Conquest of Tunis (1574)
| Conquest of Tunis | |||||||||
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| Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars | |||||||||
 The Ottoman fleet attacking Tunis at La Goulette in 1574. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Spanish Empire
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 Ottoman Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Gabrio Serbelloni (POW)
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Uluç Ali Reis Sinan Pasha |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| Total men: 7,000 | 250–300 warships Total men: 100,000 |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 6,700 killed, 300 prisoners. | 25,000 (Spanish claim) |
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The Conquest of Tunis in 1574 marked the final conquest of Tunis by the Ottoman Empire over the Spanish Empire. This was an event of great significance as it decided that North Africa would be under Muslim rather than Christian rule and ended the Spanish Conquista of Northern Africa started under Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The capture of Tunis in 1574 "sealed the Ottoman domination of the eastern and central Maghreb".
Tunis had initially been conquered by the Ottomans under Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1534. In the next year, however, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had launched a major expedition and captured it in turn. He established a garrison and a vassal ruler in the person of the Hafsid ruler Lhacène. The Bey of Algiers Uluj Ali Pasha captured Tunis in 1569 for the Ottoman Empire, but in the aftermath of the 1571 Christian victory at the Battle of Lepanto, John of Austria managed to take Tunis in October 1573.
In 1574, William of Orange and Charles IX of France, through his pro-Huguenot ambassador François de Noailles, Bishop of Dax, tried to obtain the support of the Ottoman ruler Selim II in order to open a new front against the Spanish king Philip II. Selim II sent his support through a messenger, who endeavoured to put the Dutch in contact with the rebellious Moriscos of Spain and the pirates of Algiers. Selim also sent a great fleet to attack Tunis in the Autumn of 1574, thus succeeding in reducing Spanish pressure on the Dutch.
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Wikipedia