Action of 28 September 1644

During the mid-17th century, the Knights Hospitaller who were based in Malta were in a state of perpetual religious war against Islam, and their galley squadron set out on annual corsairing expeditions during which they attacked Muslim shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. When a vessel was seized, its crew and passengers were taken as slaves and its cargo was plundered. At the time these corsair raids formed a significant part of Malta's economy. On 16 April 1644, two Hospitaller galleys under the command of Captain General Gabriel de Chambres Boisbaudran left Malta for the Eastern Mediterranean. They returned to the island on 1 July, and Boisbaudran departed again with a squadron of six galleys on 27 August. Their search for enemy shipping was initially unsuccessful, and by late September the squadron was preparing to head back to Malta. == Battle ==

On the morning of 28 September 1644, the Hospitaller squadron was between south of Rhodes when they encountered a convoy of ten Ottoman ships. Zafire Hatun (a woman from the harem) and her young son Osman. The other ships in the convoy were pinks and saiques. One of the Hospitaller galleys, the Santa Maria, initially engaged the galleon on its own, and two other galleys, San Lorenzo and Vittoria, soon joined the fight and overhauled and attacked the Ottoman flagship. Meanwhile, San Giuseppe and San Giovanni captured one of the saiques and the Capitana chased a vessel which turned out to be Greek. The remaining 380 people on board the galleon – 350 men and 30 women – were captured by the Hospitallers. On the Hospitaller side, 9 knights and 116 soldiers and sailors were killed, while 11 knights and over 251 other men were seriously wounded. Another source reported the Maltese casualties excluding rowers as being 82 killed and 170 wounded. Boisbaudran was among those killed and the knight Nicolás Cotoner, captain of the San Lorenzo, took over command following his death. The captain of the Santa Maria was also killed. Ships involved Knights Hospitaller • Capitana – galley, commanded by Boisbaudran • San Lorenzo – galley, commanded by Cotoner • Santa Maria – galley • Vittoria – galley • San Giuseppe – galley • San Giovanni – galley Ottoman Empire • 1 galleon which was captured and later wrecked • 1 pink which was sunk • 1 saique which was captured • 7 other pinks and saiques which survived the battle == Aftermath ==

Voyage to Malta The San Lorenzo attempted to tow the captured galleon but was unable to do so because of poor weather. The ship's cargo – which included jewels, gold and silver objects, and tapestries – had a value of 200,000 scudi and Hospitaller historian Bartolomeo dal Pozzo claimed that the loot enriched half of Malta. Fate of captives Apart from the 50 Greek sailors who were released and the Turkish crewmembers who escaped while on Crete, the remaining captives from the galleon were taken to Malta as slaves. Some time after their arrival, news spread that Zafire and Osman were the favourite and firstborn son of Ottoman sultan Ibrahim, and Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris ordered their release. They were accommodated along with their retinue at a merchant's residence and at the tower of the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta, where they were kept under guard. Zafire's health deteriorated soon afterwards, and she died shortly after being sent to Verdala Palace. The ladies in Zafire's retinue and the kadi Muhammad Effendi were eventually ransomed and freed; the latter later became a mufti. Attempts to ransom Osman were refused, and he was raised on Malta and was educated by the Dominican Order. He later converted to Catholicism and became a Dominican friar, changing his name to Domenico di San Tommaso. After traveling throughout Catholic Europe and participating in the Cretan War, he died in Malta in 1676. == Notes ==