An Ottoman admiral, geographer and cartographer. He joined the Ottoman Navy at the age of sixteen, following his uncle Kemal Reis, a famous captain and corsair. He fought different battles against Genoa, Venice and Spain, including the battle of Lepanto. After his uncle’s death, he returned to Gallipoli, his native town on the Aegean coast, and started writing the “Babriye”, the “Book of Navigation”, containing very accurate charts of the principal ports in the Mediterranean. He completed his first world map, centered on the Sahara, one of the older maps of America. He presented a second world map to the sultan Solimano I, based on more than twenty charts, including Arab, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Indian and Greek maps, and even an original map by Christopher Columbus. After he returned to active duty as a captain, he fought against Egypt, Malta, and Portugal. Finally, he retired to Egypt, where he refused to continue the campaign against Portugal ordered by the governor of Basra. As a consequence, he was publicly beheaded. He was eighty-nine years old.
Copyright © Alastair Fontana 2013Gentile Bellini, Sultan Mehmet II, 1480
