Czar Nicholas I of Russia also received a promise from the sultan that the Ottoman government would close the straits to all ships during war between Russia and a foreign power. Thus, Russia succeeded in using the Ottoman Empire as a means of blockading any future attack by a hostile European power against its positions and establishing naval supremacy in the Black Sea. The Treaty of Hünkār Iskelesi has been lauded by some historians as a great victory for Russian diplomacy.
See also: Battles and Treaties: Greek War of Independence; Beys and Pashas: Mehmed Ali; Sultans: Mahmud II
Further Reading
Fahmy, Khaled. All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Marsot, Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid. Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad Ali. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Somel, Selçuk Akșin. Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Vatikiotis, P. J. A History of Modern Egypt. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
Woodhouse, C. M. The Greek War of Independence. London: Hutchinson’s University, 1952.
Zürcher, Erik-Jan. Turkey: A Modern History. London: I. B. Tauris, 2004.
Jassy, Treaty of (1792)
A treaty signed on January 9, 1792, at Jassy in Moldavia (modern-day Iaşi, Romania), after the end of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1787–1792. The treaty of Jassy reaffirmed Russian dominance in the Black Sea. The Ottoman Empire had entered into a new war with Russia and the Habsburgs in 1787, which resulted in a series of humiliating military defeats. The Ottoman Empire was saved from further humiliation and loss of territory by the rivalries among the European powers as well as by the French Revolution, which erupted in 1789.
During the war with the Ottomans, the Habsburgs captured Bosnia, parts of Moldavia, and eventually Belgrade, in October 1789, while the Russians occupied Akkerman and entered Bucharest, the capital of present-day Romania, in November. The Ottomans could neither organize a counteroffensive nor maintain their defenses, particularly after Abdülhamid I (r. 1774–1789) died in April 1789 and the new sultan, Selim III (r. 1789–1807), removed the grand vizier, Koca Yusuf, from his post. Fortunately for the Ottoman Empire, both European powers were anxious to end the hostilities and seek a peaceful resolution. Catherine II of Russia was disturbed by the Swedish attempt to incorporate Finland, and the Habsburgs were greatly alarmed by revolts in Hungary and the Netherlands, as well as the growing power and influence of Russia in the Balkans. Both shared a common concern over a new Triple Alliance among Prussia, the Netherlands, and Britain. The Habsburgs agreed to a new peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, signed in Sistova on August 4, 1791. They returned Bosnia, Serbia, and the parts of Moldavia and Wallachia they had occupied in return for the Ottoman promise of fair treatment of the sultan’s Christian subjects and the recognition of the Habsburg emperor as their protector. The peace with the Habsburgs encouraged Selim III to organize a new campaign against Russia. This effort, however, led to a devastating defeat in April 1791. The Ottomans agreed to a new peace treaty, signed at Jassy (Yassi/Iaşi) on January 9, 1792, which was based on the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed in 1774. The sultan recognized the Russian annexation of the Crimea, as well as Russia’s sovereignty over Georgia, in return for Russian withdrawal from Moldavia and Wallachia and the establishment of the Dniester River as the boundary between the two empires.
See also: Battles and Treaties: Küçük Kaynarca, Treaty of; Sultans: Abdülhamid I; Selim III
Further Reading
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Fisher, Alan W. Between Russians, Ottomans and Turks: Crimea and Crimean Tatars. Istanbul: Isis Press, 1998.
Fisher, Alan W. The Crimean Tatars. Stanford, CA: Hoover Press, 2014.
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol 1. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Jelavich, Charles, and Barbara Jelavich. The Establishment of the Balkan National States, 1804–1920. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
Quataert, Donald. The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Șakul, Kahraman. “Selim III.” In Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Gábor Ágoston and Bruce Masters, 514–515. New York: Facts On File, 2009.
Shaw, Stanford J. Between Old and New: The Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim III, 1781–1807. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Somel, Selçuk Akșin. Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Sugar, Peter. Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1805. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
Zürcher, Erik-Jan. Turkey: A Modern History. London: I. B. Tauris, 2004.
Karlowitz, Treaty of (1699)
A peace treaty signed between the Ottoman Empire and the representatives of the Holy League (Austria, Poland, Venice, and Russia) on January 26, 1699. According to this treaty, the Ottoman Empire lost Transylvania and much of Hungary to the Habsburgs. The treaty signaled the beginning of the decline of Ottoman power in east-central Europe and the emergence of the Habsburg monarchy as the dominant power in the region.
Convinced that the Habsburg military was on the verge of collapse and encouraged by the French, who viewed an Ottoman invasion as essential to their victory in the west, the Ottoman grand vizier, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, moved with a large army against Vienna in June 1683. By July the Habsburg capital was under Ottoman siege. The Habsburg emperor, however, had organized a coalition that included Poland, led by Jan Sobieski, the pope, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese. The defenders’ determined resistance, the poor generalship of the Ottoman grand vizier, and a surprise attack by a German relief force and even a larger Polish army led by Sobieski made an Ottoman defeat inevitable (Sugar: 199). In a fierce battle on September 12, 1683, the Ottoman forces were routed (Finkel: 286). Over 10,000 Ottoman soldiers were killed (Kurat: 176). The Ottoman army disintegrated and lost any semblance of organization and discipline, leaving behind its heavy cannons and badly needed supplies (Shaw: 1:214–215). Kara Mustafa Pasha tried to rally his army in Belgrade, but it was already too late. His enemies in Istanbul had convinced the sultan that his chief minister was responsible for the humiliating debacle at the gates of Vienna. On December 25, 1683, the grand vizier was executed (Finkel: 287).
The execution of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha only exacerbated the crisis. Without a commander capable of rallying the troops, and facing a shortage of equipment and supplies, the Ottoman forces fell into disarray. Worse, a new Holy League was formed in 1684, which included the Habsburgs, Venice, Poland, the pope, Malta, Tuscany, and later Russia. The Habsburgs pushed into Hungary and captured Buda in September 1686. With the disintegration of Ottoman defenses in Hungary, the troops, who were suffering from low morale and lack of pay, revolted. The revolt spread as angry sipāhis who had lost their timārs to the invading Habsburg army crossed the Danube searching for new sources of income and seeking government officials responsible for the Ottoman defeat. The panic-stricken officials, facing not only the Habsburgs but also their own angry troops, fled to Belgrade.
The devastating defeats exposed the weaknesses of the Ottoman Empire and opened the door to aggressive European campaigns on all fronts. The Habsburgs concentrated their attacks on Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia, while Poland invaded Podolia (Podole) and Moldavia, and the Venetians targeted Albania, Morea, and the Dalmatian coast. To the surprise and dismay of their European foes, the Ottomans fought against Sobieski and his Polish army, beating back his efforts to take Kamenec in
September 1687 and establishing a foothold in Moldavia. From 1684 to 1687, despite assistance and support from Russia and the Cossacks, the Poles failed to breach the Ottoman defenses, which were reinforced and strengthened by the Crimean Tatars. To the south and southwest, however, the Venetians managed to score several impressive victories. Although the initial attempt to establish a foothold in Bosnia was beaten back by Ottoman troops in 1685, Venice eventually occupied several strategic forts on the Dalmatian coast. Venetian forces also used the Morea as a base to invade mainland Greece. By September 25, 1687, they had stormed and occupied Athens.
Despite the alarming situation, which threatened the very survival of the state, the reigning sultan, Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687), continued with his daily hobbies of hunting and enjoying the pleasures of the royal harem. In the dying days of 1687 (November 8), in a gathering attended by Köprülüzade Fazil Mustafa Pasha, prominent notables, and the ulema of the capital, the şeyhülislâm issued a fetva deposing Mehmed IV and replacing him with Süleyman II (r. 1687–1691) (Shaw: 1:219).
After 40 years of living in the isolation of the royal harem, the new sultan could not rule without the support and guidance of those who had installed him on the throne. The janissaries stationed in the capital used the transition of power as justification for plundering shops and small businesses and exacting revenge against government officials they blamed for the empire’s defeat on European battlefields. The disturbances in Istanbul emboldened the Habsburgs, who already had established a highly centralized rule over Hungary, to march against Belgrade and capture the city on September 8, 1688. The fall of Belgrade and the collapse of Ottoman defenses in Croatia and Slovenia ignited a series of anti-Ottoman revolts in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Wallachia, where the prince threw in his lot with the Habsburgs. Süleyman II panicked and sued for peace, which Habsburg emperor Leopold was prepared to sign. Although the Habsburgs were willing to consider peace negotiations with the agents of the sultan, the Russians, the Poles, and the Venetians insisted on the continuation of the campaign against the disintegrating Ottoman army (Shaw: 1:220).
Thus the peace negotiations collapsed, and the Habsburgs resumed their offensive, occupying Bosnia, Nish, Vidin, and Skopje in the summer and fall of 1689. Another Habsburg offensive targeted Transylvania and Wallachia, where Ottoman defenses were collapsing rapidly (Shaw: 1:220). At this juncture, another member of the Köprülü family, Fazil Mustafa Pasha, was appointed the grand vizier. The new grand vizier embarked on a major campaign to reverse the losses the empire had suffered (Shaw: 1:220).
On September 9, 1690, an Ottoman army under the command of Fazil Mustafa Pasha captured Nish, followed by Belgrade, which fell on October 8. The following summer, after Süleyman II had died and been replaced by Ahmed II (r. 1691–1695), the grand vizier embarked on his second campaign against the Habsburgs, who routed his army at Slankamen on August 19, 1691. Fazil Mustafa Pasha was shot and killed on the battlefield. For the next four years, as the two sides wrangled over the terms of a possible peace treaty, Venice, Poland, and Russia tried to expand their territorial gains against the Ottoman state, which was further weakened by the death of Ahmed II and the accession of Mustafa II (r. 1695–1703).
Mustafa II waged three campaigns against the Habsburgs, which finally ended in a devastating defeat at the hands of Eugene of Savoy at Zenta (Senta) on the banks of the Tisa River in present-day northern Serbia on September 11, 1697. By then the Habsburgs were not the only power gaining territory at the Ottoman Empire’s expense. To the east, the Russian state under the charismatic leadership of Peter the Great had embarked on an ambitious campaign to establish a foothold on the northern shore of the Black Sea, capturing Azov on August 6, 1696. The Ottomans recognized that it was impossible to fight several European powers simultaneously. In November 1698 an Ottoman delegation began to negotiate a peace treaty with representatives of the Holy League powers, namely, the Habsburg monarchy, Poland, Russia, and Venice, at the Serbian town of Karlowitz (Abou-El-Haj: 89).
The Treaty of Karlowitz, signed on January 26, 1699, was negotiated based on the principle of uti possidetis (as you possess), “a phrase used to signify that the parties to a treaty are to retain possession of what they have acquired by force during the war” (Black: 1546). The Habsburgs received Hungary and Transylvania, while the Ottomans maintained their rule over the Banat of Temeşvár. Poland received Podolia (Podole), and Russia established its rule over Azov and the territory north of the Dniester River. Venice emerged as the master of Dalmatia, the Morea, and several strategic islands in the Aegean (Sugar: 200). The sultan also was forced to guarantee freedom of religion for his Catholic subjects.
The humiliating treaty marked the beginning of a new era (Jelavich: 65). The Ottoman Empire ceased to be the dominant power courted by all European powers. Indeed, with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz, the Ottoman state emerged as a retreating power adopting a defensive posture against the rising influence of the Habsburg and Russian Empires. Other European states were quick to recognize the altered balance of power. With the loss of territory also came a significant reduction in revenue generated from collection of taxes as well as unemployment for those who until recently had served the Ottoman government in areas now lost to European states.
See also: Beys and Pashas: Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha; Sultans: Ahmed II; Mehmed IV; Mustafa II; Süleyman II
Further Reading
Abou-El-Haj, Rifa’at Ali. “Ottoman Diplomacy at Karlowitz.” In Ottoman Diplomacy: Conventional or Unconventional, edited by A. Nuri Yurdusev, 89–113. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Black, Henry Campbell. Black’s Law Dictionary. 6th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1990.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans, Vol. 1. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Kurat, A. N. “The Reign of Mehmed IV, 1648–87.” In A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730, edited by M. A. Cook, 157–177. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
McCarthy, Justin. The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. London and New York: Wesley Longman Limited, 1997.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Somel, Selçuk Akșin. Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Sugar, Peter. Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1805. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
Kosovo, Battle of (1389)
A military engagement between the armies of the Ottoman state under the command of Sultan Murad I (r. 1362–1389) and a coalition of Christian states of southeastern Europe led by Prince Lazar of Serbia, which took place at Kosovo Polje (Field of the Blackbirds) on June 28, 1389.
The expansion of Ottoman rule into Bulgaria and Macedonia during the reign of Murad I alarmed Serbia, which dreamed of carving out its own empire in southeast Europe. In the first major Ottoman military campaign against Serbia, Murad I defeated a coalition of Serbian princes at Chernomen, in the Battle of the Maritsa River on September 26, 1371, bringing Bulgaria, Macedonia, and southern Serbia under his control. Sofia was captured in 1385, followed by Nish in 1386 and Thessaloniki (Salonika) in 1387.
Despite these setbacks, the Serbs continued their efforts to establish a united Christian front against the Ottomans. Initially these efforts were viewed by other rulers in the region as an attempt to impose Serbian hegemony. However, the successful Ottoman military campaign against northern Greece and the conquest of Bulgaria convinced the Christian states of southeastern Europe that the time had arrived for a concerted effort to block further Ottoman expansion. Prince Lazar of Serbia, King Tvrto of Bosnia, and John Stratsimir of Vidin agreed to join a Christian alliance, which defeated an Ottoman army in August 1388 at Pločnik (Ploshnik) west of Nish.
Recognizing the threat posed by this all
iance, Murad rushed back from Anatolia, where he had defeated the principalities of Germiyan, Hamid, and Karaman, forcing them to accept Ottoman suzerainty. The decisive battle took place on June 28, 1389, at the Kosovo Polje (Field of the Blackbirds) near Pristina in present-day Kosovo. Although Murad was killed on the battlefield, the Ottomans managed to pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat. Prince Lazar was killed during the battle, and the devastating defeat forced Serbia to accept Ottoman suzerainty. Many centuries later, the memory of the Battle of Kosovo Polje was celebrated by Serbian nationalists as the last desperate and heroic attempt to save the independence of Serbia and the defining moment in the emergence of Serbian nationalism.
See also: Sultans: Bayezid I; Murad I
Further Reading
Imber, Colin. The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Inalcik, Halil. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600. Translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Somel, Selçuk Akșin. Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Sugar, Peter. Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1805. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
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