Siege of Malacca | |||||||
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Part of Acehnese-Portuguese conflicts | |||||||
Portuguese map of the city of Malacca besieged in 1568 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Portuguese Empire Sultanate of Johor |
Aceh Sultanate Kalinyamat Kingdom Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Leonis Pereira Muzaffar II of Johor | Alauddin al-Kahar | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,500 men [1] |
15,000 men
[2] 400 Ottoman gunners [2] 300 ships [2] 200 cannons [2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 dead [3] |
4,000 dead
[4] Several more wounded |
The siege of Malacca occurred in 1568, when the Sultan of Aceh Alauddin attacked the Portuguese-held city of Malacca. The city had been held by the Portuguese since its conquest by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511. [5] [6]
The offensive was the result of a pan-Islamic alliance to try to repel the Portuguese from Malacca and the coasts of India. [7] The Ottomans supplied cannonneers to the alliance, but were unable to provide more due to the ongoing invasion of Cyprus and an uprising in Aden. [7]
The army of the Sultan was composed of a large fleet of long galley-type oared ships, 15,000 troops, and Ottoman mercenaries. [5] [6] [8] [9] [10] The city of Malacca was successfully defended by Dom Leonis Pereira, who was supported by the king of Johore. [5]
Other attacks on Malacca by the Acehnese would continue during the following years, especially in 1570. [5] The offensive weakened the Portuguese Empire. In the 1570s, the Sultan of the Moluccas was able to repel the Portuguese from the Spice Islands. [7]