The Mango Vol 1 Issue 6

Corsairs with Coarse Hairs?

In Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean , you may recall the character of Hector Barbossa. The film portrays Barbossa as a villainous, greedy man – killing people for his own bounty. However, the true Barbarossa pirate [with an extra “bar” in the name] who inspired this antagonist was a much different man. In fact, he was one of the Ottoman Empire’s greatest heroes of all time. His name was Hayreddin Barbarossa -- a.k.a. Khayr al-Din, a.k.a. Khiḍr, a.k.a. Khizir, a.k.a. Hizir…which kind of sounds like Hector… ok NOW we get it, Disney! The youngest of four brothers, Hayreddin was born on the island of Lesbos in what is now Greece, but at the time was under Turkish rule. It was his eldest brother, Aruj, who inspired the family’s tell-tale moniker, “Barbarossa” (Italian for “red beard”) with his bright, fiery-orange beard. Hayreddin’s facial hair was more of an auburn- brown tone. The four bearded brothers founded the power of the Barbary “corsairs” in the 1500s, attacking Christian shipping and coastal towns along the Mediterranean. As the term buccaneer is specific to a privateer of the Caribbean and Pacific coast of Central America, a corsair is a privateer of the Barbary Coast, especially the Mediterranean. Though all four brothers initially worked as sailors and engaged in marine affairs and international sea trade, they eventually became privateers to neutralize the privateering of the Knights of St. John, based on the island of Rhodes. The eldest, Aruj, is famous for taking over Algiers from Spain, while younger Hayreddin helped Muslims fight against Christian rule along the Barbary Coast. Their naval victories secured

1 9

m a n g o - m a g . c o m

N o v / D e c 2 0 2 1