Conquest of Tunis (1535)
| Conquest of Tunis | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Holy Roman Empire |
 Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor | Khayr ad-Din Barbarossa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 60,000 troops + Genoan fleet[1] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Many fell to dysentry[1] | At least 30,000 civilians killed[1] | ||||||
The Conquest of Tunis was an attack on Tunis, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire, by the Holy Roman Empire in 1535.
The Battle
In 1535, The Ottomans under Khair ad-Din began attacking Christian shipping in the Mediterranean from a base in Algiers. That year Tunisia was captured to act as a supply base for further naval campaigns in the region. Charles V, one of the most powerful men of Europe at the time assembled a huge army of some 60,000 soldiers[1] to drive the Otomans from the region. Protected by a Genoan fleet[1], Charles V destroyed Barbarossa's fleet and after a costly yet successful siege at La Goleta, captured Tunis. The resulting massacre of the city left an estimated 30,000 dead.
The siege demonstrated at the time the power projection of the Habsburg dynasties at the time; Charles V had under his control much of southern Italy, Sicily, Spain, the Americas, Austria and lands in Germany. Furthermore, he was Holy Roman Emperor and had de jure control over much of Germany as well.
Aftermath
The Ottomans responded in a fashion typical to that during the war; by recapturing the city in 1574. However the Ottoman hold on Tunis weakened with the Beyliks, operating as independent pirates, raiding at will. Consequently, raiding in the Mediterranean continued until the French subjugated the region as a protectorate.