Battle of Preveza

Barbarossa's win made the Ottomans the leading naval power of the Mediterranean for over thirty years.

The site of the battle on the 1683 map. Shaded: Ottoman Empire, 1683, Safavid Iran, Mughal Empire, 1707.

Key facts

When: 1538
Where: Ionian Sea, Greece
Sides: Ottoman navy vs Holy League
Commanders: Hayreddin Barbarossa vs Andrea Doria
Result: Ottoman victory
Type: Ottomans
Chapter: 5. The Ottomans

Who led it

Hayreddin Barbarossac. 1478 to 1546
A corsair from Lesbos who became grand admiral of the Ottoman navy.

The wider picture: Three gunpowder empires

Mehmed II took Constantinople in 1453. Selim I conquered Egypt in 1517 and the caliphate passed to the Ottomans. Suleiman won at Mohacs in 1526, and a second siege of Vienna failed in 1683. Further east, Safavid Iran and the Mughals of India ruled at the same time.

See the 1683 map Read chapter 5

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All 15 ottoman battles and sieges battles · Battle explorer

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