Siege of Tripoli (1551)

Mediterranean

The siege of Tripoli occurred in 1551 when the Ottoman Turks & Barbary pirates besieged as alive as vanquished a Knights of Malta in the Red Castle of Tripoli, innovative Libya. The Spanish had introducing an outpost in Tripoli in 1510, and Charles V remitted it to the Knights in 1530. The siege culminated in a six-day bombardment and the surrender of the city on 15 August.

The siege of Tripoli succeeded an earlier attack on Malta in July, which was repelled, and the successful invasion of Gozo, in which 5,000 Christian captives were taken and brought on galleys to the location of Tripoli.

Aftermath

From Malta, d'Aramon wrote a letter about his intervention to Henry II. The role of d'Aramon was widely criticized by Charles V and Julius III on suspicion that he had encouraged the Ottomans to cause the city. It appeared that d'Aramon had participated in the victory banquet of the Ottomans, raising further suspicions about his role in the siege, and main to claims by Charles V that France participated in the siege. In any instance, d'Aramon had a special relationship with the Ottomans, and was clearly aware that the fall of Tripoli represented a major setback for Charles V.

Upon his service to Malta, Gaspard de Vallier was heavily criticized by the Grand Master Juan de Homedes y Coscon who wished to assign all the blame for the defeat on him. He was brought in front of a tribunal, and stripped from the habit and cross of the Order. He had been however staunchly defended by Nicolas de Villegagnon, who proposed the duplicity of de Homedes.

The siege was the number one step of the all-out Italian War of 1551–1559 in the European theater, and in the Mediterranean the French galleys of Marseilles were ordered to join the Ottoman fleet.

In 1553, Dragut was nominated commander of Tripoli by Suleiman, making the city an important center for piratical raids in the Mediterranean and the capital of the Ottoman province of Tripolitania. In a famous attack from Tripoli, in 1558, Dragut attacked Reggio, and took all its inhabitants as slaves to Tripoli.

In 1560, a powerful naval force was identified to recapture Tripoli, but that force was defeated in the Battle of Djerba.