CHAPTER I.

_Of the Ottoman Capudans, and the expeditions and battles of several Sultans and Admirals, to the time of Kheir al Deen Pasha._

Be it known that before the time of the late illustrious and victorious Sultan Mohammed, the Ottomans had not ventured to undertake naval expeditions, or to engage with the European nations. It is indeed related that in the time of Sultan Murad the Second, they occasionally made excursions to the neighbouring shores and islands; but these expeditions are not worth enumerating. After the taking of Constantinople, when they spread their conquests over land and sea, it became necessary to build ships and make armaments, in order to subdue the fortresses and castles on the Rumelian and Anatolian shores, and in the islands of the Mediterranean.

When they first besieged Constantinople on the land side, and saw the little success they had, they found the necessity of raising a proper fleet in order to attack the city by sea; and to the management of this affair, Soleiman Beg, son of Balta, was appointed. According to one account he built the vessels behind Sūdlūja; but, according to the Tāj al Tuarikh, behind the castle of Rumeili.

This Soleiman Beg then, it appears, was the first Capudan of this nation, for before the capture of Constantinople no mention is made in any history of the harbour of Gallipoli, or its capudan, whereas there is at present, near that castle, a port named after this Soleiman Beg.

It is related in the above-mentioned work, that a chain being drawn across the bay which separates Galata from Constantinople, it was found utterly impossible to bring up the vessels to attack the city on that side; but orders being given to move from Galata, they conducted the ships to Iengi Hissar, where, by a novel and surprising contrivance of raising weights, they lifted them out of the water, and placing them on oiled rollers, thus carried them over the land, and again lowered them into the sea. These vessels were filled with the most valiant warriors; and parapets being erected, they fought bravely, completely discomfited the Infidels, and at last vanquished the city.

The various expeditions that succeeded this distinguished victory, and the account of their leaders, shall now follow in order.

THE EXPEDITION TO ENOS.

Soon after the capture of Constantinople, the cazy and inhabitants of Ferra having represented that they were much annoyed by the wickedness of the Infidels of Enos, his Majesty (Sultan Mohammed) instantly resolved on subjugating those rebels; in consequence of which, Khass Ionas was summoned to the Sublime Porte, and his Majesty having communicated his design, ordered him to collect all the troops that were at hand; to fit out ten triremes, and sail with all possible haste to the appointed place. He further charged him not to disclose the place of their destination to any one, till they reached it; whilst he himself would lead on his victorious army by land. Ionas Beg, in conformity with his instructions, put out to sea, and with favourable winds, in a short time arrived at the castle, to which he laid siege. The imperial banners of victory, being equally expeditious, were also raised; and the Infidels, being filled with terror, offered stipulations, and surrendered the fortress. Ionas Beg after this, by the sultans command, attacked another castle on the island of Tashūz (Tasse), opposite Enos, which he reduced, and returned.

THE EXPEDITION TO AMASSERO, SINOPE, AND TREBISOND.

In the year of the Hejra 864 (A. D. 1459), the victorious sultan, Mohammed Khan, proceeded by land to reduce Amassero, a castle on the shores of the Black Sea; and at the same time sent forward other forces by sea. Being again crowned with success, he turned his attention to Sinope, then occupied by Ismael Beg, son of Isfendiar; and the grand vizier, Mohammed Pasha, having fitted up a fleet of one hundred vessels, manned by warlike heroes, set sail, and on his way to Trebisond touched at Sinope, where the land forces having also arrived, they besieged the castle both by sea and land. The helpless Emir Ismael surrendered without resistance, and delivered the castle to the Sublime Porte. Having, besides this, subjugated Kastamouni, the victorious fleet proceeded towards Sinope, whither the imperial forces also marched; and after a short siege, the enemy stipulated, and surrendered the city.

In the European history, which I translated from the Latin into Turkish, I have mentioned that at this time Ismael Beg built a very large ship of nine hundred tons. This vessel the Emperor sent to Constantinople. About the same time Alfonso, the king of Aragonia, built a vessel which held four thousand tons; and soon after built two others, which in point of size had never been equalled, but they could not use them; and striking against each other in the harbour, they were dashed to pieces.

The Venetians also at this period, having made peace with the Genoese, began to build immense vessels. Sultan Mahommed at the same time built one of three thousand tons, but, as they were launching it, it sunk in the harbour, and the builders were obliged to fly. _Ton_ (_fouchi_) is a phrase peculiar to ships of the ocean, and is used to designate their size.

THE EXPEDITION TO METYLINI.

In the year of the Hejra 866 (A. D. 1461), the emperor having returned from an expedition to Wallachia, he made preparations for the capture of Meddeli (Metylini); for which purpose he proceeded to the neighbourhood of Gallipoli, and there gave orders for the preparing of the fleet. When the Constantinople ships had also arrived, they set sail; whilst his Majesty, with the Imperial and Anatolian troops, having passed the Strait at Gallipoli, proceeded to Ayazmend; and the ships, tall as mountains, anchored opposite Metylini. When the forces were about to commence an attack, the governor of the island came out, offered stipulations, and surrendered the garrison. His private property they returned to him, and sent him to his own country. Having established laws, and divided the island, they left the natives as subjects, registered the houses, and returned.

THE EXPEDITION TO THE NEGROPONT.

In the year 872 (A. D. 1467), the army having returned from an expedition into Caramania, a complaint was made that the Venetian general with upwards of sixty vessels had made an attack upon Enos; taken prisoners the cazy, the khatib (priest), and several Mussulmans; and had plundered the neighbouring district. In consequence of this, Mahmood Pasha was ordered to proceed to Gallipoli to collect the fleet; and on this occasion all the vessels on the Ottoman coasts were given in charge to him. Among the Greek islands, the Negropont still remained in the hands of the Christians; and from its channel the Mussulmans received much harm; whereas the general, from his avarice, exacted a great revenue from the inhabitants of the island.

In 873, therefore, the victorious forces proceeded both by land and water towards the island; and the pasha having made all preparations for its attack, besieged it with upwards of one hundred ships. The bridges, which had been cut down, were supplied by suspending temporary ones from the vessels, by means of which the soldiers ascended the castle and mounted the battlements. Just at this time the general, with eighty vessels, arrived, to give assistance to the besieged; but when he saw the Mussulman forces, he cast anchor and looked on with despair. His intention was, that whilst the Mussulman vessels were cruising about the island, he also would approach it on one side, and thus prevent its capture; and for this purpose he sent out several caicks to endeavour to take some one from whom they might learn the day of the intended attack. One of the Mahommedan men who had deserted went over to the ships of the Infidels, and being found by the spies was immediately taken before the general, who ascertained from him that the criers had announced that the attack was to take place in three days. The general anxiously waited for that day, and began to make preparations for the combat; but those on the other side having learned that the enemy was informed of their designs, resolved to attack the castle without further delay; and the same night the criers raising their voices to the stars, proclaimed that the morrow should be the day of plunder, and admonished the soldiers to be in readiness. As soon as it was morning, and long before the Infidels had opened their eyes, the soldiers, in the hope of plunder, assaulted the castle, and entered it by the breaches they had made. Those who were considered fit for service were made captives, and the rest were killed; whilst the victors were enriched with money and property beyond compute. In the forenoon the colours hoisted on the tower caught the eyes of the Infidels, who were so mortified that they spread their sails, and turned their helms. After this fine fortification was reduced, the victors proceeded to the small fort called Kuzil Hissar, situated on the banks of the island, and in which the treasury of the Infidels was deposited. This they also subjugated, and the property they found in it they transferred to the royal treasury; and with cheerfulness of mind returned to the seat of dominion.

THE EXPEDITION TO KAFA AND AZAK.

The territory of Kafa, lying on the shores of the Black Sea, having for many ages been in the possession of the Genoese, the Turkish and Tartar princes, though united by their proximity to each other, had never, as yet, on account of its strong fortifications, been able to reduce it. In 880 (A. D. 1475), the victorious sultan Mohammed Khan, having resolved upon its subjugation, gave orders to Keduk Ahmed Pasha to prepare the fleet. The pasha immediately collected a number of galleys, triremes, &c., amounting in all to three hundred vessels, and having prepared his Janissaries and Azabs,[6] kissed his hand, and according to custom bowed to the princes and nobles; after which he left the divan, went down to the harbour and embarked. With favourable winds he arrived in a short time on the shores of Kafa, where he landed and laid siege to the castle.[7] The Christians not daring to stand against the arms of the Faithful, delivered up the castle with stipulations, and left it. The castle being taken, they proceeded to subjugate its dependencies; and Azak, which is the boundary of the Sakalaba kingdoms,[8] being also reduced, by proper management they subjugated all the disaffected. The people of Kafa had their rights restored to them, and the place became subject to the Ottoman power. The date of this victory was called _A Favour_.[9]

THE EXPEDITION TO PUGLIA.

Keduk Ahmed Pasha, having been dismissed from the office of grand vezier and imprisoned, was by some circumstance brought before the Sultan Mohammed Khan on his return from an expedition to Eskenderia. On this occasion the Sultan was pleased to bestow the _sanjak_ of Avlona on the pasha. In 884 he came to court, and having represented the facility with which Puglia, a district of Italy opposite Avlona, might be conquered, he petitioned for forces, and accordingly orders were issued to prepare a fleet. The necessary provisions were given him, and having collected a select troop of the bravest men of Roumelia and Anatolia, and some thousands of janissaries and Azabs, the pasha sailed for the coast of Puglia. In his first attack he took the castle of Taranto, and reduced by force of arms several other places in the neighbourhood, in each of which he stationed troops. But the governor of Puglia, an infidel called Raika, represented his case to the king of Spain, who immediately sent assistance to him. Of this the pasha had information, and Sultan Mohammed Khan[10] dying at that time, he embarked for the Porte under the pretence of paying his respects to the new Sultan. In 886 the infidel, having arrived with forty vessels and an army, retook the whole of the fortresses, and put to the sword most of the troops that were stationed in them. Elated by this success, he resolved on overtaking the pasha, and for this purpose pursued him at sea for some time; but the pasha had reached the Porte in safety.

THE EXPEDITION TO MOTA.

In 884 the illustrious Emperor, returning from a journey to Eskenderia, sent the beg of Koja-eili with thirty _brak kadargas_,[11] to take Mota, a castle situated on the sea of Azoph, in the neighbourhood of Kaffa, and which still remained in the possession of the infidels. On a former occasion, Keduk Ahmed Pasha, being pressed with more important affairs, did not attempt to take it; but at this time, as soon as it was blockaded by the noble troops, it was surrendered and evacuated by the infidel its governor.

THE FORTIFYING OF BOOSJA.

The island Boosja (Tenedos), near the Straits (of the Dardanelles), being destitute of a fortress, and as the levend[12] were in the habit of taking up their quarters there, a royal order was issued the same year, that a fortress should be erected near the shore of the island, and that those who were willing might reside in the neighbourhood exempt from taxes. The island of Lemnos, also, which they call _Lemni_, was fortified about the same time.

THE EXPEDITION TO RHODES.

The Moslems who resided in the island of Rhodes being much molested by the infidels, the chief commander, Vezier Messih Pasha, was in the year 885 ordered to proceed thither with three thousand janissaries and four thousand Azabs. Besides the vessels from Constantinople, sixty others had been built at Gallipoli. With these they set sail, and arrived at the island of Rhodes. They blockaded the castle both by sea and land, but first attacked the tower on the west towards the water, because from this tower the troops had been much annoyed. They made a bridge from the water, so as to reach the tower; but during a fierce attack upon the latter, the bridge, owing to the immense crowd, gave way, and upwards of a thousand men perished in the water. They again took courage, once more made a brave assault upon the castle, and had even raised their standard on the walls, which were covered with troops. These fierce warriors having also whetted the teeth of avarice with the hope of plunder, were rushing on to seize their prey, when Messih Pasha, unwilling that the riches of a fortified place like Rhodes should fall a prey to the soldiery, gave orders that as the treasury of the place belonged exclusively to the Sultan, no one should dare to touch it. As soon as this unwelcome intelligence was spread amongst the soldiers, those on the outside would proceed no farther, whilst those in the interior remained motionless; and the enemy, having made a violent rush from one quarter, put to the sword all they met. Soleiman Pasha Beg of Costamoni likewise shared the fate of martyrdom. Thus the avarice of Messih Pasha and the selfishness of the troops were the cause of this ill fortune. At last he withdrew from the castle, and amidst loud complaints directed his course towards the capital. On his way he attacked the castle of Bodrun; but being unsuccessful here also, he returned to the Porte. When he landed at Beshektash the sanjak of Gallipoli was given to him, and to this district he immediately proceeded.

THE EXPEDITION TO AVLONA.

In the year 889 the Sultan Bayezid Khan, having sent forward his fleet by the Black sea and proceeded thither himself by land, completely reduced Kili[13] and Ak-Kerman. In 897 the beg of Semendreh sent information that the king of Hungary being dead, the governor of Belgrade had promised allegiance to the Sultan. In consequence of this message his majesty directed his course to that quarter; but fearing it might only be a false promise, and that he might not return empty handed, he gave orders to Gubegu Senan Pasha to sail for Avlona with three hundred vessels; so that in case he should not succeed in the capture of Belgrade, he might as it were turn his forces to that quarter, and plunder the Arnaout shores. When the preparations for the expedition were completed, and his majesty was marching towards Sofia, the new king sent an apology and asked forgiveness: he therefore turned towards the Arnaout shores, and passed on by Monaster to Dipa-diln, whilst Davud Pasha laid waste a great part of that district and returned. The fleet also attacked several places along the coasts, and plundered the rebels.

THE EXPEDITION TO LEPANTO.

The Sultan Bayezid Khan, contemplating an expedition in order to subdue the districts of the Morea and Enabekht (Lepanto), began about this time to build large ships. He appointed Davud Pasha, then a capudan, his serasker (commander-in-chief). He built two immense _kokas_, the length of each being seventy cubits and the breadth thirty cubits. The masts were of several trees joined together, and in the middle measured four cubits in circumference. The maintop was capable of holding forty men in armour, who might thence discharge their arrows and muskets. The builders and other labourers employed were servants of the Sultan; and the building materials being all the productions of the Ottoman empire, were valued at twenty thousand florins. According to the statements of several respectable historians, the builder of these vessels was one Iani, who having seen ship-building at Venice, had there learned the art. These vessels had two decks, the one like that of a galleon, and the other like that of a _mavuna_ (_trireme_); and on the side of each of these, according to custom, were two port-holes, in which immense guns were placed. Along the upper deck was a netting, under which on both sides were four-and-twenty oars, each pulled by nine men. The sterns were like those of a galleon, and from them boats were suspended. Each of these ships contained two thousand soldiers and sailors. The command of the one was given to Kemal Reis, and that of the other to Brak Reis. The whole fleet consisted of three hundred vessels of various sorts; and these being filled with the most intrepid warriors, were sent towards Enabekht. The illustrious Emperor also, about the end of the month Sheval, in the year 904, (A.D. 1498,) leaving Constantinople, proceeded to Adrianople, and sent Mustaffa Pasha, the begler-beg of Roumelia, to besiege Enabekht. When the pasha arrived at this place, the infidel who had charge of it sent out a message to say he was ordered not to give up the garrison until the Moslem fleet had entered the gulf of Lepanto. Upon this Mustaffa Pasha turned aside into the country to wait the arrival of the fleet, which by contrary winds had been kept at sea for three months. At last, when they touched on the shores of the Morea, another contrary gale arose, and with difficulty they made into the harbour of an island opposite Motone, in which they remained twenty days. After this they began to be pressed by the failure of their provisions and water: when they attempted to go on shore the infidels prevented them, and on the other side they were continually harassed by the enemy’s ships. At last the beg of the Morea, Khalil Pasha, made known their situation by sending a courier to the Sultan Bayezid Khan, who at that time had arrived at the plain of Chatalaja, in the vicinity of Enabekht. The Sultan immediately issued orders that Hersek Oghli Ahmed Pasha with the Anatolian forces should enter the Morea and render assistance to the fleet. Ahmed Pasha accordingly set out with haste, but before he reached Motone they had left the harbour, and were on their way to Navarin. The pasha soon after joined the vessels at Helomej.

The royal fleet having passed Navarin and arrived at Brak island, were again met by the abject infidels, who sailed directly against them. On a former occasion the enemy had been much annoyed by Kemal Reis, and now the enmity in their breasts was without bounds. The beg of Jeni-sheher, Kemal Beg, being on board the vessel of Brak Reis, they supposed it to be that of Kemal Reis, attacked it furiously, and many on both sides fell into the whirlpool of destruction. Two _kokas_, each containing a thousand men, and a trireme and barge with five hundred men, succeeded in placing the vessel of Brak Reis in the centre; but in this position, the two smaller vessels not being able to sustain the fire of Brak Reis, they both sunk, and most of the infidels on board were drowned; a few were however taken up by hooks into the other boats and made prisoners. The two _kokas_ then bore down on Brak Reis, and the engagement being extended, Brak Reis threw burning pitch into them, and thus burnt up the rascals with their ships. But all his exertions to detach his own vessel were fruitless, and at last that also caught fire. Kemal Beg, Brak Reis, and Kara Hassan, with about five hundred brave men, perished by this catastrophe. The other heroes who fell into the sea were taken up into boats, by which means about seven hundred were saved. The two _kokas_ were also burnt, and of those that were swimming, besides the drowned and burnt, seven hundred of the enemy were killed. A galleon which had come to their assistance was also taken, and the infidels on board were made prisoners. The island near which this engagement took place was hence called _Brak-atasi_ (the island of Brak).

After this, one hundred and fifty Venetian vessels having shut up the entrance of the gulf of Lepanto, and cannons being placed at the mouth of it, the commanders stood prepared for an engagement. The Moslem ships then came up, and in attempting to enter the gulf received the enemy’s fire. Here also a fierce engagement took place, and several brave men fell. At last the Divine Ruler favoured the armies of Islamism, so that they completely destroyed the enemy’s fleet. In short, in the neighbourhood of Motone, after they had left the harbour, at the island of Brak, and on their entering the gulf of Lepanto, they had sharp battles with the enemy. At length they passed the strait, and proceeded towards Lepanto, notwithstanding the great number of cannons and ships, and although the current was against them. When they reached the fortress the heroes went out to blockade it; but the besieged, according to their former promise, sent out the keys to Mustaffa Pasha, and in the following year evacuated it. The capture of the fortress being reported to his majesty, Ahmed Pasha left his ship, and the royal fleet was ordered to winter in the liman of Amar Beg, near Kirma. His majesty then returned to Adrianople.

THE EXPEDITION TO MOTONE AND CORONE.

Although the greater part of the Morea had been subjugated in the time of Abul-Fat’h (Mohammed II.), the fortresses of Motone and Corone on the coast still remained in the hands of the infidels. For the subjugation of these, the beg of Prevesa, Mustaffa Beg, was directed to prepare before the approaching spring forty vessels, which were to be added to the fleet. During the summer he built twenty vessels, and was just finishing them, when one dark night the infidels came and set fire to them all. Mustaffa Beg now began to finish the other vessels, and about this time the combination of the infidel tribes to attack the Ottoman territory by sea was made known to the Sublime Porte; in consequence of which Iacub Pasha, and several noble begs, with ten thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry, were sent to assist in repairing the fleet then wintering at Enabekht, whence they had orders to sail with the fleet in the spring for Motone. The Khoonkar[14] also, in the month of Ramazan 905,[15] (A.D. 1499) left Adrianople and proceeded to the Morea. When the arrival of Iacub Pasha and his fleet at Motone was announced to his majesty, after having rested twenty days at Londar, he proceeded to the neighbourhood of the castle of Motone. The troops then surrounded the castle by land and sea, and with their cannon razed its walls to the ground. They were on the point of taking it when the enemy’s fleet arrived, and made preparations for an engagement. The Moslem troops took two of the enemy’s ships, and punished the infidels found in them opposite the castle. They also sunk one of their triremes, and burnt several of their other ships. While they were thus on the point of victory, four galleys arrived from Venice, carrying ammunition, and some thousands of artillery-men, passed through the fleet at a time when the Moslems were off their guard, and as soon as they had landed their cargo within the castle, set fire to the four galleys. This being reported to the Sultan, his majesty in a rage gave orders that as soon as the enemy began to remove the ammunition that had been taken in, they should make a general attack. Upon this Senan Pasha, the begler-beg of Anatolia, entered the castle by a ladder, through a breach which he had made, and the whole army attacking it furiously, they continued to fight from mid-day till sunset in a manner that baffles description. At this time fire broke out in the castle, and the infidels being terrified, the Moslems took possession of the castle and put the enemy to the sword. This victory happened on the fourteenth of Moharrem 906.

For the subjugation of Corone Ali Pasha was sent by land, and the capudan with his fleet by sea. Ali Pasha having announced his intention of besieging Navarin, the inhabitants gave up the castle on condition that they should be permitted to go out of it. When the troops arrived at Corone, the inhabitants of that place also surrendered, and with their families and property departed to Frankestan.

The Sultan having returned to the capital, Ali Pasha turned his attention to the capture of Astaffa; but in the mean time the infidels, by some means or other, retook the castle of Navarin. When the pasha was informed of this, he reported it to the Divan, and immediately returned to Navarin. He also sent thither Kemal Reis with thirty vessels. When they arrived at the castle they attacked the fleet lying in the harbour, and in their first attack took eight of the enemy’s ships, and killed the infidels that were in them. Several brave men who had come with the pasha then scaled the walls, bound the chiefs, and made about three thousand infidels food for the sword.

THE EXPEDITION TO MITYLENE.

The Venetians, in order to revenge themselves for the loss of Enabekht, Motone and Corone, sent to beg assistance from the king of France,[16] who, having equipped some vessels and appointed his nephew commander, sent them to join the Venetian fleet. The whole, amounting to two hundred vessels, set sail, and in the month of Rabia-al-Avul 907 (A.D. 1501) came upon Mitylene. The Prince Korkud, being informed of this, sent one of his agas with eight hundred men to Ayazmend, whence one dark night they sailed for Mitylene, and with the assistance of Krassi Beg and his troops, massacring the infidel tribes, they entered the castle; in doing which the aga was killed. When this unpleasant news reached the Sultan, his majesty without loss of time filled the vessels that were at hand with troops, of which Hersek Oghli Ahmed Pasha was commander; and Senan Pasha, the governor of Anatolia, was also ordered to join the fleet with the forces of his district. When Ahmed Pasha arrived in the neighbourhood of Mitylene the infidels had blockaded the castle; but as the French general was about to enter it he was killed; and all the troops that had been stationed about the castle seeing this betook themselves to flight. The Venetians also took refuge in their ships and went off. The protection of the fortress being left to the begler-beg of Anatolia, Ahmed Pasha returned to the Porte.

This Ahmed Pasha, after being made grand vezier, was dismissed. In 912 he was made a capudan, which office he held for five years, and in 917 he again became grand vezier.

It is recorded that this expedition gave rise to the levying of taxes and enlisting galley-men. Formerly these impositions were not made on the subjects; but from that time to the present they have been authorised by law, and are raised annually.

As the Venetian and Moslem fleets did not come to an engagement, after the former were driven from Mitylene, the necessity of silence and of refraining from their intended revenge, on their part, and various causes on the part of the latter, induced them to consider an armistice desirable. After this no attacks were made on any of their districts either by land or sea, and the fleet was employed only in protecting the Ottoman dominions. When however the power of the Persian kings in the East began to increase, the disturbances of the _Rafezis_,[17] and the retirement of Sultan Bayezid Khan on account of his great age, produced negligence in the ministers, and tended to injure the prosperity of the state; and Sultan Selim, after his ascension to the throne, being occupied in matters that demanded immediate attention,—in punishing the Persians,[18] and subjugating the countries of Egypt and Syria,—the possessions of the infidels thus remained unmolested. The Venetians and Hungarians also, duly appreciating this peace, did not make the least stir. On the decease of Sultan Selim, Soleiman Khan coming to the throne, began to subjugate all those places which he thought proper should be annexed to the Ottoman dominions; and opening both by land and sea the gates of war, he terminated that armistice which from necessity had been adopted during the reign of his illustrious father, and in his second expedition succeeded in the capture of Rhodes.

PREPARATION OF A FLEET FOR RHODES.

In the year 923 (A. D. 1517), during the reign of Sultan Selim the First, the countries of Egypt having been subdued and added to the Ottoman dominions, in 925 it was considered necessary to open a road for the importation of the productions of that country. For this purpose the capture of Rhodes, the seat of pirates, was suggested to the victorious Sultan, who immediately began to prepare a fleet; but although for a long time reports of an intended expedition were heard from the ministers and nobles, yet from the movements of the Sultan nothing to that effect could be perceived, till one day with his nobles and attendants he went out to visit the tomb of Abi Aiub Ansari, and standing on his usual spot beside the high dome near his nurse’s tomb, he read the _Fatihat_.[19] Looking towards the channel, he saw one of the newly built vessels cruising about, and in a rage demanded to know by whose authority they had put it to sea, before an expedition had been determined upon; at the same time giving orders for the execution of the Capudan Jafar Aga. Piri Pasha with some difficulty satisfied him, by saying that the vessel had been put to sea merely to try it. On his majesty’s return he severely reprimanded the veziers, saying, “Whilst I am accustomed to subdue kingdoms, you waste the means in taking a single castle, the requisite for which is ammunition. How many months will your ammunition last? and are the necessary stores in readiness?” The veziers informed him of what stores they had, but declined giving any account of their ammunition till the next day, and thus they departed with many reproaches. The next morning they reported to his majesty that their ammunition was sufficient for four months. His majesty in a scornful manner replied, that whilst his grandfather Sultan Mohammed Khan’s disgrace with respect to Rhodes was not yet forgotten, they wished to double it on him, especially as four months ammunition was by no means sufficient for the reduction of a fortress like Rhodes, which, if it were taken in double that time, would be highly creditable: that he was determined to undertake no expedition on such vain counsel, nor by the advice of any one; and concluded by saying, that for himself he had no voyage in view, except the one to eternity. According to his prediction, the fortress was with difficulty taken in the time he specified; and about six months after this conversation he departed to the world of spirits.

THE EXPEDITION TO RHODES.

Sultan Soleiman Khan, of happy memory, ascended the throne in 926 (A.D. 1519); and the violence and oppression of Capudan Jafar Beg having been discovered, he was hanged, and his office was given to Iilak Mustaffa Pasha. After the capture of Belgrade, the subjugation of Rhodes being considered most important, the emperor, in the month of Rajab 928, came to the capital and issued orders for the preparation of an immense fleet; and a great number of sailors and azabs being collected, the second vezier, Mustaffa Pasha, was appointed commander. On an auspicious day they set out, and with about seven hundred vessels of various sorts sailed for the Mediterranean. The Capudan Pasha also joined them with the ships he had prepared at Gallipoli; and in the month of Rajab 928 the illustrious emperor passed over to Skutari, whence he pursued his journey by land. The Roumeili troops, having marched by different routes, joined the royal camp in the vales of Moghala; and on the third of Rajab his majesty crossed over to a small island opposite Marmaross. Previously to this, the fleet having arrived in the vicinity of Rhodes, the commander, Kara Mahmūd Reis, sent a few vessels to an island called Herka, and reduced its fortress. After this the fleet touched opposite Jem-Baghche. The heavy vessels were stationed to guard the channel; whilst the pasha, with three hundred galleys, proceeded to the fortress of Rhodes, and entered the harbour of Cape Oghuz. Having arranged their cannon, on the fifth of Ramazan they blockaded the fortress: a week after, Bali Beg, one of the Egyptian begs, arrived, and with twenty-four galleys, which had sailed before him, brought additional ammunition and stores. They continued to have sharp battles, and to make brave assaults, till the end of _Sheval_; and the _Arab_ tower being the occasion of much molestation to the troops, orders were given to attack it. In doing this, although they succeeded in passing the trench, and raised their flag on the walls and towers, yet the enemy bore down and repelled them; and Bâli Beg, the beg of Seké, and Ali Beg, the beg of Avlona, fell as martyrs. As they could not thus effect any thing, they began, with the approbation of the experienced among them to raise a mound, and after five months of continued warfare they raised it to a level with the walls. The infidels within the castle, helpless and confounded, and not being able to screen themselves from the cannons and muskets, on the fifth of Seffer 929, they surrendered the fortress. Its governor, Mighali Masturi,[20] was permitted to go out, and accordingly he went over to Malta. The islands subject to Rhodes, such as Takhtalu, Londas, Istanco, and Bodrum, being also subdued and all necessary arrangements completed, the victorious emperor, on the fourteenth of the same month, with honor and dignity proceeded to Mantesha, whence by hasty marches he returned to the capital.

THE EXPEDITION OF SALMAN REIS.

Before this period the Ottoman Sultans had not sent their victorious arms to the Indian Ocean. In the year 932, (A. D. 1525,) the Sultan Soleiman appointed the Corsair Salman Reis a capudan and commander, and sent him with twenty galleys to that quarter. He proceeded along the coasts of Aden and Yemen, and plundered the habitations of the rebellious and such as were not well affected to the Porte; in consequence of which, the sheikhs and Arabs of those districts came out to him with numerous presents, offered their services, and bound themselves to transmit their taxes.

THE EXPEDITION OF KEMAN-KESH.

About this time the office of capudan was held by Keman-Kesh Ahmed Beg, who in 940 sailed with eighty galleys, on an expedition to the Mediterranean, and having pillaged several of the infidels coasts, returned and was employed in the royal arsenal. This capudan was famous for his great strength, for he could hold an enraged ram with one hand. He was also a good archer.[21] He held the office of capudan till the arrival of Khair-ad-din Pasha from Algiers, about which time he died.