Ottoman victory at Preveza established the empire as the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean for roughly thirty years.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 September 1538
- Location
- Near Preveza, Ionian Sea, northwest Greece
- Ottoman commander
- Hayreddin Barbarossa (Kapudan Pasha)
- Holy League commander
- Andrea Doria (Genoese admiral)
- Ottoman naval dominance duration
- ~30 years, until Battle of Lepanto 1571
- Scale
- One of the three largest Mediterranean battles of the 16th century
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Ottoman–Habsburg wars and the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1537–1547 created mounting tensions in the Mediterranean. A Holy League of Venetian and Hispano-Imperial forces assembled to challenge Ottoman naval expansion, though internal rivalries between the Genoese and Venetians severely undermined the coalition's cohesion before battle was joined.
On 28 September 1538, an Ottoman fleet under Kapudan Pasha Hayreddin Barbarossa engaged the Holy League fleet under Genoese admiral Andrea Doria near Preveza in the Ionian Sea. Despite the Holy League's substantial numerical and tonnage advantage, the Ottomans prevailed. The exact course of battle remains disputed, with sources blaming either Doria's inaction or Venetian insubordination for the defeat.
The Holy League's defeat ruptured cooperation between the Christian naval powers. The victory marked the beginning of Ottoman dominance as the foremost naval power in the Mediterranean, a position the empire held for approximately thirty years until its defeat at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Hayreddin Barbarossa.
Side B
1 belligerent
Andrea Doria.