Cossack raid on Istanbul (1620)
Cossack raid on Istanbul in 1620 - campaign of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, headed by hetman Yakov Wart-Neroda, to the capital Ottoman empire.
| Raid on Istanbul (1620) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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| Yakov Wart-Neroda | Unknown | ||||||
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| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Raid
In 1620 the Ottoman Empire exerted political pressure on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth due to raids by the Cossacks: the Ottoman Empire at any time could declare war and break the peace agreement with Poland-Lithuania and commit a decisive attack on Poland if Poland didn't deal with the Cossacks.
The Turkish sultan promised to abandon the plans of conquest if, within four months, the authorities of the Commonwealth destroyed the Cossacks and devastated the bordering Ukrainian cities. The Polish ambassador promised to meet these demands, but the Ottoman ambassador was treated disrespectfully. The Turks decided to end the Cossack raids themselves and proceeded to build a string of fortresses in the southern Ukraine. However, Zaporozhian Cossacks had already decided to attack Turkey. Having learned about this, the Polish ambassador immediately escaped from Istanbul.
The Cossacks raided Istanbul. The fear of the Cossacks was so great that the Turkish commanders had their sailors beaten to make the galleys go out against the Cossacks.
The Cossacks then raided Varna on the Bulgarian coast, which was under the control of the Ottomans. The city with a population of 15,000 was completely looted.
Consequences
The raid became a decisive pretext for Battle of Cecora (1620).
Sources
- 1. М. Грушевський. Історія України-Руси. Том VII. Розділ VII. Стор. 7.
- 2. Cepandant les Cosaques aves les 150 barques ravagent toute la mer Noire — l. c. c. 412.
- 3. Les Cosaques sont á toute heure pros d'ici sur la mer Noire, ou ils font des prises incroiables veu leur faiblesse et sont en telle reputation, qu' il faut des coups de baston pour faire resoudre les soldats turcs à aller à la guerre contre eux sur quelques galères qne le Grand-Seigr y enovoie avec lagrande peine- Депеші д-Сезі с. 412.