APersonIndependent states
Hayreddin Barbarossa
Great admiral of the Ottoman fleet (c. 1478–1546), victor at Preveza in 1538.
Born Hızır on the island of Lesbos, he took to the sea in the Mediterranean with his elder brother Oruç Reis. The brothers seized Algiers; Europeans called them "Barbarossa" for their red beards, and Sultan Selim gave him the name Hayreddin.
In 1533 Suleiman the Magnificent made him commander of the Ottoman navy, the kapudan pasha. On 28 September 1538 off Preveza he defeated the combined fleet of the European powers, after which the Mediterranean remained under Ottoman control for a long time.
Barbarossa died in Istanbul in 1546 and is buried in his tomb in Beşiktaş. Türkiye's Naval Forces Day is celebrated every 27 September in memory of Preveza.
Sources
Updated: October 2, 2026