Great Turkish Admiral and Sailor Scholar Piri Reis

Although there is no exact information about his date of birth, it is believed that Piri Reis was born between 1465 and 1470 in Gelibolu, a small coastal town that was known as a Turkish naval base at the time. His father was Hacı Mehmet, and the children born in the family were given the name Muhiddin Piri. Piri Reis’ uncle, Kemal Reis, was a famous sailor of the time and later became one of the Ottoman Empire’s admirals in the Mediterranean. The Turkish historian Ibn Kemal made the following description for children born in Gelibolu at that time: “Children born in Gelibolu grow up in the water like crocodiles. Their cradles are death ships. They fall asleep to the lullaby of ship sounds in the morning and evening.” Growing up with this analogy, the future great navigator, Muhiddin Piri, lived in this charming coastal town of Gelibolu until he was eleven years old. Like every Turkish child of the period, he received education according to family customs and practices, and unlike other children, he also learned to read and write. After this process, he took his first step into the profession of seamanship aboard his uncle Kemal Reis’s ships. The maritime profession is one that requires both a physically and mentally strong constitution, as well as specific fundamental rules and knowledge, and is acquired through a long and disciplined process. After spending 14 uninterrupted years on his uncle’s ships, he gained all the professional knowledge and skills, and like other sailors of the time, also engaged in piracy while working in state service. We learn about these years from his later work, “Kitab-ı Bahriye.” In this book, Piri Reis uniquely narrates the places he visited and historical events with his uncle Kemal Reis. His uncle, Kemal Reis, spent the first 14 years of his seafaring career engaging in piracy, as was customary at the time. In 1486, the Muslim people of Granada, Spain, requested help from Tunisia, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire. During this time, Kemal Reis continued his life as a pirate, ferrying these Muslims across to Africa with his ships. Between 1487 and 1493, Piri Reis spent six years alongside Kemal Reis, participating in various activities in these seas. They engaged in piracy along the western Mediterranean coasts and various islands, establishing dominance over other pirates, seizing their ships, and using the region as a port during the winter months. They stayed in the ports of Algeria, Tunisia, and Bona, and formed friendships with the local people. Piri Reis took notes about the physical features of the places and islands they visited and who owned them. According to the information in “Kitab-ı Bahriye,” Piri Reis obtained Christopher Columbus’s map of America between 1494-1496. At that time, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror’s son, Bayezid II, was in power in the Ottoman Empire. After the death of his brother, Cem Sultan, he had no rivals for the throne and focused all his attention on conquest and expansion. To strengthen both land and naval power, he brought under state control the Turkish pirate ships. To this end, he invited Kemal Reis and his fleet of ships and sailors to join the Ottoman Empire. In 1494, Kemal Reis, along with his sailors Kara Hasan and Piri Reis, joined the Ottoman fleet, bringing with them their valuable experience. Piri Reis’s fame began to spread during the naval battles between 1499 and 1502. The chief admiral of the period, Davut Pasha, was the real commander of the fleet, and Piri Reis served as the commander of a warship within this fleet. His service and successes during the wars with the Republic of Venice between 1500 and 1502 were notable. Kemal Reis died in 1511 under unknown circumstances during a naval disaster in which Piri Reis was not involved. This loss was a major blow to Piri Reis, as he lost his greatest support. However, thanks to the important maritime knowledge and skills he had gained alongside his uncle, Piri Reis became one of the most important sailors of his time. The unexpected and painful death of his uncle deeply affected Piri Reis, and he temporarily retired from seafaring, returning to Gelibolu. It was during these years that he created his first work, the “World Map,” which immortalized not only his maritime career but also his scientific side. His earlier notes formed the basis for another significant work, the “Kitab-ı Bahriye,” which is an important maritime guidebook. In 1516-1517, during the Mamluk Campaign of Sultan Selim I, the Ottoman fleet was under the command of Cafer Bey, and Piri Reis was assigned a command role in this fleet. After the fleet captured Alexandria, Piri Reis was sent separately to Cairo via the Nile, where he also created a map and provided historical and geographical information about the places. When Egypt was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, Piri Reis had the opportunity to personally meet Sultan Selim I when he came to Alexandria. He presented the world map he had prepared earlier to the Sultan. After the Egyptian campaign, Piri Reis returned to Gelibolu, where he continued his scientific work. In 1520, after the death of Sultan Selim I, his son Suleiman the Magnificent ascended to the throne, marking the beginning of the great expansion period of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, Piri Reis also participated in the conquest of Rhodes. In 1524, when the Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha went to Egypt, Sultan Suleiman ordered Piri Reis to accompany him. The fleet was caught in a storm and had to take shelter in Rhodes, which brought Piri Reis to the attention of Ibrahim Pasha. Piri Reis informed the Grand Vizier about his “Kitab-ı Bahriye.” Understanding the importance of this work, Ibrahim Pasha recommended that Piri Reis compile these writings into a book. Piri Reis continued to develop his work in Gelibolu and, through Ibrahim Pasha, presented it to Sultan Suleiman. After this, Piri Reis returned to state service and held various important naval positions, including in the Beylerbeylik of India (Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Basra). In 1552, during his second Egyptian campaign, Piri Reis was involved in a series of events that led to his tragic end. After leaving the fleet in Basra for supplies and repairs, Piri Reis traveled to Egypt with ships loaded with spoils. Due to the actions of the Beylerbeys of Basra and Egypt, Piri Reis was imprisoned and reported to Sultan Suleiman. He was accused of neglecting his duties and, at over 80 years of age, was executed in 1554. Piri Reis was one of the most important scientists in the field of navigation during his time. It is understood that he spoke several languages, including Greek, Italian, Spanish, and even Portuguese. While preparing his world map, he used works in these languages, as he himself stated.

Works:

• “KITAB-İ BAHRİYE” (Aegean and Mediterranean Guide): Piri Reis had the opportunity to study ports in the Aegean, Adriatic, Italy, France, Spain, and Tunisia over time. His notes about these places contain detailed information on their history, geography, and seas. The “Bahriye” is dated 1521 and 1525. Copies of the original manuscripts are held in special and state libraries in Istanbul, Berlin, Dresden, Bologna, Paris, Vienna, and London.
• “WORLD MAP” Piri Reis created the first world map in 1513 and the second in 1528. The maps, made on leather and in color, still exist today in broken and fragmented copies.