Signs from Allah: History, Science and Faith in Islam
63. The Battle of Lepanto, Part 1 of 2
By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
Welcome to the series, History, Science and Faith in Islam. It is designed to foster a renewal of faith based on knowledge. This is the first of two installments on the historic Battle of Lepanto.
In the last third of the 16th century, three critical events had a decisive impact on the course of Islamic history. One was the Battle of Lepanto (1571) fought off the coast of Greece in which the combined navies of the Vatican, Venice and Spain managed to stop the Ottoman navy, slowing the Ottoman advance to the west and denying them access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas. The second was the Battle of al Qasr al Kabir (1578) in which the Moroccan army crushed Portuguese invaders in North Africa, shattering ambitions to conquer and colonize the Maghrib. The third was the Moroccan invasion of the Songhay Empire (1592), which destroyed Timbaktu and other major trade centers along the Niger River, contributed to the political disintegration of West Africa, and facilitated increased slave trade to America.
The key to understanding these events lies, once again, in the social and political disintegration of Muslim North Africa after the dissolution of the Al Muhaddith Empire. Muslim Spain was not the only object of Christian Iberian Crusades. Sensing a political vacuum in the Maghrib, and taking advantage of the mutual warfare among the local emirs of Morocco (the Merinides), Algeria (the Zayyanids), and Tunisia (the Hafsids), both Portugal and Castile moved to occupy important strategic posts along the coast of Africa. In this effort, they were helped by the naval power of Venice and Genoa. Not that the Christians were contemplating a conquest of the Maghrib at this time. As yet, they did not possess the superiority in organization and arms necessary for an outright conquest. Moreover, there were internal rivalries among the Christians themselves, in particular between Portugal and Castile, precluding a sustained onslaught on North Africa.
In 1355, Tripoli was attacked and briefly occupied by Genoa. In 1390, a combined French and Genoese force invaded the ancient city of Mahdiya. In 1399, Castile occupied Tetuan in Morocco. In 1415, the strategic harbor of Ceuta on the Straits of Gibraltar fell to the Portuguese who continued their advance along the Atlantic coast occupying the strategic port of Al Qasr al Kabir in 1458. By 1470, Tangiers was under Portuguese control. Trade routes between North Africa and southern Europe were now firmly in Christian hands.
The union of Castile and Aragon under Ferdinand and Isabella, and the conquest of Granada (1492), removed the last hurdle in the way of Spanish expansion. Flush from their victory, and expulsion of the Jews (1492) and Muslims (1502) alike, the Spaniards expanded their possessions in the Mediterranean. The discovery of America (1492), and the subsequent loot from the Aztec, Mayan and Inca empires, made Spain a world power. The Popes acted as powerbrokers in medieval Europe, and they brought about a reconciliation between Spain and Portugal. In 1494, Pope Alexander VI drew an arbitrary line around the globe, dividing up the world between Spain and Portugal, for each to conquer and bring under the fold of Christianity.
The military machine of the Iberian Christians had been perfected during their protracted struggle with the Muslims. Now it was let loose on the rest of the world. There followed a general thrust of the western Crusades aimed at the total conquest of the Maghrib. In 1505, Mars al Kabir (Algeria) fell to the Spanish. Oran (Algeria) fell in 1509. Bogie (Tunisia) was captured in 1510. Tripoli (Libya) was destroyed in 1511. Tlemcen became a Spanish protectorate in 1512. Meanwhile, the Portuguese moved along the western coast of Morocco. Agadir was occupied in 1505. Converted into a strong fortress named Santa Cruz, it became a powerful base for further expansion. In 1507, Safi was occupied. In 1513, Azemour fell. By 1515, the Portuguese controlled the entire coastline of West Africa, from Morocco to the Horn. The bases along this coast served as an anchor point for their further expansion around the coast of Africa and into the Indian Ocean. They also served as shipping centers for the Atlantic slave trade, which now began to gather momentum.
The global tide of Portuguese and Spanish expansion took place precisely at a time when the Islamic world was in convulsion. This was the period during which the great dynasties of the Safavids (1501) and the Moghuls (1526) were founded and the Ottomans were consolidating their power. The Battle of Chaldiran between the Safavids and the Ottomans was fought in 1514, and 1517 was the year when the Ottomans captured Egypt from the Mamlukes. It was not until 1526 that the Ottomans, the Safavids and the Moghuls finally settled down and started the process of global resistance to Portuguese and Spanish aggression.
By 1530 the Spaniards had conquered most of the trading outposts on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Tripoli (Libya) and Malta fell to the Spaniards who handed them over to the Knights of St. John to garrison and hold. The Spanish were not alone in their thrust into Muslim territories. Venice, Genoa and the Vatican were equally active. At stake were not only the trade routes of the Mediterranean but also the very soul of North Africa. In 1532, the Genoese captured Coron in the Adriatic. Sulaiman the Magnificent (1520-1565), the Ottoman Sultan, could not disregard this challenge. As the Caliph, he was duty bound to protect Muslims no matter where they lived.
Sulaiman ordered Ibrahim Pasha, grand vizier of the Caliphate, to upgrade the Ottoman fleet. Ibrahim was in Egypt, reorganizing the administration of that province. He was a man of extraordinary abilities whose legacy sustained the Ottoman administrative machinery until the 19th century. The Ottoman navy was already a force to be reckoned with, thanks to the initiatives taken by Sultan Selim I. Ibrahim Pasha proceeded to build on that foundation. Timber for shipbuilding was plentiful in Lebanon. There were first-rate harbors in Turkey, Egypt and Syria. What was needed was leadership and trained manpower for the sea. This he found on the coast of North Africa.
As the Christian powers of Spain, Venice and Genoa monopolized the Mediterranean trade (1500-1530), the North Africans increasingly turned to piracy. Rich bounty was available from Genoese ships in the Mediterranean as well as Spanish ships in the Atlantic carrying the loot from the Americas to Spain. The North Africans-as well as the English-attacked these ships for their booty. The skills and the art of the seas were perfected in the process.
Ibrahim Pasha convinced Sulaiman the Magnificent to invite these captains of the sea to Istanbul and press them into the service of the Caliphate. One of these captains was Khairuddin of Algiers, who was amongst the ablest admirals of the age. Khairuddin was made the admiral of the empire. Within a span of five years, he changed the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean. In 1534, he recaptured Tunis from the Spanish.
(The author is Director, World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Washington, DC; Director, American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, CA; Member, State Knowledge Commission, Bangalore; and Chairman, Delixus Group)
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