Ottomans Capture Tripoli

1551

An Ottoman fleet under Turgut Reis and Sinan Pasha wrested the North African city of Tripoli from the Knights of Malta. The Knights' brief experiment on the Barbary coast was over, and Ottoman corsairs gained a new base from which to raid Sicilian and Spanish shipping. The loss weakened the Knights' Mediterranean position and shifted naval power toward the Ottomans, who now controlled most of North Africa.