa, Istanbul, for the purpose of educating officers to deal with command and staff duties. In 1867, in order to add to the significance of this crucial step, the title of Commander in Chief of the Navy was changed to Minister of the Navy; this title would last until 1922.
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