Term
Kapudan Pasha
Etymology
Ottoman Turkish, literally “captain pasha,” from Italian capitano and the Ottoman honorific pa\xC5\x9Fa.
Definition
The Grand Admiral of the Ottoman fleet, a senior officer of state with responsibilities ranging from the administration of the imperial dockyards at the Golden Horn to operational command of the Ottoman Mediterranean fleet in time of war. The office was held by Hayreddin Barbarossa from 1533 until his retirement in 1545, in which period the Ottoman fleet under his command established the naval supremacy in the central and eastern Mediterranean that lasted until the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
