The Ottoman naval forces varied in their effectiveness greatly during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and often their success or failure resulted from the quality of the leadership from the highest echelons to the mid ranks. The qualifications of these men varied tremendously from great naval experience and talent to none-at-all. One essential question that needs analysis is why a given individual was chosen for this role at any given time. After a significant naval set-back a qualified individual such as Hayreddin Barbarossa or Kilic Ali Pasha might be selected due to the urgency of the crisis facing the empire after the loss of key naval outposts or the destruction of the fleet. In more normal times, naval qualifications were rarely of prime concern to the sultan or his closest advisors, often the grand vizier. Then political factors relating to factional politics seemed to be the deciding factor. Hence, for example, during the succession crisis of Suleyman’s reign in the 1550s the grand vizier Rustem Pasha’s brother was chosen as admiral due to his ability to control access to Istanbul by sea. Other examples, from the reigns of Murad III, Mehmed III, Ahmed I, see the frequent choice of a sultan’s son-in-law to become grand admiral due to his palace support. Katib Celebi includes many brief biographies of admirals who ranged from the talented to the incompetent in his seventeenth century account of the Ottoman navy beginning in the reign of Mehmed II until his own death in 1657. In addition, for some aspects of naval history, archival records such as the Muhimme Defters are available to supplement the narrative account and examine its accuracy. The careers of several men will be analyzed with attention focused on the time and circumstances of their appointment as admiral to determine factional impact on naval decisions during these centuries. Ultimately, the success of naval warfare was of crucial importance during both wars against the Venetians and Habsburgs, as well as defending the empire from the depredations of piracy.