Battle of Benadir

The Ajuran Sultanate sought to ally with the Ottoman Empire against the Portuguese Empire.

After the Portuguese conducted a large-scale naval expedition to Suez in 1541, the Ottoman Empire dedicated greater resources into protecting the Red Sea from Portuguese intrusion. To such effect, about 25 galleys were armed and stationed at Aden. [2]

The Portuguese captain of Sofala, João de Sepúlveda, was informed of the presence of these forces by allied Swahili city-states, mainly Malindi, who also reported that the hostile Ajuran Sultanate had appealed to the Ottomans for military support, in preparation for a rebellion against Portuguese suzerainty in the region. João de Sepúlveda thus set out with 6 small galleys and 100 soldiers to conduct a preemptive strike against the coastal cities of the Ajuran Sultanate. He was joined by an unrecorded number of vessels and warriors from Malindi.[1]

Over the next several decades Somali-Portuguese tensions would remain high and the increased contact between Somali sailors and Ottoman corsairs worried the Portuguese who sent a punitive expedition against Mogadishu under João de Sepúvelda

However, João de Sepúvelda and his 30 large naval fleets were detected by Ajuran coastal guards and were immediately reported to the Ajuran naval commander Ahmed Dheere. A large naval expedition was sent against the Portuguese navy and managed to destroy all 24 naval fleets and simultaneously killing João de Sepúvelda in the battle. However, the 6 Portuguese fleets managed to slip through the battle and headed straight towards Mogadishu. However the 6 ships were detected and the Ajuran army managed to blow up all the six fleets into smithereens before they even had a chance to reach the Ajuran capital city.[3]

• Battle of Barawa
• Ajuran Empire
• History of Somalia