The battle of Diu 1507-09 was both trade and political war. The battle was fought around island of Diu, in the Arabian Sea, that changed the course of world history. It was a culmination of a global trade war that heralded the end of the old world order and the beginning of the new one.
On one side were allied forces of the Sultanate of Gujarat, the Zamorin of Calicut, the Mamluk of Cairo, and the Venetians, the ‘old’ order and on the other, the Portuguese. The decisive victory of the Portuguese in this naval battle, heralded the end of the old trading giants and led to centuries of European naval and trade dominance that shaped the modern world.
At the heart of the Battle of Diu was the global trade war for the control of the lucrative spice and textile trade. Also involved, were the egos of some powerful men and a Portuguese Viceroy's quest for revenge, after the death of his only son.
To understand what transpired, it is very important to look at the dynamics of the spice trade between India and Europe, before the arrival of the Portuguese. From the 10th century onwards, the Marakkar merchants from Kerala and the Bania merchants from Gujarat dominated the pepper and textile trade respectively. They sold these famed products to Yemeni merchants, who in turn took these goods to Egypt and sold them to the Venetians. From there, it went to the rest of Europe.
Pepper purchased in Calicut was sold in Portugal 20 times the price. Each intermediary made a lot of profit in the process. For instance, the Pepper purchased in Calicut for 4.64 ducats (European gold coins) was sold in Alexandria (Egypt), the global hub of the spice trade, for 25 ducats, five times the price. The Venetians merchants then sold it in Venice for 56 ducats and by the time it reached Lisbon (Portugal), the price of pepper was 80 ducats! No wonder, the Portuguese were so desperate to find a direct sea route to India and cut out all the middlemen.
The landing of Vasco Da Gama and his fleet in Calicut in 1498, and their attempt to establish direct trade links, suddenly upset the status quo, and soon there was a reaction. The Port of Calicut, hub of the global pepper trade egged on by the Marakkar Muslim merchants, the Zamorin was quick to expel the Portuguese from Calicut, and they were even quicker, in finding a new ally – the Raja of Cochin.
Desperate to get an entry in the spice trade, the Portuguese soon started underselling everyone else. The Zamorin, the Sultan of Gujarat and the Venetians sent envoys to Egypt asking for help. Alarm bells were ringing in Alexandria too, as the Mamluks there had the most to lose. Ruling over dry and arid Egypt, the spice trade with India was their biggest source of revenue. Finally, in 1505, the Mamluks decided to send a massive naval armada to India to fight the Portuguese. However, they had no naval expertise and they had to take help from the Venetians.
On the 15th of September 1505, a large flotilla comprising of 1100 Mamluk soldiers, Turkish and Ethiopian mercenaries, Venetian gunners and Greek sailors, under the command of a Kurdish Admiral Amir Hussain Al-Kurdi set sail for India. After long stays at Jeddah and Hormuz, they arrived in Diu, two years later in 1507.
The Governor of Diu at that time was Malik Ayyaz, a former Russian slave, who had risen up the ranks under the Muzzafarid Sultans of Gujarat. Through his shrewd dealings, he had developed Diu into a major trading port. While he was pragmatic enough to realize the naval superiority of the Portuguese, he had no option but to follow the orders of his master, Mahmud Begada, the Sultan of Gujarat.
In March 1508, the joint naval fleets of the Mamluks and Gujarat launched an attack on the Portuguese fleet just off the coast of Chaul, in Maharashtra. While they managed to sink the Portuguese flagship, they faced heavy losses and had to retreat back to Diu. However, in this encounter, Lourenco de Almeida, the only son of Dom Francisco de Almeida, the Portuguese Viceroy of India was killed. Enraged and grief stricken Dom Francisco swore revenge. He is reported to have said ‘he who ate the chick must also eat the rooster or pay for it’.
What started as a trade war turned into a saga of vendetta. On 9th December 1508, the Portuguese fleet set sail for Diu. They first attacked the port of Dabhol in Konkan, then under the Sultans of Bijapur. They slaughtered all the inhabitants and it is said, even the dogs. Then, they sacked the important port of Chaul and reached Mahim (part of current day Mumbai), which had been completely deserted by its inhabitants by then.
Scared by what they saw of the Portuguese aggression, at Mahim, Dom Francisco received a reconciliatory letter from Malik Ayyazz, apologizing for the death of his son. Records from the period show, that he also went out of his way, to placate the Portuguese Viceroy. This didn’t cut much ice. In response the Viceroy wrote, 'I the Viceroy say to you, honored Meliqueaz [Malik Ayyazz] captain of Diu, that I go with my knights to this city of yours, to take the people who were welcomed there, who in Chaul fought my people and killed a man who was called my son, and I come with hope in God of Heaven to take revenge on them and on those who assist them, and if I don’t find them I will take your city, to pay for everything, and you’
Meanwhile, in Diu, the Mamluk and Gujarati fleet was reinforced by around 70 to 150 war boats sent by the Zamorin of Calicut. However, there were bitter differences between the Mamluks, the Gujaratis and the Malabaris. As the Portuguese fleet arrived in Diu on 2nd Feb 1509, Malik Ayyazz retreated inland, leaving the Mamluk admiral Amir Hussain to take command. However, the Mamluks, who had very little experience of naval battles, took a defensive position between the water channel separating Diu Island, and the mainland. This was a mistake.
The battle began with shots being fired from the Portuguese fleet. The superior Portuguese artillery bombarded the Mamluk fleet. The Portuguese ship Rei Grande, rammed against Amir Hussain’s flagship tipping the scales in Portuguese favor. Hussain had kept Zamorin’s light oar ships inside the channel, to attack from behind. But the Portuguese anticipated this move and blockaded the channel, as a result of which the Zamorin’s fleet could not get out and served as an easy target for Portuguese artillery. By end of the day, the entire Mamluk fleet was either destroyed or captured. Amir Hussain fled inland.
It was a complete victory for the Portuguese. Three large ships and three medium sized ships of a Mamluk fleet were captured and sent to Lisbon. To avenge his son’s death, Dom Francisco ordered all the captured prisoners be hanged, burned alive or blown apart with cannons. He then laid a heavy fine on the merchants of Diu, who had helped the Mamluks with supplies.The survivors from the Zamorin’s fleet managed to escape to Calicut. Amir Hussain along with 22 Mamluks fled Diu on horseback and after a long journey, returned to Cairo. It is as important as the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar!
This battle marked a shift in power and the beginning of the dominance of Europeans, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and then the French and the British, over the world seas. All the referenced books agree that the battel of Diu changed the course of world history. It is more important than the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar. Surprisingly, such an important battle has been completely forgotten in India not part of the history curriculum, and even in Europe.
Even though this is a battle that changed the World history, not many people have heard or learned about it, and the reason for that are two, (1) the British suppression of any facts of historical importance that did not show the British importance, and (2) Successive Indian governments that followed British line, on education, also Indian people, their ignorance, and callous attitude about what was not to be “Indian” according to them.
Some of the changes that occurred as a result of this battle are surmised below,
With the Battle of Diu, the Arab World fell,
The Mediterranean World Fell,
The Medieval World Fell,
The old Poor became new rich,
The closed Europe opened up,
New World order established,
The Old Theory-Dogmas Fell,
The Old Little World Fell.
And it turned over the power-center from India to Europe.
Why the Battle of Diu Matters
- Shift of Trade Routes: Until 1498, Eurasian trade flowed through the Red Sea and Mediterranean, dominated by Arabs, Venetians, Mamelukes, and Gujaratis. The Portuguese breakthrough to a direct sea route around Africa disrupted this centuries-old order.
- First Truly Global Naval Conflict: This was not a local battle—it was fought by a coalition across regions (Gujarat, Calicut, the Mamluks of Egypt, Venetians, Ethiopians, Turks) against a European challenger. In that sense, it was one of the earliest multinational coalitions against a rising global power.
- Consolidation of European Naval Supremacy: Just as Trafalgar (1805) confirmed British supremacy at sea, Diu (1509) confirmed the Portuguese mastery of the Indian Ocean, paving the way for Europe’s global maritime empire.
Immediate Consequences
- Arab-Mediterranean Decline: With Egyptian Mamluks defeated and Venetian interests crippled, the centuries-old Indian Mediterranean route collapsed. Alexandria stopped being the spice capital of the world.
- Portuguese Monopolization of Spice Route: Portugal now controlled the spice trade at source—buying in Cochin, Calicut, and Malabar directly, then transporting to Lisbon without intermediaries. Samorin of Calicut lost their title "Samudhra Adipati" or "Lord of the Seas"
- Rise of State-backed Corporations: This battle foreshadowed the era of “state-controlled monopoly trade”—the model later perfected by the Dutch VOC and British East India Company.
Long-Term Global Impact
1. Fall of Arab Dominance: Centuries of Arab control (via Yemeni ports, Red Sea, Egypt) ended. The “Islamic Indian Ocean” gave way to “Christian Europe’s” dominance.
2. Decline of the Venetians: Venice’s prosperity shrank rapidly as Lisbon emerged as the new distribution hub for pepper and spices in Europe.
3. Opening of Europe: Cheaper spices and textiles entering Europe enriched it immensely. A consumer revolution began, underpinning Europe’s economic rise.
4. Foreshadowing Colonialism: Control of trade soon evolved into territorial ambitions. What began as commercial rivalry set the stage for 400 years of colonial conquest.
5. Shift of Power from East to West: For centuries, India and China were the world’s economic heart. After Diu (1509), the world economy tilted westwards—a process culminating in Europe’s industrial and colonial dominance.
Why Has the Battle of Diu Been Forgotten?
- British Historiography Bias: British historians preferred to frame world history around their victories (Plassey, Trafalgar, Waterloo) and downplayed earlier Portuguese or Dutch achievements.
- Eurocentric Focus on Europe’s Own Wars: Wars like Waterloo get amplified, although they were regional. Diu, being in India, was seen as “peripheral” despite its global importance.
- Indian Educational Neglect: Indian history has been taught in silos—either ancient glory, medieval Muslim rulers, or modern freedom movement. The pre-British global connections get very little attention.
- Indian Attitudes to Maritime History: India is traditionally land-focused in its historical memory, sidelining its rich naval, trading, and maritime past.
Comparison with Trafalgar & Waterloo
- Trafalgar (1805): Cemented British control of seas for 100 years.
- Waterloo (1815): Ended Napoleon’s imperial dream in Europe.
- Diu (1509): Shifted global economic power center from East (India-Arab-Venice) to West (Portugal, then Europe).
Of the three, Diu had the widest global consequences for it began the very process of Europe’s rise.
A Summary of the World After Diu
- The Arab World Fell → trade monopoly gone.
- The Mediterranean Fell → sidelined from global trade.
- The Medieval World Fell → feudal, religious, and land-based systems weakened.
- The New Europe Rose → based on commerce, capitalism, and naval power.
- The New World Opened Up→ Age of Exploration was turbocharged.
- The Power Center Shifted→ From Calicut and Cairo, to Lisbon, then Amsterdam, then London & the US
