DISASTER AT DJERBA: During a period of European peace, Spain sought to establish control of the Mediterranean. Yet a disastrous attempt to oust the Ottomans from North Africa threatened to accelerate the westward advance of Islam.

SULEYMAN I, Sultan of the Turks, 1494 or 5-1566; OTTOMAN Empire; DE la Valette, Jean Parisot, 1494-1568; DE la Cerda, Juan

The article focuses on the competition between Spain under King Philip II and the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent, over control of the Mediterranean in the 16th century. Topics discussed include the plan of Jean de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights of Saint John of Malta and Juan de la Cerda, Duke of Medinaceli and Viceroy of Sicily to take over Tripoli with their first port-of-call being Djerba and the siege of Djerba by Suleiman's admiral Piali Pasha.