Battle of Suez | |||||||
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Part of Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–1559) | |||||||
![]() Portuguese fleet in Suez 1541 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
16 warships[2] 250 soldiers[2] | 2,000 horsemen[3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Suez occurred in 1541 and was a failed attack by the Portuguese against the Ottomans.[4][5]
In 1541 the Portuguese fleet under the command of the Portuguese governor of India Estêvão da Gama and his brother Cristóvão da Gama penetrated into the Red Sea.[6] The Portuguese fleet consisted of 80 ships and 2,300 soldiers.[4] After sacking Suakin, the governor detached 16 light oarvessels and 250 picked men.[2] The aim was to attack Suez but the attack was a failure as the heavy defence as well as the opposition of Davud Pasha and the Ottoman artillery forced the Portuguese to retreat.[5][4][7][6] A few retreating Portuguese forces which landed at Massawa would be ambushed by the Adal Sultanate at the Battle of Massawa in the same year.[8]
For the duration of the 1541 Suez campaign, the Portuguese remained within the Red Sea for seven months, never being confronted by the Ottoman navy, while Muslim trade was paralized.[9]