AHistoryIndependent states
The Battle of Preveza (1538)
The naval battle in the Ionian Sea in which Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated the Holy League fleet led by Andrea Doria.
In 1537 war broke out between the Ottomans and Venice. At the initiative of Pope Paul III, Venice, the Spanish Habsburg empire, the Papal States and other Christian powers formed the Holy League, whose great fleet was commanded by the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. The Ottoman fleet was led by Suleiman the Magnificent's grand admiral, Hayreddin Barbarossa.
In September 1538 Barbarossa took position in the gulf of Preveza on Greece's west coast. The League fleet was much larger in number and size of ships. On 28 September, as Doria's fleet manoeuvred off the gulf, Barbarossa attacked. Accounts of the battle are contradictory, but the League lost several ships and Doria broke off the fight.
After Preveza the League fell apart and Venice made peace on hard terms. For thirty years the Ottoman fleet was the strongest in the Mediterranean, an advantage that lasted until the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
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Updated: November 11, 2026