TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1551
The siege of Tripoli was a successful Ottoman siege of the North African city of Tripoli, then held by the Knights Hospitaller, in August 1551. The attack, which was led by Sinan Pasha and Dragut, appears to have been launched in retaliation for the capture of Mahdia by the Spanish and Hospitallers the previous year. The siege followed a brief Ottoman attack on the Kingdom of Sicily and Hospitaller Malta, during which the island of Gozo was invaded and sacked and some 5,000 to 7,000 inhabitants were taken as slaves. The Ottoman forces then sailed to North Africa, where local forces bolstered them from Tajura led by Murad Agha. Tripoli was besieged, and the city's governor Gaspard de Vallier capitulated after six days of bombardment.
| Date | 8–14 August 1551 (6 days) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tripoli (modern Libya), |
| Result | Ottoman–French victory |
| Territorial changes | Establishment of Ottoman Tripolitania |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire France | Hospitaller Tripoli |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Sinan Pasha Dragut Murad Agha Gabriel de Luetz | Gaspard de Vallier |
| Strength | c. 10,000–12,000 men 145 ships | c. 30–200 knights c. 500–630 men |
| Casualties | Unknown | 200 men executed Some enslaved |
After the capture of the city, Sinan Pasha appointed Murad Agha as its beylerbey. He successfully consolidated Ottoman control over the region, made improvements to Tripoli's fortifications and built a fortified mosque at Tajura. Dragut had also been promised governorship over Tripoli before he had joined the expedition, and upon the appointment of Murad Agha, he left North Africa in protest and sailed to the Tyrrhenian Sea and later to Constantinople with the rest of the Ottoman ships, whose crews had declared that they would only accept him as their commander.
Took place during the reign of Suleiman I (1520–1566). Suleiman I
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.