apr 13, 1517 - Portuguese fleet arrived to attack, but failed
Description:
The Portuguese fleet arrived in front of the city on 13th April 1517, however they couldn’t attack the well-protected harbour where the fleet was grounded and decided to move out to attack the Egyptian fleet instead. The mission, however,
ended in disaster for the Portuguese.
(Source: UNESCO nomination document, SCTA)
Arab sources say about thirty ships, including sailing ships and galleys. You can be sure that the Portuguese have made every effort to prepare for this trip and the special conditions of navigation in the Red Sea. The presence of galleys, the most useful ships in the Red Sea, confirms this.
We do not have detailed information about the forces of Muslims. A modern Portuguese source reports that under the command of Salman Reis there were "twenty-six ships, among them galleys, galicians and high-board sailing ships." Among them were two well-equipped galleys, and all under the leadership of Salman were 3,000 people. In general, as the American historian John Francis Gilmartin observes, these figures look quite plausible, and it is obvious that the forces of Muslims were less than the forces of Christians. However, the advantage of the Muslims was a much more advantageous defense position.
(Source: https://medium.com/@alnur/battle-of-jeddah-6b12c85a0fdb)
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