Siege of Diu (1531)

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First siege of Diu
Part of the Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts and Gujarati–Portuguese conflicts
Date16 February 1531 [1]
Location
Result OttomanGujarati victory
Belligerents
Flag of Ottoman Empire (1517-1793).svg Ottoman Empire
Gujarat Sultanate Flag.gif Gujarat Sultanate
Flag of Portugal (1578).svg Portuguese Empire
Commanders and leaders
Khoja Zufar
Mustafa Bayram
Nuno da Cunha
Strength
10,000 [2] –12,000 men [3]
2 galleons [4]
70 oarships of various sizes [4]
several basilisks [5]

30,000 men, [10] including:

  • 3,560 Portuguese soldiers [11]
  • 2,000 Malabarese auxiliaries [11] [12]
  • 8,000 combat slaves [11] [7]
    • 3,000 slave gunners [11]
  • 1,450 Portuguese sailors [11] [12]
  • 4,000 Malabarese sailors or rowers [11]
  • 800 junk ship crew [11]
Casualties and losses
800 31 dead [13]
120 wounded

The siege of Diu occurred when a combined Ottoman-Gujarati force defeated a Portuguese attempt to capture the city of Diu in 1531. The victory was partly the result of Ottoman firepower over the Portuguese besiegers deployed by Mustafa Bayram, an Ottoman expert. [14]

Contents

Shortly before the siege the Portuguese encountered roughly 800 enemy soldiers at Siyâl Bet island [a] , engaged them in combat, and killed them all. [15] There were 9 [16] or 17 Portuguese killed and 120 wounded. [17] They then sailed for Diu, but the Muslim alliance defeated them and killed 14. [18]

Although Diu was successfully defended, victory was short-lived: Diu was blockaded and the Portuguese armada was diverted towards more exposed Gujarati cities. [19] Ghogha, Surat, Mangrol, Somnath, Bassein, Tarapur, Kelva, Mahim, Bulsar, Agashi, Patam, Pate, and many smaller settlements were assaulted and sacked, some never recovering from the attacks. [20] [21] [12]

In 1534, Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat signed a peace treaty with Governor Nuno da Cunha, granting the Portuguese the territory of Bassein, including Bombay. In 1535, the Portuguese were allowed to construct a fortress at Diu.

See also

Notes

References

  1. Denvers, 1894, p.402
  2. Denvers, 1894, p.402
  3. Monteiro, Saturnino (1991). Batalhas e Combates da Marinha Portuguesa – Volume II: 1522–1538. Livraria Sá da Costa Editora. p. 207.
  4. 1 2 Monteiro 1991, p. 207.
  5. Monteiro 1991, p. 220,221.
  6. J. Gerson Da Cunha: The Origin of Bombay , Asian Educational Services, 1993, p.77.
  7. 1 2 Denvers, 1894, p.400.
  8. Correia, Gaspar (1858). Lendas da Índia. Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa. p. 390.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Correia 1858, p. 390.
  10. Gaspar Correia (1495-1561). Lendas da Índia 1858 edition, Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, p. 392
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Correia 1858, p. 392.
  12. 1 2 3 Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency , Volume 13, Government Central Press, 1882, p.451
  13. Monteiro, 1991, pp.205-209.
  14. Guns for the sultan: military power and the weapons industry in the Ottoman Empire, Gábor Ágoston, page 194, 2005
  15. Monteiro (1991), p.205
  16. Frederick Charles Denvers: The Portuguese in India , W.H. Allen & Company, 1894, p. 401.
  17. Monteiro (1991), p.205
  18. Monteiro, 1991, p.209
  19. Denvers, 1894, p.403.
  20. Pearson, Michael Naylor (1976). Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat: The Response to the Portuguese in the Sixteenth Century. University of California Press, pg. 76
  21. Denvers 1894, p.402-404

20°43′N70°59′E / 20.71°N 70.98°E / 20.71; 70.98