The burning of the Ottoman flagship off Chios took place on the night of 18 June 1822. The event, occurring during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, was a reprisal for the

Chios massacre The Chios massacre (in el, Η σφαγή της Χίου, ) was a catastrophe that resulted to the death, enslavement, and refuging of about four-fifths of the total population of Greeks on the island of Chios by Ottoman troops, during the G ...

which occurred two months earlier. Two thousand Ottoman sailors were killed, as was

Nasuhzade Ali Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha ( Turkish: ''Nasuhzade Ali Paşa''), commonly known as Kara Ali Pasha ( el, Καρά Αλή Πασάς), was an Ottoman admiral during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence. In 1821, as second-in-command of the ...

, the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy.

The event

In March 1821, the

began against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. One year later, the Ottoman forces disembarked on the island of Chios, massacred more than Greek inhabitants, and captured about who were sold as slaves in Izmir and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. After the

, the Greek revolutionary government managed to gather a significant amount of money (

kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...

) in order to outfit its ships and attack the armada. In May 1821, the Greek navy made consecutive attacks against the Ottoman fleet. At the end of May, the Greek captains from

Psara Psara ( el, Ψαρά, , ; known in ancient times as /, /) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara (Population 4) it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of ...

and

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

decided to burn the Ottoman

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

by using fire ships. Konstantinos Kanaris and Andreas Pipinos took charge of the operation. The first would blow up the Ottoman flagship with his fireboat and the second the vice admiral's flagship. The two fireboats would be accompanied by four ships that would gather the sailors of the fireboats after the completion of the operation. The operation took place on the night of , when the winds were advantageous, the night was dark and the Ottomans were celebrating the

Ramadan Bayram , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

. Andreas Pipinos tried to burn the rear admiral's flagship, but although some damage was caused, it did not sink, as the crew realized the danger quickly and saw off the fireboat. However, Kanaris managed to affix his fireship firmly to the flagship, the 84-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

''Mansur al-liwa''. The fire spread to the Ottoman ship and eventually reached the gunpowder hold, resulting in an explosion which destroyed the ship. About two thousand sailors were killed or drowned, including the admiral of the Ottoman navy,

, who was killed by a falling spar. According to Thomas Gordon, the burning of the Ottoman flagship in Chios was one of the most astonishing achievements in history and he declared Konstantinos Kanaris a hero that Greece could be proud of.

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* * * * {{Greek War of Independence 1822 in Greece History of Chios Chios 1822 Conflicts in 1822

The event

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