Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha

Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha

Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha opened his eyes to the world on Lesbos Island in 1476. His real name is Hızır. It was known by the European states as 'Barbarossa', which means 'red beard' because of the fear it gives to its enemies. Besides, it was named as Hayrettin by Suleiman the Magnificent because his achievements led to great works in terms of both religion and the state. The word Hayrettin means good in the dictionary. Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha started his maritime life in Lesbos waters. Later, under the auspices of the Tunisian Sultan, he started his pirate life in the North African region. In this process, he gained a reputation for his heroism.

Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, whose name was enough to scare the enemies, started to serve as the Algerian Sultan in 1518. It increased the welfare level of Algeria, which was poor at that time. Although he was the sultan of his country, he did not pursue glory and fame. For this reason, he made allegiance to the Ottoman caliph Yavuz Sultan Selim. After this allegiance, he was brought to the Algerian beylerbey. During this task, he achieved success in various sea voyages. His powers were expanded after he successfully quit battles with the Genoese, French, Spanish, and Venetian navies. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman was appointed to the post of Captain-i Derya. While in this position, the Preveza Naval War, which has become the biggest naval war in the world, reached its peak in the sense of victory. This victory caused Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha to engrave his name in world history.

Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha participated in many expeditions with his brother, Oruç Reis. When Oruç Reis was martyred, a letter was sent to Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha by the emperor of Spain. In this letter, Hayrettin Pasha was asked to leave Algeria. It is reported that he will be killed if he does not leave Algeria. Barbaros, who was very angry with this letter, responded with a heavy language. As a result, there was a collision between the Spanish and Barbaros in the Algerian waters. It also achieved strong success in this war. The king of Spain was forced to pay the ransom in high amounts.

 Barbaros asked Hayrettin Pasha to be buried in a place where the sea sounded after his death. When he succeeded in many sea successes for the Ottoman state, he was buried at Beşiktaş pier in Istanbul. The tomb was built by Mimar Sinan.