kapudan pasha

The Kapudan Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: Kaptan Paşa), also known as the Kapudan-ı Derya (Ottoman Turkish: قپودان دریا, modern: Kaptan-ı Derya, "Captain of the Sea") was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Typically, the Kapudan Pasha was based at Galata and Gallipoli during the winter and charged with annual sailings during the summer months. The title of Kapudan Pasha itself is only attested from 1567 onwards; earlier designations for the supreme commander of the fleet include Derya Bey ("bey of the sea") and Re'is Kapudan ("head captain"). The title Derya Bey as an official rank within the Ottoman state structure originated during the reign of Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402). Following the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed II raised Baltaoğlu Süleyman Bey to th...