Battle of Benadir

The Battle of Benadir was an armed engagement between the Ajuran Sultanate and the Portuguese Empire.

Battle of Benadir
Part of the Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–1560)

Portuguese fortress of Sofala
Date1542
Location
Mogadishu
Result Ajuran victory
Belligerents
Ajuran Sultanate Portugal Portuguese Empire
Commanders and leaders
João de Sepúlveda
Strength
Unknown 100 men, 6 small galleys[1]
Malindi auxiliaries
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

Background

After the Portuguese conducted a large-scale naval expedition to Suez in 1541, the Ottoman Empire dedicated greater resources into protecting the Red Sea from Portuguese intrusion. To such effect, about 25 galleys were armed and stationed at Aden.[2]

The Portuguese captain of Sofala, João de Sepúlveda, was informed of the presence of these forces by allied Swahili city-states, mainly Malindi, who also reported that the hostile Ajuran Sultanate had appealed to the Ottomans for military support, in preparation for a rebellion against Portuguese suzerainty in the region. João de Sepúlveda thus set out with 6 small galleys and 100 soldiers to conduct a preemptive strike against the coastal cities of the Ajuran Sultanate. He was joined by an unrecorded number of vessels and warriors from Malindi.[1]

Battle

According to João de Sepúlveda's own account, having arrived at Mogadishu he "destroyed the city and did them great damage and injury". Moving a few leagues north, he reached a popular anchorage for tradeships coming from the Red Sea, where he learned that the Turks would not be sailing to East Africa that year. Thus he returned to what remained of Mogadishu, and made a peace deal with its rulers.[1] However, according to modern historians it's not likely that João de Sepúlveda's small fleet actually destroyed Mogadishu.[3] Instead, it appears that the capture of one Ottoman ship and a brief firing upon the city was enough to compel the sultan of Mogadishu to sign a peace deal with the Portuguese.[4]

Passing by Barawa, the city was sacked,[5] in retaliation for its inhabitants having delivered a few Portuguese prisoners to the Turks. After also sealing a peace with Barawa,[6] João de Sepúlveda returned to Malindi.[1]

The word benadir means coast in Somali referring to the richness of southern Somali coast.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Letter from João de Sepúlveda to the King, Mozambique, 1542 August 10", in Documents on the Portuguese in Mozambique and Central Africa 1497-1840 Vol. III (1540-1560). National Archives of Rhodesia, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos. Lisbon, 1971 p.133
  2. Saturnino Monteiro (2011) Portuguese Sea Battles - Volume III - From Brazil to Japan 1539-1579 pg.63
  3. Strandes 1968, p. 112.
  4. Schurhammer 1977, pp. 98–99.
  5. Schurhammer 1977, p. 99.
  6. Schurhammer 1977, p. 99.
  7. Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013). The History of Somalia. ABC-CLIO. p. 69. ISBN 978-0313378577. Retrieved 14 September 2014.

Sources
  • Schurhammer, Georg (1977). Francis Xavier: His Life, His Times. Volume II: India, 1541–1545. Translated by Costelloe, Joseph. Rome: Jesuit Historical Institute. (translation from the German original Franz Xaver: Sein Leben und Seine Zeit II.1, Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1963)
  • Strandes, Justus (1968). The Portuguese Period in East Africa. Transactions of the Kenya History Society. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau. OCLC 19225.

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