«Mystery of the Ottoman Expedition: Did Cannibals Claim their Lives?»
The Ottoman Empire, which started as a nomadic community from Central Asia, became a global military, political, and economic power a few centuries later. In the late 15th century, the Ottomans conquered Istanbul and established hegemony in Anatolia, as well as several Baltic and Arab provinces. They also built merchant ships in the Mediterranean and became one of the powerful symbols of trade. However, the Ottomans eventually lost their power in maritime trade to the Portuguese in the 16th century. The Portuguese had discovered a very important trade route on the East African coast and established many ports in the region, gaining dominance in these places. They attacked the communities that they could not nationalize and exploited their resources. Their dominance in trade dazzled all of Europe, but their brutal behavior united the geographically dispersed people in the region.
At the end of the same century, the Muslims of the East African region called for help from the Yemen governor Hasan Pasha against the Portuguese. Thereupon, several cities declared their loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Hasan Pasha chose Emir Ali Bey as a commander, and in 1585, forces consisting of a galley and a few small boats reached the region. Emir Ali Bey turned Portuguese control over the entire eastern coast from Mogadishu to Mombasa in 1586, seizing a Portuguese ship and returning to Yemen with the support of the local people.
However, the Portuguese continued to attack the East African coasts to punish their accomplices who helped the Ottomans and send a message to anyone inclined to help them. Two years later, under the command of Emir Ali Bey, the Ottomans sailed to the East African coasts, but this time, the Portuguese were prepared for them. The 18-piece Portuguese fleet moved urgently towards Mombasa, and the Zimba tribe helped the Portuguese for the war. As the Portuguese fleet faced Mombasa from the ocean, the island town was besieged by the Zimba tribe. The Ottoman navy was caught in a vice, and Commander de Souze Countinho allowed the Zimba to attack Emir Ali Bey, and the cannibals left their range and began to attack. While the Ottoman navy was fighting the cannibals, it was also trying to fight the navy. They were defeated, and Mombasa was taken from the Ottomans. The Zimbas famously fried and ate Turkish levents. None of the Ottoman soldiers who left Yemen and went to Mombasa were ever heard from again. The war put an end to Ottoman activities on the East African coast, but the Portuguese continued to exploit and rule the people there for many years.
