Salah Rais
[2] In 1529, together with Aydın Reis, he took part in the Turkish-Spanish battle near the Isle of Formentera, during which the Ottoman forces destroyed the Spanish fleet, whose commander, Rodrigo de Portuondo [es], died in combat.
[7][1] At a very young age he joined the fleet of Oruç Reis (Aruj Barbarossa), the most famous of the Ottoman corsairs and privateers from Anatolia who sought fortune in the West Mediterranean by operating from their bases on the Barbary Coast.
Barbarossa arrived at Preveza with a total of 44 galleys, but sent 25 of them back to Algiers and headed to Constantinople with 19 ships, one of which was commanded by Salah Rais, who, along with Murat Reis, was one of the 19 men received by Suleiman the Magnificent at Topkapı Palace.
Accompanied by Cafer Reis and very few Turkish soldiers, Salah Rais encountered the forces of Girolamo Tuttavilla, Count of Sarno, whose fortress was near the city walls of La Goulette.
In August 1537, Lütfi Pasha and Barbarossa led a huge Ottoman force, in which Salah Rais also took part, that captured the Aegean and Ionian islands belonging to the Republic of Venice, namely Syros, Aegina, Ios, Paros, Tinos, Karpathos, Kasos and Naxos.
In June 1539 Salah Rais set sail from Constantinople with 20 galleys, and near Cape Maleo joined the fleet of Barbarossa which was appointed with the mission of recapturing Castelnuovo (Herceg Novi) from the Venetians.
Venice finally signed a peace treaty with Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in October 1540, agreeing to recognize the Turkish territorial gains and to pay 300,000 gold ducats.
In fact, according to French, Italian and Spanish sources, Salah Rais took part in the Franco-Ottoman conquest of Nice (Nizza) on 5 August 1543, which was commanded by Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha.
According to the same sources, following the conquest of Nice, Salah Rais commanded the Ottoman force of 20 galleys and 3 fustas which assaulted the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain, in that same year.
The following day, Salah Rais appeared at the Medas Islands (Illes Medes) about 1 km off the coast of L'Estartit, before proceeding to Palafrugell and Palamós, the latter being severely sacked following a fierce battle for its capture.
From there Salah Rais proceeded to the nearby San Juan de Palamós, which was likewise sacked, and captured the Spanish galley Bribona off the coast of Calelh, a fishing village in the area.
In June–August 1551, Salah Rais joined the fleet of Sinan Pasha and Turgut Reis, and played an important role in the conquest of Tripoli (Libya), which had been a possession of the Knights of St. John since 1530, when it was given to them by Charles V of Spain.
From Majorca he sailed back to Algiers, where he prepared his troops to march overland to the Sahara Desert and expand the Ottoman Vilayet (Province) of Algeria inwards.
In 1549, the new ruler of Morocco, Mohammed ash-Sheikh successfully ousted the Wattasid sultan Ali Abu Hassun, the latter ruled only over Fes and its region and had just declared himself a vassal of the Ottomans.
[8] This triggered an Ottoman counterattack, who recaptured Tlemcen in 1552 and advanced to Fes where they reestablished the Wattasid king Ali Abu Hassun in 1554, in turn he rewarded them with the port of "Badis" on the Mediterranean coast, which had been previously captured from the Spanish in 1522.
The Spanish Governor of Bougie, Alfonso di Peralta, decided to make peace with Salah Rais instead of continuing to defend the city until the bitter end.
However, even though the Governor, Alfonso di Peralta, could sail safely to Valencia, together with 20 of his high-ranking officials, on a French ship, some of the Spanish civilians (around 400 men, 120 women and 100 children) were captured and enslaved by the corsairs operating in the area.
Alfonso di Peralta was arrested as soon as he entered the port of Valencia and Charles V ordered his execution for treason, which took place in a public square of Valladolid.
In the meantime, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha commanded the main attack against Fort Saint Michael, until he was almost killed by a cannon fire which severely wounded him.
