Siege of Tripoli (1551) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Tripoli
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars and the Italian War of 1551–1559
Date 15 August 1551 Location Tripoli, Libya Result Ottomans capture Tripoli
Belligerents
Order of Saint John	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Gaspard de Vallier	Sinan Pasha Turgut Rais
Strength
~30 ~630 mercenaries	~10,000
Casualties and losses
630 enslaved	Unknown

The Siege of Tripoli happened in 1551. During this event, the Ottoman Turks and Barbary pirates attacked and defeated the Knights of Malta. This battle took place at the Red Castle of Tripoli in what is now Libya.

The Spanish had set up an outpost in Tripoli in 1510. Later, Emperor Charles V gave control of it to the Knights in 1530. The siege ended after six days of heavy bombing. The city surrendered on August 15, 1551.

Before the siege of Tripoli, there was an attack on Malta in July. That attack was stopped. However, the Ottomans successfully invaded Gozo. They captured 5,000 Christian people there. These captives were then brought by ships to Tripoli.

The Siege Begins

The French ambassador, Gabriel de Luetz d'Aramont, was present during the siege.

The city of Tripoli was defended by Commander Gaspard de Vallier. He had thirty knights and 630 paid soldiers from Calabria and Sicily. The Ottomans already had a base nearby in Tajura since 1531. This base was about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the east.

The Ottoman forces surrounded the fort. They set up three groups of cannons, with 12 cannons in each group.

French Ambassador's Role

The French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Gabriel d'Aramon, joined the Ottoman fleet at Tripoli. He arrived with two large ships called galleys and a smaller one called a galliot. The ambassador's stated goal was to stop the Ottomans from taking the city. The Grand Master of Malta had asked him to do this. Malta was not seen as an enemy in the alliance between France and the Ottomans. This alliance was against the Habsburgs.

Later reports said that Ottoman commanders Sinan Pasha and Dragut refused to stop the siege. They said they were ordered to remove the Knights of Malta from Africa. D'Aramon then threatened to sail to Constantinople to speak with Sultan Suleiman. However, he was not allowed to leave the city until the siege was over.

City Falls to Ottomans

Soon, the soldiers inside the fort rebelled. Talks for surrender then began. The city was captured on August 15, 1551. This happened after six days of bombing by Sinan Pasha's forces.

Many of the Knights were French. They were sent back to Malta because the French ambassador helped them. The paid soldiers, however, were enslaved. Some stories say about 200 men were set free. Murād Agha, who was the Ottoman commander of Tajura since 1536, was made the new governor of Tripoli.

Nicolas de Villegagnon, who later explored Brazil, was at the siege of Tripoli in 1551. He wrote about it in 1553.

After the Siege

An old map of Tripoli made by Piri Reis.

From Malta, Ambassador d'Aramon wrote a letter to King Henry II about his actions. His role was strongly criticized by Emperor Charles V and Pope Julius III. They suspected he had encouraged the Ottomans to take the city.

It seemed that d'Aramon had even joined the Ottomans for a victory meal. This made people even more suspicious about his part in the siege. Emperor Charles V claimed that France had helped in the siege. D'Aramon had a special relationship with the Ottomans. He knew that Tripoli falling was a big loss for Charles V.

Nicolas Villegaignon was a Knight of Malta at the Siege of Tripoli.

When Commander Gaspard de Vallier returned to Malta, he was heavily criticized. The Grand Master, Juan de Homedes y Coscon, wanted to blame him for the defeat. Vallier was put on trial and removed from the Order. However, Nicolas de Villegagnon strongly defended him. Villegagnon showed that the Grand Master was being unfair.

The siege was the first major event of the Italian War of 1551–1559 in Europe. In the Mediterranean Sea, French ships from Marseilles were ordered to join the Ottoman fleet.

In 1553, Dragut was made commander of Tripoli by Suleiman. This made the city an important base for pirate attacks in the Mediterranean. It became the capital of the Ottoman province of Tripolitania. In 1558, Dragut attacked Reggio from Tripoli. He took all its people as slaves to Tripoli.

In 1560, a strong naval force was sent to recapture Tripoli. But that force was defeated in the Battle of Djerba.

More to Explore

• Red Castle of Tripoli
• Franco-Ottoman alliance
• Timeline of Maltese history