Siege of Malacca (1568)

Siege of Malacca
1630 map of the Portuguese fort and the city of Malacca.
Date 1568 Location Malacca Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Portuguese Empire Sultanate of Johor	Aceh Sultanate Kalinyamat Kingdom Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Leonis Pereira	Alaal-Din
Strength
Unknown	15.000 men[1] 400 Ottoman gunners[1] 300 ships[1] 200 cannons[1]

A Siege of Malacca occurred in 1568, when the Sultan of Aceh Alaal-Din attacked the Portuguese-held city of Malacca. The city had been held by the Portuguese since its conquest by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511.^[2][3]

The offensive was the result of a pan-Islamic alliance organized by the Ottoman Empire to try to repel the Portuguese from Malacca and the coasts of India.^[4] 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.^[4]

The army of the Sultan was composed of a large fleet of long galley-type oared ships, 15,000 troops and Ottoman mercenaries.^[2][3]

The city of Malacca was successfully defended by Dom Leonis Pereira, who was supported by the king of Johore.^[2]

Other attacks on Malacca by the Acehnese would continue during the following years, especially in 1570.^[2]

The offensive weakened the Portuguese Empire. In the 1570s, the Sultan of the Moluccas was able to repel the Portuguese from the Spice Islands.^[4]

Notes

1. Crusaders in the Far East Charles Truxillo p.66
2. "In 1568 Sultan Alaal-Din of Acheh assembled a huge fleet, with 15000 troops and Turkish mercenaries, and besieged Malacca. Aided by Johore, Dom Leonis Pereira drove off the siege, but Achinese attacks continued for many years." in Dictionary of Battles and Sieges by Tony Jaques p.620
3. Of fortresses and galleys Pierre-Yves Mandrin
4. By the sword and the cross Charles A. Truxillo p.59