Already in June 1823, an Egyptian fleet commanded by Ismael Gibraltar disembarked 3,000 Albanian troops under Djiritli Hüseyn Bey at Crete.[1][4] By spring 1824, Hüseyn Bey, by a judicious mixture of force and terror, combined with amnesty towards the Greek rebel leaders who were willing to submit, had managed to wipe out the Greek revolt in Crete.[5] With Crete subdued, the Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, and his semi-autonomous governor in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, turned their attention on Kasos and resolved to make an example of the island.[1][3]