Abstract:

The Mediterranean has become the focus of many states in the 16th century because of its peculiar characteristics such as rich agricultural potentialities, being an important trade zone on the crossroads of Muslim and Christian “Nedir bu Akdeniz? Binbir şeyin hepsi birden. Bir manzara değil, sayısız manzaralar. Bir deniz değil, birbirini izleyen birçok deniz. Bir uygarlık değil, birbiri üzerine yığılmış bir uygarlık…” 1civilizations. The region has been regarded as a source of booty by pirates by means of that its sinuous shores witness sometimes tranquility and sometimes thunderstorms. Such specialties and its strategic location lead the Ottoman Empire and European states to compete over the control of the Mediterranean. Both Muslims and Christians view struggle through piracy as a holy duty for their own religion and do not restrain themselves from sacrificing their lives for this cause. Within this context, states do not ignore to make use of those pirates and there are some of them hired by states for their fight, along with some engage in banditry independently

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