Siege of Azov (1637–1642)

4,000 Zaporozhian Cossacks and 3,000 Don Cossacks unexpectedly met each other as they were moving through Crimean and Nogai steppes. Zaporozhian leader Pavlo Pavliuk and Don leader Mikhail Tatarinov decided to change their respective plans, instead planning a joint campaign on the Ottoman fortress of Azov. They viewed this as a brilliant idea where they could get plenty of loot and possession of their own city. == Azov Campaigns ==

Capture of Azov 1637 On April 21, Cossacks besieged the Azov fortress. The fortress was defended by 4,000 Ottoman Janissaries who had 200 guns at their disposal. Janissaries attempted to deter the Cossacks by firing at them, the Cossacks dug under the city and placed explosives under the city walls. {{Blockquote Sporadic clashes 1638–1640 The capture of Azov by Cossacks severally undermined the ability of Crimean-Nogai Tatars to continue their raids. Merchants were coming to Azov and opened shops there. Garrison of the city consisted of 4,000 Don Cossacks and 700 Zaporozhian Cossacks during that time. Tatars sporadically clashed with Cossacks over control of Azov. In August 1638, Crimean-Nogai cavalry besieged Azov, but were repulsed by Cossacks. As the autumn approached and sea froze in winter, Turkish-Tatar army begun to suffer from shortage of supplies. Rumours spread that Tsar Michael I sent a large army to assist the besieged Cossacks. == Delegation to Tsar ==

In October 1641, the delegation of 24 Cossack figures, led by Don ataman Naum Vasilyev and Yasaul Fyodor Poroshin arrived to Moscow. They requested Tsar to put Azov under his protection and station his troops there due to heavy Cossack losses, saying: On January 3, 1642, after Tsar discussed this issue with his boyars, they concluded that trying occupy Azov would be too costly and they wanted to avoid a war with Ottoman Empire. However, Tsar didn't want to directly say to Cossacks that he refused to place Azov under his protection so he sent a delegator Yarlik to inform Don ataman. On April 30, 1642, Yarlik arrived to Azov to inform the Don ataman about the Tsar's decision. Yarlik told him: Cossacks were left with no choice but to abandon the fortress, taking everything of value out of it and demolishing it. == Aftermath ==

Cossacks captured Azov fortress in 1637 and repelled all Turkish-Tatar attacks that took place in 1638–1641, inflicting heavy losses on the Turkish-Tatar army. Cossacks abandoned the fortress and demolished it at the end of April 1642. Ottomans only reoccupied Azov in September 1642. Rebuilding the fortress took 7 months combined with further fortifications. The Turks were unable to win a military victory here, which even the Ottoman Pasha acknowledged, stating: "The conquest of Azov was not a conquest". == References ==