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Padişahın Amirali - Barbaros Hayreddin

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Bu kitapta Midillili gözü pek bir korsanın tarihin seyrini değiştirdiğine tanık olacaksınız. Akdeniz'in kaderini değiştiren adam: Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa

Amiral, deniz kahramanı, korsan, savaşçı ve imparatorluk kurucu Hayreddin ya da Batı'da tanındığı adıyla Barbaros, efsanevi bir şahsiyetti. Yunanistan'ın Midilli Adası'nda doğup, Osmanlı donanmasının kaptanıderyası, Cezayir sultanı, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman'ın dostu ve danışmanı oldu. Yaşamı on XXI. yüzyıl Akdeniz tarihine damga vurdu. Kardeşi Oruç'la birlikte Kuzey Afrika kıyısına yerleştiği andan itibaren, Akdeniz'deki yaşamın ve ticaretin örüntüsü ebediyen değişti. Osmanlı donanmasını yeniden düzenlemedeki başarıları ve donanma komutanlığı, tüm Avrupa'yı tehdit eden Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun genişlemesine yardımcı oldu. Öldüğü zaman, o yıla ait Türk kayıtları "Denizlerin Sultanı öldü" diye duyurdular.

Bu eksiksiz biyografide Ernle Bradford Barbaros'un dikkate değer yaşamını, tarihin bu nefes kesici anında Osmanlı ve Akdeniz dünyalarının canlı bir portresiyle birlikte ustaca yeniden yaratmış.

"Türk denizcilik tarihinin bu en önemli şahsiyetinin yayınlanmış yegane biyografisi ve palavracı korsan masallarının heyecanını hatırlatan hareketli bir öykü." John Freely

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 1968

33 people are currently reading
310 people want to read

About the author

Ernle Bradford

116 books85 followers
Ernle Dusgate Selby Bradford was a noted British historian specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics. Bradford was an enthusiastic sailor himself and spent almost thirty years sailing the Mediterranean, where many of his books are set. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, finishing as the first Lieutenant of a destroyer. He did occasional broadcast work for the BBC, was a magazine editor, and wrote many books.

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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Jerusalem.
29 reviews3 followers
October 26, 2021
Bradford'un akıcı dilinden ve Zehra Ağralı'nın oldukça zevkli Türkçesinden keyifli bir Barbaros biyografisi. Eser popüler tarih nasıl olmalının da cevabı niteliğinde.
Profile Image for Recep Pehlivan.
28 reviews2 followers
March 21, 2017
Great read , very objective, non bias and gives justice as much as an orientalist can ...
Profile Image for Legate of Suvla.
66 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2022
Oruç ve Hayrettin kardeşler hakkında az kelimeliyle de çok şeyin anlatabildiğinin kanıtı olan sağlam bir araştırma tarih kitabı, üstelik kaynakça tamamen batılı ve dolayısıyla ön yargılı kaynaklara dayandırılmasına rağmen ortaya objektif bir eser çıkmış.

Özellikle Preveze deniz savaşı bu kadar basit, yalın ve anlaşılabilir bir şekilde anlatılabilirdi. Barbaros'un hayatını okumak isteyenler için gayet ideal bir eser.
Profile Image for Deniz Uzunoğlu.
Author 4 books11 followers
July 1, 2013
From a western point of view... period between 1478 - 1492... concise, objective and explanatory... conrains valuable information based on Spanish and Algerian records... I liked it a lot!
Profile Image for Aayan Mirza.
31 reviews7 followers
March 24, 2018
A good, balanced account of a legendary Muslim sea figure of 16th century, constructed in an interesting manner. The book, however, lacked in technical ease, specially for a non-European reader. The maps provided were insufficient and had to be complemented with a personal source of data to fully understand the magnificent history of the Mediterranean Sea of that time. Moreover, some chapters, specially where the book detoured into deep technical lessons and such, lacked in pace, and comprehension aspects. At times they had to be read multiple times, researched a bit upon at personal level, and reduce the pace at further to completely comprehend the the subject.

But the book, otherwise, was thoroughly enjoyable, and a real page turner in its mostly good parts.
Profile Image for El-Jahiz.
277 reviews5 followers
September 2, 2022
A fascinating chapter of history of the Mediterranean Corsairs in the 16th Century!
Profile Image for Wes Snyder.
1 review1 follower
April 21, 2014
Good, well written, but no Turkish or Arabic sources, all western.
Profile Image for Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari.
231 reviews4 followers
May 24, 2022
The Sultan's Admiral: The Life of Barbarossa

By: Ernle Bradford

This is an amazing and unbiased work from a western author to pay tribute to the Great Sea Admiral of all times; Kheir-ed-Din Barbarossa.

It also describes the important role played by his elder brother Aruj Barbarossa (Barbarossa means 'Red-Bearded) who laid the foundations for his younger brother Khizr or Kher-ed-Din to reach such an important position.
They were born in Lesbos. Aruj had red-beard, that's why he was called Barbarossa. But after his death the title was bestowed upon his brother Khizr.
They were the sons of a common soldier; Ya'Kub, in Ottoman army. So their origin is not from upper classes.

They were basically traders of pottery and other goods when Aruj with his other brother Isaac were attacked by the Knights of the St. John. In this Isaac was shot dead and Aruj was captured and made a galley slave at oars to row.
After sometimes, when he was released, he started avenging this incident by capturing Christian merchant-ships from Spain to other islands of the Mediterranean or the ships returning from trade in East.
In this way they carried on their career and finally Aruj became the Sultan of Algiers. After some expeditions when he was trying to seige the Bougie, his one hand was lost from a gun shot. Later when he tried to control Tunis and further areas around, he was chased by Spanish army and was killed.

Then Khizr or Kheir-ed-Din became the Sultan of Algiers. And from then on he took forward the ambitions of his late brother ; Aruj.
He almost controlled Western Mediterranean and then started influencing the Eastern side of it.
Then he became the Beylerbey or Governor General of Algiers under Ottoman Sultanate.

In these expeditions, it is important to describe, they pillaged the coastal sides of the Mediterranean under enemy control. They killed who came in their way, took gold or other things as reward, captured men and children to sell or make them galley slave; also the women who were sent for Ottoman Sultan's harem along with other tributes.

When Admiral Andrea Doria started sacking the coastal areas under Ottoman control, Sultan Suleiman sent for Kheir-ed-Din, who at once reached in Constantinople and after counsel with Sultan and Vizir Ibrahim started ship-building in dockyards. Then he led the fleet and came back from his excursions loaded with reward.

The European sea power of the time; Spain with his allies Genoa, Venice and Pope of the time tried to eliminate this constant threat under the command of Admiral Andra Doria but were defeated at the battle of Preveza in 1538 A.D.

He was an amzing man of character, discipline and sheer will with intelligent mind. He was died in July 1546 and is buried at Beshiktash, in Constantinople(Istanbul).
May his soul rest in peace!

Overall, the book is wonderfully and well written with easy language to understand. A must read for all those who take interest in the life of the great "King of the Sea".
Profile Image for Anıl Karzek.
179 reviews8 followers
March 27, 2020
Altough it has lack of some essential primary sources, Bradford put a great deal of information about Barbarossa brothers. However, Braford's naval knowledge differentiated him from the common historians since he could brilliantly portray the war scenes, and backed with the Mediterranean maps which were very helpful during the reading. This one is a basic resource for who is interested in 16th century European History.
Profile Image for Arslan.
23 reviews2 followers
July 16, 2022
This book is for those who want to have an unbiased and fair account of Barbarossa without any prejudice. E.B has done a good job countering the misrepresentation of Barbarossa mainly in Western Europe.
As he writes in the preface of book “This is not an attempt to rehabilitate Barbarossa, who doesn’t need it, but to strip away some of the veils of varnish and inaccurate overpainting that have disguised from Europeans the portrait of a very remarkable man.”
20 reviews
August 25, 2018
An easy read with a narrative style that ends up giving a surprisingly balanced view of the Barbarossa Brothers' exploits. Many details are left out in favor of jumping from one fun story to another, but it holds together well for what it is. Follow it up by reading Guilmartin's superb Gunpowder & Galleys for a more scholarly treatment of the period.
Profile Image for Safwan.
114 reviews
October 8, 2022
Good overview on the life of the Barbarossa brothers and their achievements during their naval battles.

Can't wait for Mufti Abdullah Nana to release his new book on the Barbarossa brothers.
Profile Image for P.
488 reviews7 followers
September 22, 2025
There were two men who were given the epithet Barbarossa, meaning Red-Beard. The two brothers from Lesbos, Aruj and Khizr, looted European galleons and with stolen wealth they made themselves the lords of Middle Barbery. It was Khizr who later became the Beylerbey of Algiers and head of Ottoman Navy. The fight between Andrea Doria and Kheir-ud-Din was a letdown. Even though he is considered one of the greatest admirals in history, Doria, in the battle of Preveza, comes across as a bit of a coward. His refusal to come to the aid of Galleon of Venice was inexplicable. Alessandro Condalmiero proved to be a gallant leader.
Overall, it is a good book on the life of the Barbarossa brothers.
Profile Image for Ted.
243 reviews26 followers
February 26, 2024
An interesting and informative biography of the Barbarossa brothers Aruj and Kheir-ed-Din (both were known as "Barbarossa"). Born on the island of Lesbos, the brothers rose from humble beginnings as privateers early in the 16th century to become important historical figures in the founding of Algeria, the development of Turkish naval power and the western expansion of the Ottoman Empire from Tunis to Morocco.

The book is well written, factual and engaging. This is not an academic work but the author has clearly done his research. The book includes an appendix with a list of the sources consulted for each chapter. Above all, the author makes an effort to present the Barbarossa brothers (and particularly Kheir-ed-Din, the better known of the two) as they were seen by their contemporaries and to separate truth from fiction. The chapters on the historic naval battles at Preveza (1535) and Algiers (1540) are rich in detail and especially interesting. Turkey emerged from these battles as the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean - a position she maintained until the 19th century. Enjoyed reading this book and I learned a lot. Would like to read more about the Ottoman Empire and its long and varied history.
Profile Image for Bettie.
9,977 reviews5 followers
Want to read
March 6, 2014
Ernle Bradford, "The Sultan's Admiral: Barbarossa: Pirate and Empire Builder"
English | ISBN: 184511793X | 2009 | EPUB, MOBI | 248 pages

Description: In this definitive biography, Ernle Bradford has brilliantly recreated BarbarossaΓÇÖs remarkable life alongside a vivid portrayal of the Ottoman and Mediterranean worlds at this thrilling moment in history. Admiral, naval hero, pirate, warrior and empire-builder, Kheir ed-Din or Barbarossa, as he was known in the West, was a legendary figure. Born on Lesbos in Greece he rose to become High Admiral of the Ottoman Navy, Sultan of Algiers and friend and advisor to Suleiman the Magnificent. His life dominated the history of the Mediterranean in the 16th century. From the moment that he and his brother, Aruj, established themselves on the North African coast, the pattern of life and trade in the Mediterranean changed forever and for nearly 300 years after it was affected by the activities of raiders from what came to be called the Barbary Coast. His achievements in reorganizing the Ottoman Navy and his command of it helped the expansion of the Turkish Empire that threatened all of Europe.
142 reviews3 followers
June 28, 2023
Interesting man

I have to admit that I thought of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ when I see his name. Sigh. I enjoyed this book. I would have liked more about his later life, after he had succeeded but maybe the sources aren’t great. I found the sea battles to be fascinating. You hear so much about the Spanish armada and how their invasion attempt of England was their downfall. I’m guessing that’s English historians putting their hand on the scales. I do like seeing how brilliant the Ottomans were at sea. I feel like they are similar to the Byzantine empire in that they are given less prestige in history told from a western slant.
Profile Image for David Cooper.
82 reviews
May 29, 2024
Great biography. I know more about Barbarossa and just how important he was for creating the Mediterranean into a "Turkish Lake". The Sultan Sulieman was fortunate to have such an able Admiral. This is the second time I've read of the alliance of the French with the Sultan; this book explained it better. Very clear style of writing, I enjoyed it greatly.
Profile Image for Robert.
48 reviews2 followers
July 4, 2022
A fun, interesting read

I had no idea who Barbarossa was or his influence in the Mediterranean, but Bradford does a great job of covering the major events without being bogged down in minutiae.
Profile Image for Patrick Elsey.
404 reviews3 followers
January 14, 2014
You could use this book as an example of how to show someone how to write a boring book about an interesting subject
25 reviews
October 3, 2017
Well written and very engaging book.. A must read .. would make a great movie.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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