# Battle of Preveza
The Battle of Preveza (Preveze Deniz Savashi) was a naval battle fought on 4 Cemaziyelevvel 945 (28 September 1538) off Preveza, at the northern entrance of the Ambracian Gulf in Epirus, between the Ottoman fleet under Kapudan Pasha Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha and a Holy League fleet under the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [3](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Preveza) The Ottomans won, and the battle fixed Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean for roughly a third of a century, until Lepanto in 1571.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [4](https://bataillesdefrance.fr/en/battle/preveza-1538/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 Cemaziyelevvel 945 (28 September 1538); some accounts give 27 September[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [5](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/info/infografik/41398) |
| Place | Off Preveza, Epirus, at the Ambracian Gulf[2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [6](https://militarymaps.rct.uk/ottoman-habsburg-wars-1521-1791/the-battle-of-preveza1538-preveza-epirus-greece-38deg5700n-20deg4500e-ambracian-gulf-gulf-of-actium) |
| Sides | Ottoman Empire vs Holy League (Spain, Venice, the Papacy, Genoa, Portugal, Malta, Austria)[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) |
| Commanders | Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha vs Andrea Doria[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [5](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/info/infografik/41398) |
| Forces | Allies: about 140 galleons, 168 galleys, 55,000 soldiers; Ottomans: 122 galley-type ships, 20,000 soldiers[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) |
| Outcome | Ottoman victory after about five hours of fighting[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) |
| Allied losses | Loss figures differ by source; mainly Turkish sources report some 128 warships lost, and about 3,000 prisoners[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) • [8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725) |
| Aftermath | A Holy League coalition fleet fought the Ottoman fleet at Djerba in 1560, before Lepanto (1571)[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) • [14](https://militarymaps.rct.uk/ottoman-habsburg-wars-1521-1791/view-of-djerba-island-1560-djerba-madanin-tunisia-33deg4800n-10deg5400e) |
## Background and causes
The road to Preveza ran through the Spain-France war, which within a disordered European balance set the Mediterranean aflame.[9](https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/460/tur) The Holy League was founded in February 1538 on the initiative of [Pope Paul III](https://www.edgepedia.org/pope-paul-iii).[8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725) • [1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi)
## Course of events
Barbarossa reached the region on 24 September 1538, had the castle repaired and fortified, and waited in the gulf.[2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [10](https://doi.org/10.21563/sutad.1347341) A bataillesdefrance account dates the decisive episode to the night of 26-27 September, when Doria lifted the blockade and withdrew toward Corfu, abandoning the smaller ships.[4](https://bataillesdefrance.fr/en/battle/preveza-1538/)
## Conduct of the fighting
The fleets were unevenly matched. The allies brought about 140 sailing galleons, 168 galleys, many transport ships, and 55,000 soldiers; Barbarossa had 122 galley-type ships and 20,000 soldiers, figures the Ottoman sources Celalzade, Mehmed b. Mehmed er-Rumi and [Katib Celebi](https://www.edgepedia.org/katib-celebi) record.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) Barbarossa arranged his fleet in a crescent formation, himself in the center, Salih Reis on the right wing, Seydi Ali Reis on the left wing, and [Turgut Reis](https://www.edgepedia.org/turgut-reis) with a squadron of volunteer reis behind the line, prepared for a flanking attack against the deep, narrow Christian order.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725)
The all-galley composition of the Ottoman fleet against the allies' large galleons contributed to the victory, an advantage reinforced by the calm weather and shallow waters of the Mediterranean; the weak winds left the slow or immobile galleons and sailing vessels at the rear easy prey for Ottoman galleys.[2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725) The battle itself lasted about five hours.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) Command unity on the Christian side was poor: the Venetian squadron was led by Vincenzo Cappello and the papal squadron by Marco Grimani, with no unity among the commanders.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi)
## Outcome and losses
About 3,000 Holy League soldiers were taken prisoner off Preveza.[7](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43) • [8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725) Loss figures vary by source: according to mainly Turkish sources some 128 Christian ships were lost and about 3,000 Christians taken prisoner, while other works count two Venetian galleys, a Papal galley, five Spanish ships, a few other sailing vessels sunk, and 36 ships set on fire.[8](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725)
## Consequences and political influence
After Preveza, a Christian coalition fleet fought the Ottomans at sea again at Djerba in 1560, but the battle's consequences favored the Ottomans for about a third of a century.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) • [2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) • [14](https://militarymaps.rct.uk/ottoman-habsburg-wars-1521-1791/view-of-djerba-island-1560-djerba-madanin-tunisia-33deg4800n-10deg5400e) The victory also shaped Ottoman naval policy: the success of the galley fleet led the Ottoman navy to prefer galleys for a long time.[2](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt) Suleyman rewarded Barbarossa by adding 100,000 akces to his allocation, to be taken from the Hassa-i Humayun.[11](https://tasam.org/tr-TR/Icerik/33941/486_nci_yil_donumunde_preveze_deniz_zaferi) On the Christian side, the failure of the Holy League created growing distrust of a unified Christian side, and the Adriatic ceased to be the "Gulf of Venice"; the campaigns of 1537-1540 laid the conditions for the Sultan's fleets to operate in the [Eastern Mediterranean](https://www.edgepedia.org/eastern-mediterranean) together with the Barbary potentates, giving rise to decades of coastal insecurity.[12](https://www.academia.edu/70858214/La_strada_verso_Algeri_La_guerra_mediterranea_del_1537_1540_tra_la_Lega_Santa_e_gli_ottomani_in_E_BERI_cur_Dal_Mediterraneo_alla_Manica_Contributi_alla_storia_navale_dellEt%C3%A0_Moderna_Roma_2022_p_19_66)
## Historians' assessment
Assessments differ on the battle's real weight. One line holds that the 1538 Preveza campaign was a crucial missed opportunity for the Christians to defeat Barbarossa, in which Doria's delayed arrival and indecisiveness contributed significantly to the failure, and that Christian disunity and divergent interests hindered a cohesive strategy.[13](https://www.academia.edu/1517350/Preveza_in_1538_The_background_of_a_very_complex_situation) According to the study of the 1537–1540 war, the battle "had more of an impact on propaganda than a real one," while making evident the difficulty of collaboration in battle between galleys and sailing ships; the same account argues the war itself ended in nothing and paved the way for the Algiers disaster of 1541, the true watershed for Charles V's disengagement in the Mediterranean.[12](https://www.academia.edu/70858214/La_strada_verso_Algeri_La_guerra_mediterranea_del_1537_1540_tra_la_Lega_Santa_e_gli_ottomani_in_E_BERI_cur_Dal_Mediterraneo_alla_Manica_Contributi_alla_storia_navale_dellEt%C3%A0_Moderna_Roma_2022_p_19_66) Turkish reference works, by contrast, treat the battle as decisive in establishing Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean.[1](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi) Historians have also portrayed the events through biased lenses reflecting their political affiliations.[13](https://www.academia.edu/1517350/Preveza_in_1538_The_background_of_a_very_complex_situation)
## References
1. [Preveze Deniz Muharebesi - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/preveze-deniz-muharebesi)
2. [PREVEZE DENİZ MUHAREBESİ - Küre Ansiklopedisi](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/preveze-deniz-muharebesi-2/llms.txt)
3. [Battle of Preveza | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Preveza)
4. [Naval Battle of Preveza (1538) - Batailles de France](https://bataillesdefrance.fr/en/battle/preveza-1538/)
5. [Anadolu Ajansı infografik: Preveze Deniz Muharebesi](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/info/infografik/41398)
6. [RCIN 721009 - The battle of Préveza, 1538 - Royal Collection Trust](https://militarymaps.rct.uk/ottoman-habsburg-wars-1521-1791/the-battle-of-preveza1538-preveza-epirus-greece-38deg5700n-20deg4500e-ambracian-gulf-gulf-of-actium)
7. [Battle of Preveza - Küre Ansiklopedisi](https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/battle-of-preveza-2bf43)
8. [History is Written by Victorious Battles: Glorious Lepanto (1571) and Forgotten Preveza (1538) - DergiPark](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2314725)
9. [Preveze Deniz Muharebesine ilişkin Gerçekler - Belleten (Turkish full text)](https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/460/tur)
10. [Akdeniz'deki Türk Hâkimiyetinin Görsel Temsili: Tuvallerde Preveze Deniz Zaferi](https://doi.org/10.21563/sutad.1347341)
11. [486 ncı Yıl Dönümünde Preveze Deniz Zaferi - TASAM](https://tasam.org/tr-TR/Icerik/33941/486_nci_yil_donumunde_preveze_deniz_zaferi)
12. [La strada verso Algeri. La guerra mediterranea del 1537-1540 tra la Lega Santa e gli ottomani](https://www.academia.edu/70858214/La_strada_verso_Algeri_La_guerra_mediterranea_del_1537_1540_tra_la_Lega_Santa_e_gli_ottomani_in_E_BERI_cur_Dal_Mediterraneo_alla_Manica_Contributi_alla_storia_navale_dellEt%C3%A0_Moderna_Roma_2022_p_19_66)
13. [Preveza in 1538: The background of a very complex situation](https://www.academia.edu/1517350/Preveza_in_1538_The_background_of_a_very_complex_situation)
14. [RCIN 721008 - View of Djerba island, 1560 (Djerba, Madanīn, Tunisia) 33°48ʹ00ʺN 10°54ʹ00ʺE](https://militarymaps.rct.uk/ottoman-habsburg-wars-1521-1791/view-of-djerba-island-1560-djerba-madanin-tunisia-33deg4800n-10deg5400e)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Middle East and North Africa › Classical Ottoman Empire (1453 to 1683) › Wars and military campaigns*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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