Kemal Reis

Lore & Background

Kemal Reis was a notable corsair, a type of state-sanctioned pirate, often operating along religious lines in the Mediterranean. Serving under him, Piri Reis earned the rank of reis himself. Under Sultan Bayezid II's approval, Piri Reis sailed west with Kemal Reis and other Ottoman corsairs to fight the Iberian Catholic Monarchs and aid the Emirate of Granada. As a young man, Piri Reis helped his uncle bombard the forces besieging Málaga in 1487. By the end of 1487, Málaga fell to the combined Catholic armies. Barbary corsairs based in northern Africa and led by Kemal Reis continued to threaten European maritime traffic. Piri Reis described himself and his uncle as 'sea gazis', writing: 'We sailed on the Mediterranean and fought the enemies of our religion mercilessly.' During the winters, they took shelter in harbors along the Barbary Coast of North Africa, including Béjaïa and Annaba in present-day Algeria. For six years, they sailed north to raid the coasts of Spain and France, as well as the islands lying between Europe and Africa: Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Balearics. When Spain expelled its Jewish population in 1492, Sultan Bayezid II instructed Kemal Reis to aid religious refugees. In response, Piri Reis ferried Muslims and Jews from Spain to North Africa. After Kemal Reis was imprisoned for piracy in 1495, the sultan granted him an official position in the navy instead of further punishment. As recorded in the Kitab-ı Bahriye, Kemal Reis and Piri Reis advised the sultan to take the strategically valuable island of Rhodes. Around the turn of the century, Piri Reis fought in the Ottoman–Venetian wars as a captain under his uncle's command. During the 1499 Battle of Zonchio, Piri Reis piloted one of the 270 Ottoman ships that broke through the 150-ship Venetian fleet to enter the Gulf of Corinth. After further victories under Kemal Reis at Modon and Navarino, the Ottoman Navy began to consolidate control over the Eastern Mediterranean. Piri Reis returned to the Western Mediterranean, raiding the coasts of Spain and nearby islands in 1501 alongside his uncle. In a naval battle near Valencia, they captured a Spaniard who said he had sailed with Columbus and likely possessed one of the explorer's charts of the Americas. They also seized exotic New World materials, including parrot feathers and unusual black stones, possibly obsidian, that could cut metal. In 1502, Piri Reis and his uncle returned to Constantinople and resumed hostilities with Venice. Piri Reis last saw his uncle in 1510. He was the captain of his own ship, but Kemal Reis remained his mentor, commanding officer, and patron. They returned from Tripoli in North Africa, where the locals had asked Kemal Reis to become their governor and protect them from Spain. On 25 July 1510, Spain seized Tripoli while the Ottomans were still traveling to Constantinople. In the capital, Sultan Bayezid II tasked Kemal Reis with delivering aid to Egypt against Portuguese incursions, though Piri Reis remained in Europe. Kemal Reis drowned at sea; his ship sank in a storm near the island of Samos. News of his death reached Cairo in February 1511, and a Venetian report claimed that Kemal Reis had been sabotaged when İskender Ağa—a rival who became admiral of the Ottoman Navy in 1511—sent Kemal to sea in 'an unsound ship'. The Kitab-ı Bahriye contains a eulogy for Kemal Reis: 'Many men go off thinking they will return: those who do not are those who knew little about where they were going. Behold Kemal Reis: he left intending to return but failed and sank at sea. Though his fame was once spoken of by all, now even his name is lost and gone. This world is vanity; it is every man's lot to live and die. While in the service of Sultan Bayezid, the angel of death caught him upon the sea.'

Reader's Guide

Kemal Reis was a pivotal figure in the expansion of Ottoman naval power during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Under Sultan Bayezid II's approval, he sailed west with other Ottoman corsairs to fight the Iberian Catholic Monarchs and aid the Emirate of Granada. As a young man, Piri Reis helped his uncle bombard the forces besieging Málaga in 1487. After the fall of Granada in 1492, when Spain expelled its Jewish population, Sultan Bayezid II instructed Kemal Reis to aid religious refugees, and Piri Reis ferried Muslims and Jews from Spain to North Africa. After Kemal Reis was imprisoned for piracy in 1495, the sultan granted him an official position in the navy. As recorded in the Kitab-ı Bahriye, Kemal Reis and Piri Reis advised the sultan to take the strategically valuable island of Rhodes. During the 1499 Battle of Zonchio, Piri Reis piloted one of the 270 Ottoman ships that broke through the 150-ship Venetian fleet to enter the Gulf of Corinth. After further victories under Kemal Reis at Modon and Navarino, the Ottoman Navy began to consolidate control over the Eastern Mediterranean. In a naval battle near Valencia in 1501, they captured a Spaniard who said he had sailed with Columbus and likely possessed one of the explorer's charts of the Americas. They also seized exotic New World materials, including parrot feathers and unusual black stones, possibly obsidian, that could cut metal. In 1510, Piri Reis last saw his uncle. They returned from Tripoli in North Africa, where the locals had asked Kemal Reis to become their governor and protect them from Spain. On 25 July 1510, Spain seized Tripoli while the Ottomans were still traveling to Constantinople. Sultan Bayezid II tasked Kemal Reis with delivering aid to Egypt against Portuguese incursions. Kemal Reis drowned at sea; his ship sank in a storm near the island of Samos. News of his death reached Cairo in February 1511, and a Venetian report claimed that Kemal Reis had been sabotaged when İskender Ağa—a rival who became admiral of the Ottoman Navy in 1511—sent Kemal to sea in 'an unsound ship'. The Kitab-ı Bahriye contains a eulogy for Kemal Reis.

Did You Know?

• Kemal Reis was imprisoned for piracy in 1495, but Sultan Bayezid II granted him an official position in the navy instead of further punishment.
• A Venetian report claimed that Kemal Reis was sabotaged when a rival, İskender Ağa, sent him to sea in 'an unsound ship'.
• The Kitab-ı Bahriye contains a eulogy for Kemal Reis that begins: 'Many men go off thinking they will return: those who do not are those who knew little about where they were going.'
• Kemal Reis drowned at sea when his ship sank in a storm near the island of Samos, with news of his death reaching Cairo in February 1511.
• In a naval battle near Valencia in 1501, Kemal Reis and Piri Reis captured a Spaniard who had sailed with Columbus and likely possessed one of the explorer's charts of the Americas.