Contents
Introduction
Loss of Hungary – Great Turkish War
Russo-Ottoman Wars and The Great Northern War
Ottoman-Venetian War (1714-1718) and Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718)
Ottomans Against The World
Concluding Remarks
Other News
Bitesize Edition
Today, we explore the 1700s in the Balkans and relevant surrounding regions. The Ottomans found themselves embroiled in conflicts with the Habsburgs and Russians throughout the century, as well as conflicts to the south against the Persians.
The Ottomans were debated to be in decline by this point but were certainly in stagnation. Corruption was on the rise and internal tensions rising. Both are markers of an overstretched empire without the capabilities to incite greater stability.
For the first half of the 18th century, the Ottomans were still a relatively strong force. In conflicts against the Austrians and Russians, there were often little gains made. Treaties that finalized the conflicts rarely lasted, and the same territories were fought over many times.
In the second half of the century, namely during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Ottoman's influence and territory began to decline with the loss of Crimea as the region known as the Crimea Khanate gained independence. In short, however, this saw Crimea fall under Russian influence. This started the expansion of Russian influence around the Black Sea at the expense of the Ottomans.
Dubbed “The Sick Man of Europe”, the Ottomans were in a difficult period. Would this difficulty last, and what came next for the Ottoman Empire?
Introduction
As we continue our journey through the history of the Balkans, today we’ll explore the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. We’ll eventually reach a point where we’ll discuss the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, but for now, the deep history of the entire Balkan region is of vital importance in setting this conflict up.
Loss of Hungary – Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War changed the trajectory of the Ottoman Empire. It was clear at this point in time that the Ottomans were declining in influence and power. This trend was confirmed in the 15-year Great Turkish War from 1683 to 1699.
The conflict saw the odds stacked against the Ottomans, fighting alone against the Holy Roman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Russia, the Republic of Venice, the Spanish Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary. The French had an informal alliance with the Ottomans in 1673 in exchange for Louis 14th being recognised as the protector of Catholics in the Ottoman territory and so weren’t involved in the fight. Yet.
By 1688, the group known as the Holy League had captured Belgrade, and this worried the French. They were fearful the Habsburgs were growing too strong and so besieged Philippsburg in modern-day Germany. This thrusted the French into conflict against the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Dutch Republic, and England and Scotland. The conflict was known as the Nine Years War and saw France cede Luxembourg and Kortrijk to Spain, as well as Freiburg, Breisach and Kehl to the Holy Roman Empire, among other territories.
The Nine Years War distracted the Holy League and allowed the Ottomans to retake Belgrade in 1690. After this, the war fell into a stalemate. In the Battle of Zenta of 1697, the Ottomans attempted to retake territory in Hungary, and they were crushed by the Holy League.
As a result of the Great Turkish Conflict, the Habsburgs won land in Hungary, Transylvania, and the Balkans. Poland-Lithuania captured Podolia, Venice captured Morea and inner Dalmatia and Russia captured the port of Azov. Montenegro also claimed de facto independence.
The Treaty of Karlowitz saw the Ottoman’s first big territorial loss.
Importantly, this also brought Russia into the mix in the large-scale conflict in Europe and the Balkans. It wasn’t long before they were back fighting with the Ottomans.
Russo-Ottoman Wars and The Great Northern War
The Ottomans weren’t happy with the Russians taking the port of Azov after the Great Turkish Conflict. The Ottomans allied with the Swedish in the Great Northern War against the Russians, primarily fought between the Swedes and Russians, with Denmark-Norway and Saxony supporting the Russians. When the Russians defeated the Swedes at Poltava, the Swedes fled south to modern-day Turkey.
The Pruth River Campaign of 1710-1711 saw the Ottomans defeat the Russians and Moldavians. Later in 1713, the Skirmish at Bender occurred between the Ottomans and Swedes as the Ottomans sought to remove Charles 12th from his residence in Bender, in modern-day Moldova. This conflict saw the Russians hand Azov back to the Ottomans.
Unfortunately for Charles 12th, he was killed in 1718 after being released from his hiding spot in the Ottoman-ruled Balkans. This led to the eventual victory of the Russians. With the British and French busy in the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), the Russians were growing in power and influence interrupted in Eastern Europe.
This naturally pitted the Ottomans against the Russians. But not before a revisit to the Ottoman conflict with the Venetians.
Ottoman-Venetian War (1714-1718) and Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718)
The Ottoman-Venetian War saw Morea ceded back to the Ottomans in the Treaty of Passarowitz. In 1716, the Austrians renewed their alliance with Venice, and so the Ottomans declared war on Austria. The Ottomans were victorious against the Venetians but lost territory to the Habsburgs, ceding the Banat, territory in Serbia, Oltenia, and areas of Northern Bosnia. The Venetians were also essentially a de-facto part of the Habsburg Empire from this point. This period marked the Habsburg’s maximum extent of territorial control in the Balkans, another sign of a declining Ottoman Empire.
Ottomans Against The World
For the remainder of the 1700s, outside skirmishes such as the Syunik rebellion in modern-day Armenia (1722-1730), and the Ottoman-Hotaki War of 1726-1727, we saw a four-way fight for control in the Balkans and the regions of the Ottoman Empire. This period saw the Austrians, Russians, Persians, and Ottomans fight many times. Seemingly, the other empires could smell the blood in the water concerning Ottoman weakness. The fights involving the Ottomans in the 18th century against the Russians, Habsburgs, and Persians were as follows:
Russo-Turkish War (1735-1739)
Austro-Turkish War (1737-1739)
Ottoman-Afsharid War (1743-1746)
Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774)
Ottoman-Zand War (1775-1776)
Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792)
Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791)
The first time that the Ottomans fought the Russians and Austrians at the same time occurred with the Russo-Turkish War of 1735 to 1739 and the Austro-Turkish War of 1737-1739.
The conflict ended with the Treaty of Belgrade after the Ottomans defeated the Austrians in the Battle of Grocka which saw the Ottomans take Belgrade once again and the territory surrounding it, referred to as the Kingdom of Serbia. Remember Belgrade had previously come under Habsburg control in 1717.
The Habsburgs signing the Treaty of Belgrade saw the Russians accept peace in their fight against the Ottomans in the Treaty of Nis. This gave the Russians permission to build a port at Azov, which had returned to the Ottomans during the conflict between the Swedes and the Russians. Once again, this demonstrated reduced control for the Ottomans over the region surrounding the Black Sea. In return, the Russians gave up their claims on Crimea and Moldavia. This didn’t last forever, however. The Russians were slowly biding their time against a stagnating empire. The Russians also had the Swedes to the north, and the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-1743 saw the Swedes hoping to regain territory lost during the Great Northern War, in which they were unsuccessful.
The Ottomans, although they had experienced losses in the Great Northern War, continued to be competitive with their geopolitical rivals until the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, which resulted in the independence of the Crimean peninsula from the Ottomans in the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca. The treaty also importantly saw the Russians gain the right to construct a Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople. This gave the Russians greater influence and reason to intervene in Ottoman affairs for the following decades.
The final two conflicts for the Ottomans were the Austro-Turkish War of 1788 to 1791 and the Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792). This started when the Ottomans demanded the Russians return Crimea. After this, the Ottomans imprisoned the Russian ambassador Yakov Bulgakov and war between the Ottomans and Russians was once again upon us.
Due to the Austrian Emperor Joseph 2nd having an alliance with the Russians, he was obliged to assist the Russians, and so a year later commenced another Austro-Turkish War.
It was a tough period for all involved, with Prussia also prowling to the north of the Habsburgs. However, the Habsburgs dealt another blow to the Ottomans, taking the territories of Orsova (Romania) and regions of the Croatian borderlands. They also started an occupation of Serbia temporarily, until it was regained by the Ottomans again in 1791, in a bloody, drawn-out game of hot potato. The end of this conflict in 1791 marked the end of the Austro-Ottoman Wars with the Treaty of Sistova. Any Russian War from here didn’t involve Austrian participation. However, the Ottomans and Austrians did eventually find themselves on the same side in future conflicts. More on this next week!
The end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1792 saw the Russians control Crimea, having previously annexed the independent territory in 1783. The end of the war also saw the transfer of regions of modern-day Southern Ukraine to the Russians. The trend was made clear here that Ottoman influence around the Black Sea was declining.
The Great Turkish War and Great Northern War marked the beginning of the narrative that unfolded over the 18th century. The Russians and Ottomans fought for control of the territory surrounding the Black Sea. The Habsburgs and Ottomans fought for control over the Balkans. Whenever any treaty was proposed, at least one side wasn’t satisfied. Hence we saw many wars break out during the century.
The tides changed in the history of the Balkans once again when we saw a certain French leader by the name of Napoleon coming to power. The period of Napoleon consisted of many conflicts that distracted the Ottoman’s biggest rivals of the 18th century: the Habsburgs and Russians.
Before this, Napoleon’s France invaded Egypt and Syria in 1798-1799 and captured Malta on his way to Egypt. This interestingly saw the Ottomans and Russians work together to capture the Ionian Islands from the French, establishing the Septinsular Republic from 1800-1807. In 1807, the islands were ceded back to the French Empire. But that’s a story that will continue next week.
Note: For those wondering what became of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth, they were also in a state of decline. The territory was partitioned on three separate occasions (1772,1793, and 1795) between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
Concluding Remarks
The Ottomans are suffering from internal weakness at this point. However, it was going to get much worse. Next week, as we explore the period coinciding with Napoleon’s rise in Europe, we’ll also see the Balkans shatter from within due to the rise of Balkan nationalism. More next week.
Other News
Al Jazeera Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul Arrested and Beaten By Israeli Soldiers and Later Freed
FSB Detain 7 People In Moscow Accused of Supporting "Russian Volunteer Corps"
Jake Sullivan Confirms Hamas Third In Command Marwan Issa Dead
UN Envoy to Syria: "No Military Solution To Syria Crisis. There Must Be A Political Path."
US Central Command Conducts More Airdrops Into Northern Gaza
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Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_the_Crimean_Khanate_by_the_Russian_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Turkish_War_(1788%E2%80%931791)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg-occupied_Serbia_(1788%E2%80%931791)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1735%E2%80%931739)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_K%C3%BC%C3%A7%C3%BCk_Kaynarca