Battle of Djerba

Battle of Djerba
	Part of Spanish–Ottoman wars
	; Battle of Djerba 1560
Date	9–14 May 1560
Location	Near the island of Djerba off the coast of Tunisia
Result	Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Republic of Genoa; Spanish Empire Viceroyalty of Naples and Sicily; Papal States; Duchy of Savoy; Order of Saint John	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Giovanni Andrea Doria; Juan de la Cerda; Don Alvaro de Sande (POW)	Piali Pasha; Dragut
Strength
54 galleys,; 66 other vessels; Other sources:; 200 ships total	86 galleys and galliots
Casualties and losses
60 ships sunk or captured,; 9,000–18,000 men killed,; 5,000 prisoners (during siege)	Unknown

The Battle of Djerba (Turkish: Cerbe) took place in May 1560 near the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The Ottomans under Piyale Pasha's command overwhelmed a large joint Christian alliance fleet, composed chiefly of Spanish, Papal, Genoese, Maltese, and Neapolitan forces. The allies lost 27 galleys and some smaller vessels as well as the fortified island of Djerba. This victory marked perhaps the high point of Ottoman power in the Mediterranean Sea.^[5]

Until about 1573 the Mediterranean headed the list of Spanish priorities under Philip II of Spain (1556–98); under his leadership the Habsburg galley fleet increased to about 100 ships, and more in wartime. Spain sent a major fleet against the Turks in 1560, aiming for the island of Djerba off the coast west of Tripoli. The Ottoman fleet won a resounding victory, killing more than 5,000 men and sinking many vessels.

However, typical of the aftermath of Mediterranean battles, the Ottomans did not quickly follow up on their victory. Spain was able to rebuild its fleet in the next two years and prepared a new offensive in 1563–64 with nearly 100 ships. Despite the Ottomans being victorious in the battle, the supply limitations of their galley fleet made them unable to quickly deploy it elsewhere, either by attacking the defeated powers or the now-exposed Venetian center of gravity.^[6] It would be five years before the Ottomans followed up on their victory with a major attack on the Knights of Malta, and a decade before they attacked the Venetian Republic again in force.

^ ^a ^b Hattendorf & King 2013, p. 32.
^ ^a ^b ^c Matthew Carr: Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, The New Press, 2009, ISBN 1595583610, page 138.
^ William Stewart: Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present, ISBN 0786438096, McFarland, 2009, page 240.
^ Cite error: The named reference Guilmartin op was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ted Thornton's History of the Middle East Database Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Hervé Coutau-Bégarie (5 November 2013). "Seapower in the Mediterranean from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century". In John B. Hattendorf (ed.). Naval Strategy and Power in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-136-71317-0.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEHattendorfKing201332-1] Hattendorf & King 2013, p. 32.

[carr2009-3] Matthew Carr: Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, The New Press, 2009, ISBN 1595583610, page 138.

[4] William Stewart: Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present, ISBN 0786438096, McFarland, 2009, page 240.

[Guilmartin_op-5] Cite error: The named reference Guilmartin op was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] Ted Thornton's History of the Middle East Database Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[HattendorfHattendorf2013-7] Hervé Coutau-Bégarie (5 November 2013). "Seapower in the Mediterranean from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century". In John B. Hattendorf (ed.). Naval Strategy and Power in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-136-71317-0.

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