Attack on Jeddah (1541)

Attack on Jeddah
Part of Ottoman-Portuguese conflicts (1538-1559)

map of Jeddah harbor and defenses, the Portuguese failed to capture the city due to strong defenses and heavy resistance[1]
Date1541
Location
Jeddah, Arabia and the Red Sea
Result Ottoman–Meccan victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal Portugal  Ottoman Empire
Sharifate of Mecca
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Portugal Estêvão da Gama Ali Beg
Sharif Abu Numayy
Strength
85 ships Unknown Ottoman Garrison
Large number of Meccan troops

The Attack on Jeddah occurred in 1541 and was the last attempt by the Portuguese to capture the city.[2][3][4][5]

The Portuguese had previously attempted to capture Jeddah from the Ottomans in 1517, but were defeated. In 1541, the Portuguese fleet under the command of the Portuguese governor of India Estêvão da Gama penetrated into the Red Sea with the aim of destroying the Ottoman fleet in Suez.[6] The Portuguese destroyed several ports in their way, including Suakin. Led by Estêvão da Gama, the Portuguese attacked Jeddah and attempted to take the city[7][8][2][4][3] with a fleet consisting of 85 ships[9][10] and landed in a port called Abu AI-Dawa'ir near Jeddah.[10][11] The Ottoman garrison at that time was led by Ali Beg.[12]

Upon hearing about the arrival of the Portuguese, Abu Numayy called for jihad in Mecca, and many answered the call. Abu Numayy led the Meccan troops to support the Ottoman garrison and expel the Portuguese.[13][11] The joint Ottoman-Meccan force led by Ali Beg and Abu Numayy successfully fended off the Portuguese attack, and Jeddah was successfully defended.[14][2][4] Abu Numayy was rewarded for his successful resistance by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who granted him half of the fees collected at Jeddah.[2][13][15]

  1. ^ Farouk M. Taufik, History of Al-Hijaz (1520-1632), p. 34
  2. ^ a b c d Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Brill, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Wynbrandt, James. A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Third Edition. Infobase Publishing, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Robison, Gordon. Arab Gulf States : Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates. Lonely Planet, 1996. “The Portuguese attacked Jeddah in 1541 but failed to take the city”
  5. ^ Wynbrandt, James. A Brief History of Saudi Arabia. Facts On File, Incorporated, 2014.
  6. ^ Peacock, A. C. S. "The Ottoman Empire and the Indian Ocean." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. 2018 [1]
  7. ^ H. J. Kissling، Bertold Spuler، N. Barbour، J. S. Trimingham، H. Braun، H. Hartel, The Last Great Muslim Empires, p. 58 [2]
  8. ^ Daḥlan, Aḥmad Zaynī (2007) [1887/1888]. Khulāṣat al-kalām fī bayān umarā' al-Balad al-Ḥarām, p . 127-128, [3]
  9. ^ تاريخ مكة إتحاف فضلاء الزمن بتاريخ ولاية بني الحسن - جمال الدين الطبري, p. 478 [4]
  10. ^ a b Daḥlan, Aḥmad Zaynī, p. 127
  11. ^ a b Farouk M. Taufik, p. 34
  12. ^ Ayyub Sabri Pasha (Died 1890 AD), Mir'at Jazirat al-'Arab, p. 134
  13. ^ a b Daḥlan, Aḥmad Zaynī, p. 128
  14. ^ Uzunçarşılı, İsmail Hakkı (2003). Ashrāf Makkat al-Mukarramah wa-umarāʼihā fī al-ʻahd al-ʻUthmānī, p. 135
  15. ^ Gerald De Gaury, Rulers of Mecca, p. 129