Turgut Reis

1485–1565

Turgut Reis, also known in European sources as Dragut, was an Ottoman corsair and admiral who became one of the most feared naval commanders in the sixteenth-century Mediterranean.

He raided widely, served as governor of Tripoli and fought in campaigns against Habsburg and Christian forces. He was mortally wounded during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Turgut Reis was born in Bodrum and died in Malta.

Roger Crowley’s Empires of the Sea gives particular attention to the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, where Jean Parisot de Valette’s Hospitallers resisted an Ottoman army that included the veteran commander Turgut Reis, and to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, fought after Selim II’s conquest of Cyprus. Further fictional perspectives on Turgut Reis can be found in Simon Scarrow’s Sword and Scimitar, William Napier’s The Last Crusaders: The Great Siege, and Dorothy Dunnett’s The Disorderly Knights.

Periods

Periods linked to Turgut Reis

Asian Historyc. 221 BCE–present Ottoman Empire1299–1922 CE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Turgut Reis (2 series)

The Lymond Chronicles in Order

by Dorothy Dunnett 6 books 4.6(5,091)

The Lymond Chronicles follow Francis Crawford of Lymond through Scotland, France, Malta, the Ottoman world, Russia and the wars of mid-sixteenth-century Europe. The six novels combine espionage, court intrigue, military command and a long investigation into Lymond’s family history, loyalties and identity.

All books in this series

1. The Game of Kings

First published 1961 · 4.4(1,583)

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2. Queens’ Play

First published 1964 · 4.6(784)

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3. The Disorderly Knights

First published 1966 · 4.6(681)

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4. Pawn in Frankincense

First published 1969 · 4.7(601)

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5. The Ringed Castle

First published 1971 · 4.7(671)

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6. Checkmate

First published 1975 · 4.7(771)

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Clash of Empires in Order

by William Napier 2 books 4.3(588)

The Clash of Empires sequence, also republished under The Last Crusaders titles, follows English adventurers through the sixteenth-century struggle between Ottoman power and Christian Europe. The books move from the Great Siege of Malta to the naval war that culminates at Lepanto, and then into Tudor diplomacy and…