Siege of Tripoli (1551)

Siege of Tripoli
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars and the Italian War of 1551–1559
Capture of Tripoli as illustrated in a 16th-century French engraving
Date 8–14 August 1551 (6 days) Location Tripoli (modern Libya) 32°54′8″N 13°11′9″E / 32.90222°N 13.18583°E / 32.90222; 13.18583 Result Ottoman victory Territorial changes Establishment of Ottoman Tripolitania
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Hospitaller Tripoli
Commanders and leaders
Sinan Pasha Dragut Murad Agha	Gaspard de Vallier
Strength
c. 10,000–12,000 men 145 ships	c. 30–200 knights c. 500–630 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown	200 men executed Some enslaved

The Siege of Tripoli was a successful Ottoman siege of the North African city of Tripoli, then held by the Knights Hospitaller, in August 1551. The attack, which was led by Sinan Pasha and Dragut, appears to have been launched in retaliation for the capture of Mahdia by the Spanish and Hospitallers the previous year.

The siege followed a brief Ottoman attack on the Kingdom of Sicily and Hospitaller Malta, during which the island of Gozo was invaded and sacked and some 5,000 to 7,000 inhabitants were taken as slaves. The Ottoman forces then sailed to North Africa, where they were bolstered by local forces from Tajura led by Murad Agha. Tripoli was besieged and the city's governor Gaspard de Vallier capitulated after six days of bombardment.

Through the intervention of French ambassador Gabriel d'Aramont, the Hospitaller knights and part of the garrison were allowed to depart Tripoli for Malta, while the rest of the garrison was massacred or enslaved. Murad Agha was appointed as beylerbey of Tripoli, and he was later succeeded in this position by Dragut. The latter transformed Tripoli into a major base for the Barbary corsairs and consolidated Ottoman control over Tripolitania, which lasted until the 20th century.