Murat Rais
http://www.thepiratesrealm.com/rais.JPG
The man known as Murat Rais was born probably in
Albania around 1535 and embraced piracy when as just a boy the corsair
Kari Ali Rais captured him in 1546. He took his Muslim name Murat and
sailed with this crew for nearly 20 years.
He went 'solo' after Kari's death in 1565, and through the 1570's,
his reputation grew through bold land and sea attacks on Spanish and
Italian interests. His exploits included capturing the flagship of the
pope and at another time taking treasure in one year equivalent to the
annual salary of 40,000 tradesmen.
Rais' boldness led him to often break the unspoken rules of Barbary
society. As a result, when the Sultan of Algiers commissioned him as,
"Captain of the Sea" in 1574, he could not assume the position with the
Emperor's permission for another twenty years.
By the 1580's, he was notorious for his attacks on Christian ships
and towns, which extended out to the Atlantic, where he held the people
of one Spanish city for ransom.
Daring feats like his large attack on Southern Italy and subsequent
capture of Spanish warships in the mid-1590's led to his being given
command of ever-larger Ottoman naval groups, which he used to
completely control the Eastern Mediterranean in the early 17th century.
He was killed while laying siege to the city of Vlore in 1638,
reputedly around the age of 100.
Edited by Qnzkid711