The moral this event teaches is, that a barge may be taken by a galley provided the commander of the latter be an experienced person.
THE WARS OF AIDIN REIS.
The admiral who had been taken in the above-mentioned expedition having informed them that the king of Spain had gone to Genoa, Khair-ad-din Beg appointed Aidin Reis to the command of his fleet, and sent him towards that quarter. The reis, sailing towards the infidel territories, plundered the coast about Marseilles, and took many Mudagils.[25] Fifteen vessels that had been sent from Spain to protect these parts were now cruising about; and Aidin Reis being desirous of attacking them, commenced a vigorous pursuit, and at length came up with them whilst they were lying off a barren island. A fierce engagement ensued, in which Aidin Reis took the admiral’s ship, and the others were voluntarily surrendered. Three of these ships he emptied and sunk, three he burned, and the rest he brought to Algiers. Khair-ad-din then reported this victory to the Porte.
APPEARANCE OF ANDREA DORIA, AND ATTACK OF KHAIR-AD-DIN.
When the infidel nations could no longer navigate the seas, and there was no safety along their coasts, the king of Spain called a council to determine what measures were to be adopted against Barbarossa.[26] (Barbarossa in Italian signifies one with a red beard.) Andrea Doria, one of the most valiant admirals of Spain, taking his hat in his hand, said, if the king of France would give him twenty of his galleys he would venture to attack Barbarossa. Spain had at this time concluded peace with France, and accordingly sent thither an ambassador to request the galleys. France, in order to preserve the peace, complied, and the galleys, together with the Spanish fleet, were given to Andrea, who with a complete army on board, sailed for Algiers. Khair-ad-din, on the other hand, equipped thirty-five ships at Algiers, and invited Senan Reis from Jarba, who fitted out seven vessels, and joined him. Khair-ad-din Beg had hoped to meet Andrea at Majorca; and in anticipation of this had fortified the castle of Sharshal, which he filled with Mudagils. But Andrea suddenly changed his course, and early one morning came upon Sharshal with forty ships, and landed his men. As they were about to commence their work of destruction, the Moslems came out of the castle, and after a fierce engagement, put the infidels to flight. Before they could reach their ships four hundred fell by the sword, and six hundred and forty were made prisoners. The rest got on board, and made their escape. When Khair-ad-din arrived he put all the captives in chains. Among these was Andrea’s steward, from whom they ascertained that his master was bound for Genoa, there to obtain a reinforcement of troops. Khair-ad-din therefore immediately sailed for that quarter; and having ascertained in the vicinity of Marseilles that Andrea had on his way passed near to that place, he went to an island about thirty miles from thence, and lay off there ten days. Here they took a vessel that was passing by laden with cheeses from Majorca, which had previously been taken near Toulon, a celebrated French port not far from Marseilles; but through the negligence of the warriors on board the goletta stationed there as a guard-ship by Khair-ad-din, the captain made his escape with his own ship and four others, and gave information respecting Khair-ad-din. The captain then returned to the fortress, whilst Khair-ad-din turned towards the Genoese coasts, and early next morning attacked a castle on the coast, which he succeeded in capturing, and took the inhabitants prisoners. In the harbour he found twenty-two ships; all of which he burnt, and demolished the castle. He then directed his course towards Genoa; but was driven back by a storm to the island off which he had formerly been lying; and here he remained until the storm had subsided.
THE FLIGHT OF ANDREA.
Andrea not being able to reach Genoa from Sharshal, entered a large river in Spain, and thence demanded from Genoa three thousand men, and a supply of gunpowder and arms. These the Genoese had already forwarded in two large ships to the place where he was lying. The storm however drove them to Khair-ad-din’s place of rendezvous, and one morning one of them passed near his fleet, which, immediately the sail appeared, weighed anchor, and ten vessels proceeded to attack her; when, after a fierce combat, she was taken and brought into port. A few hours afterwards the other ship also made her appearance; but owing to the approach of evening was too late to enter the harbour, and remained out at sea. That night therefore they did not molest her; but the next morning, as she was preparing to enter the harbour, Khair-ad-din gave orders to commence an attack upon her from a distance. Senan Reis however disobeyed these orders, and going too near, had a musket-ball aimed at him, and was obliged to return into the harbour; but Khair-ad-din, keeping up a distant fire upon the ship, gradually weakened her; and the infidels on board perceiving she began to leak, threw themselves into the sea, and were immediately made prisoners. The warriors then towed the ship to the shore, where they plundered her, and then sunk the hulk. They then dressed their wounded and buried their dead; first reading over them the prayers appropriated for the funerals of martyrs. This being done, they put all the infidels in chains, and set fire to the ship which they had first taken. Khair-ad-din having obtained from those on board these vessels information respecting Andrea, returned to the Arab shores. Andrea then left the river, and passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, went and lay in the harbour of Seville; whilst Khair-ad-din on his part returned to Algiers.
Some time previous to this the Sultan Soleiman Khan had sent out Mustaffa, one of the chiaoush[27] of the Sublime Court, to obtain information respecting a peace that had been concluded with the king of France, and several other affairs. Khair-ad-din therefore wrote down all the particulars he had been able to obtain, and transmitted them by Mustaffa to the Porte. About this time also the son of Khair-ad-din, Hassan Beg, (who by his mother’s side was descended from the Prophet,) with some other reises, made two expeditions to Teiomlek, and took immense booty.
ATTACK OF ANDREA DORIA UPON CORONE, AND REBELLION OF THE GOVERNOR OF TILMISÁN.
The Sultan Soleiman Khan having in the year 938 (A. D. 1531-2) gone on an expedition into Germany, Charles V., king of Spain, came to Genoa, and suggested to the Genoese government that as the Grand Toork (i. e. the Great Turk) was engaged in war, a favourable opportunity offered to plunder the Roumelian coasts: but his brother Ferdinand, emperor of Germany, despatched a letter to him, intimating that there would be no great merit in attacking two or three castles, and requesting that he would rather come to his assistance by land. With this request he complied; and at the same time resolved to send his fleet, under the command of Andrea, to Motone. In order also to divert the attention of Barbarossa, he sent men to excite the beg of Tilmisan to revolt; and for this purpose he sent fourteen vessels to aid him in an expedition against Algiers. Khair-ad-din was at this time preparing for a voyage to the Sublime Porte; but immediately left his fleet at sea, and marched to meet the enemy by land. The two armies met in a desert, where a battle took place, and Abdullah, the beg of Tilmisan, was routed, and fled back to Tilmisan. At the intercession of certain persons, peace was restored, on the beg’s paying thirty thousand pieces of gold; and Khair-ad-din returned to Algiers. Andrea now, finding the sea clear, sailed towards the coast of the Morea, and attacked and took the fortress of Corone; the Capudan Ahmed Pasha, who had this year gone to sea with eighty vessels, arriving too late to save it.