Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reverted to his beloved “neo-Ottoman mode” on Sunday by invoking the Battle of Preveza and Ottoman pirate-cum admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, in a message marking today’s 488th anniversary of the battle.
In fact, Erdogan linked the 16th-century Ottoman naval victory with what he described as Turkey’s modern naval tradition.
Turkish Navy frigates take part in the Denizkurdu I/2026 military exercise in the southeastern Aegean Sea, off the Turkish Aksaz Naval Base near Marmaris, Turkey, September 24, 2026. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz
In the message, published Sept. 27 to coincide with Naval Forces Day in the country, Erdogan praised Barbarossa and the Ottoman sailors who fought off Preveza, in western Greece, in 1538.
“With this glorious victory, I commemorate with gratitude Kapudan Pasha Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, who, together with his heroic levents (sailors), turned the Mediterranean into a Turkish lake,” Erdogan said.
He also congratulated Turkey’s modern-day naval personnel and wished them success in carrying out their duties.
The reference comes as Erdogan-led Turkey continues to emphasize the Ottoman heritage of its naval power. Turkish officials have also explicitly connected the commemoration of the battle of Preveza with the revisionist concept of the “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) being peddled by official Ankara.
The Battle of Preveza took place on Sept. 27, 1538, in the Ionian Sea, when the Ottoman fleet commanded by Barbarossa confronted a fleet assembled by the Holy League and commanded by the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria.
The Ottoman fleet emerged victorious in a battle that became an important episode in the 16th-century struggle for control of the Mediterranean between the Ottoman empire and European powers. Academic histories identify Preveza as one of the major Ottoman naval victories of the period.
The battle is now commemorated in Turkey as the Preveza Naval Victory, with Sept. 27 also observed as Turkish Naval Forces Day.
This year’s commemorations included a Turkish naval parade through the Bosphorus, with warships passing the Barbarossa monument in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.
