Sir Thomas Roe (1581 – 1644) was an English diplomat and Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1621 to 1628. His correspondences that were later compiled and published as The negotiations of Sir Thomas Roe, in his embassy to the Ottoman porte are considered one of the most trustworthy and unbiased sources on the events in the Black Sea of that period. According to Roe, the preparations for the coming naval battle took the whole winter of 1624-25, and the entire Ottoman fleet was brought to the Black Sea, leaving the Mediterranean undefended for a second year in a row:
“The Cossacks, I doubt, are more likely to keepe us waking; agaynst whom the captayne bassa (grand admiral) is preparing the armado, for the Black-Sea: So that the Medeteran will be two years without the Turkish fleet: yet the Spaniards take no notice therof“. (Roe, Dispatch of 21 February 1625 (Negotiations, p. 357)
In March 1625, after the Bosporus raids of the previous year, Thomas Roe reported that the news of Cossack presence in the Black Sea and rumor that their number exceeded 300 chaikas brought about the following scene: “All the inhabitants of the Bosphorus do daily retire to the [walled] city [of Istanbul]. The feare is generale“. (Dispatch of 22 March 1625, Negotiations, p. 362-363)
At the beginning of June, word reached Istanbul that a major raid had occurred at Trabzon. A large Cossack fleet destroyed the suburbs and attacked the neighboring coast, although the inner fortress of Trabzon survived.
It was at this time that the Grand Admiral of the Ottoman fleet (kapudan pasha) set sail for the Black Sea, having with him besides the ships of the naval arsenal, “all the galleys of the Archipelago.” According to different sources, there were 43 galleys and a fleet of some 200 lighter boats.
Grand Admiral sent a fleet of 180 boats ahead under the command of a certain Saksaki Pasha to guard the mouth of the Dnieper. Upon arriving at Ochakiv/ Ozi, Saksaki found everything quiet and went ashore. As it was the first day of the bayram after Ramadan (July 7), he decided to celebrate. During the feast, the Cossacks made a surprise attack and destroyed his fleet, killed many of his men, and nearly captured Saksaki himself.
Learning of the misfortune at Ochakiv, Grand Admiral and the main fleet sailed with all speed for the mouth of the Dnieper. The two naval forces met near Karaharman (today Vadu, at the southern end of the Danubian delta).
Because the sea had been very calm and because the galley oarsmen were exhausted from the pursuit, the ships of the fleet had spread out along the way – out of 43 ships, only 21 were with the Grand Admiral.
According to the chronicles, the battle was furious to the utmost. The Cossack fleet engulfed its enemy, with several Chaikas surrounding each galley. The Chaikas and galleys were so mingled that the Ottomans could not lend mutual support or use their artillery without harming their own ships. Because the stems of the galleys were armed with cannons and had musket-armed troops, the Cossacks boarded the ships from the front and sides. The Cossacks boarded the ships and engaged the Turks in hand-to-hand combat.
They especially went after the “bastarda ship” of the grand admiral. Boarding its deck, they fought their way toward the rear, reaching as far as the middle or main mast. From the rear, they broke off the rudder.
According to all the sources, the Cossacks were taking the upper hand when suddenly a strong north wind arose, raising the sea and filling the sails of the galleys. The Cossacks were forced to retreat to their boats, many of which capsized under the waves. However, despite the flooding, the boats managed to stay above water because of the bunches of reeds the Cossacks had tied to their Chaikas, and they continued to fight through the evening.
Ottoman bureaucrat and historian Mustafa Naima described this part of the battle in his The Garden of Hüseyin in the Summary of the Chronicles of East and West:
“Only the Chaikas (Cossack long-boats) did not drown, because they had bundles of leather-bound reeds tied to their bulwarks, so even though they were submerged, the accursed fought, submerged up to their necks in water. No people have ever been seen that could match the Cossack tribe in such dog-like stubbornness. Those who gave life-and-death orders in naval affairs and saw other battles said that this battle with the Cossack people surpassed all others.”
The Ottoman chronicle tradition, Roe, de Cesy, and d’Ascoli all testify that the Ottoman fleet was on the verge of annihilation. But instead of an incredible Cossack victory, according to the chronicles, the Ottoman fleet survived and even claimed victory.
Sir Thomas Roe gave the following assessment of the encounter:
“Non de victoria, sed de non victo triumphavit. They esteem this sea-fight next to that of Lepanto, and nobler for the escape: for doubtless, if the wind had not risen too great for the frigates [i.e., gajkas], which were in number above 400, the whole fleet had been in danger to have been towed northwards.” (Dispatch of 9/19 September 1625 (Negotiations, p. 439)
French ambassador De Cesy concurred that the whole Ottoman fleet was only saved by the north wind.
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