The capture of Muscat occurred in 1581, when an Ottoman fleet under from aden Mir Ali Beg attacked the Portuguese fort of Muscat and plundered the town from the Portuguese. Capture In summer 1581,Giancarlo Casale, The Ottoman Age of Exploration, p. 158 the Ottoman commander, Mir Ali Beg, who was accustomed to raiding expeditions, launched a daring raid against the Portuguese-held city of Muscat.Frederick Charles Danvers, The Portuguese In India, Vol. 2, p. 27Giancarlo Casale, p. 158 He had a force of 150 to 200 menDEJANIRAH COUTO, New insights into the History of Oman in the Sixteenth Century: a Contribution to the Study of the Evolution of the Muscat Fortifications, p. 146 and three light galliots.Giancarlo Casale, p. 158Frederick Charles Danvers, p. 27 On his arrival in Muscat, Ali Beg landed a party of men near the fort and dispatched his galliots with instructions that once they reached the harbor of the fort, they would heavily bombard it to draw the attention of the inhabitants in their direction, and Ali Beg would attack them from behind,Frederick Charles Danvers, p. 27 with the support of some local Muslims. The Portuguese were caught off guard, and panic struck them.
Seeing that they were unprepared for any defense, they escaped from the fort,Giancarlo Casale, p. 158 and the Ottomans killed some Portuguese.R. B. Serjeant: The Portuguese Off the South Arabian Coast. Hadrami Chronicles, 1974, Oxford University Press, p. 111 The inhabitants of the fort—around 500 of them—also joined the Portuguese in the town of Bruxel,Charles Fraser Beckingham, Between Islam and Christendom, Travellers, Facts, and Legends in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, p. 167 a town five leagues inland.Frederick Charles Danvers, p. 27 Only a few of them escaped with their property,Frederick Charles Danvers, p. 27 and Ali Beg sacked the city for six days. They were able to collect a vast amount of loot. They also destroyed the church in the fort. The Ottomans captured three Portuguese galliots alongside a king's ransom and stolen merchandise.Giancarlo Casale, p. 158R. B. Serjeant, p. 111
News of this success quickly spread throughout the western Indian Ocean, establishing Ali Beg's corsa skills and setting the stage for his future expeditions on the Swahili Coast.Giancarlo Casale, p. 158
See also Capture of Muscat (1552) Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–1560) Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1586–1589)
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