Cossack raids on Istanbul (1624)

Cossack raids to Istanbul (1624) were campaigns of Zaporozhian Cossacks, headed by hetman Mykhailo Doroshenko to the capital of the Ottoman empire.

First raid
In summer of 1624 Turkish admiral Recep Pasha raided Kafa. His purpose was to bring to subdue Tatar vassals. Cossacks decided to use this moment to attack Istanbul. Despite noisy rumors and warnings about the possibility of a terrible attack, admiral ignored them and went to Crimea.

The capital was without defense. At that time Zaporozhians on 70-80 seagulls appeared on two coasts of the Bosphorus. On the night of July 9, the Ukrainians attacked the city, plundering and burning residential and administrative buildings. The European coast was destroyed Beylerbeyi, Vaniköy.

During six hours Cossacks destroyed the rows of magnificent villas and homes, after which (at about 9 o'clock in the morning) they returned to the sea.

Sultan Murad IV, despite the lack of a fleet, decided to punish the Cossacks for the crime. He compensated for his lack of galleys using various civilian boats. Hoping to scare Cossacks with the size of his force, he sent several hundred vessels under the control of Damat Halil Pasha. Seeing this improvised armada, the Cossacks waited in the middle of the Strait, set their gulls in a semicircle and waited. The wind gave the Cossacks the opportunity to attack the Turks.

The Turks pushed on, but Ukrainians did not react. Damat Halil Pasha thought that if the Turks were unsuccessful, the Cossacks would make an even more significant blow to Istanbul. By evening the Cossacks were in the coastal waters of Istanbul, and then they returned to their Homeland.

Second raid
After two weeks, the Ottoman capital faced at least 150 chaykas, each with 50 Cossack ekipage. Turkish sources reported reserves who swam behind.

102 Cossack chaykas came to the Ottoman fleet under the command of Pasha, consisting of 25 large galleys, assisted by 300 smaller boats (25-50 people likely in each). The battle lasted several days; In the end, the Cossacks smashed the Turkish fleet, and then attacked Istanbul.

Turkish reaction
The sofa, worried by the actions of the Cossacks, sent messengers to Rejb-Pasha who telling him to ignore Crimean affairs and return to Istanbul.

Cossack prisoners said that they acted as if they were committing these attacks in agreement with the Tatars. This further damaged the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.