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A series of military conflicts between theOttoman Empire and various European states took place from theLate Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during theByzantine–Ottoman wars, waged inAnatolia in the late 13th century before entering Europe in the mid-14th century with theBulgarian–Ottoman wars. The mid-15th century saw theSerbian–Ottoman wars and theAlbanian-Ottoman wars. Much of this period was characterized by theOttoman expansion into the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire made further inroads into Central Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, culminating in the peak of Ottoman territorial claims in Europe.[1][2]
TheOttoman–Venetian wars spanned four centuries, starting in 1423 and lasting until 1718. This period witnessed thefall of Negroponte in 1470, thesiege of Malta in 1565, thefall of Famagusta (Cyprus) in 1571, the defeat of the Ottoman fleet at theBattle of Lepanto in 1571 (at that time thelargest naval battle in history), thefall of Candia (Crete) in 1669, the Venetianreconquest of Morea (Peloponnese) in the 1680s andits loss again in 1715. The island ofVenetian-ruledCorfu remained the only Greek island not conquered by the Ottomans.[3]
In the late seventeenth century, European powers began to consolidate against the Ottomans and formed theHoly League, reversing a number of Ottoman land gains during theGreat Turkish War of 1683–99. Nevertheless, Ottoman armies were able to hold their own against their European rivals until the second half of the eighteenth century.[4][a]
In the nineteenth century the Ottomans were confronted with insurrection from theirSerbian (1804–1817),Greek (1821–1832) andRomanian (1877–1878) subjects. This occurred in tandem with theRusso-Turkish wars, which further destabilized the empire. The final retreat of Ottoman rule began with theFirst Balkan War (1912–1913), and culminated in the signing of theTreaty of Sèvres after World War I, leading to thepartitioning of the Ottoman Empire.
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Afterstriking a blow to the weakenedByzantine Empire in 1356 (or in 1358 – disputable due to a change in the Byzantine calendar), (seeSüleyman Pasha) which provided it withGallipoli as a basis for operations in Europe, the Ottoman Empire started its westward expansion into the European continent in the middle of the 14th century.
Constantinople fell in 1453 after theBattle of Varna (1444) and theSecond Battle of Kosovo (1448).
The remainingGreek states fell in 1461 (Despotate of the Morea andEmpire of Trebizond) (see:Ottoman Greece).
In the latter half of the 14th century, theOttoman Empire proceeded to advance north and west in the Balkans, completely subordinatingThrace and much ofMacedonia after theBattle of Maritsa in 1371.Sofia fell in 1382, followed by the capital of theSecond Bulgarian EmpireTarnovgrad in 1393, and the northwest remnants of the state after theBattle of Nicopolis in 1396.[citation needed]
A significant opponent of the Ottomans, the youngSerbian Empire, was worn down by a series of campaigns, notably in theBattle of Kosovo in 1389, in which the leaders of both armies were killed, and which gained a central role in Serbian folklore as an epic battle and as the beginning of the end for medieval Serbia. Much ofSerbia fell to the Ottomans by 1459, the Kingdom of Hungary made a partial reconquest in 1480, but it fell again by 1499. Territories of Serbian Empire were divided betweenOttoman Empire, theRepublic of Venice and theKingdom of Hungary, with remaining territories being in some sort of a vassal status towards Hungary, until its own conquest.[citation needed]
The papacy regularly offered crusade privileges from the 1360s generating no significant military response against Muslims in the Mediterranean. The first revival of activity was a 1390 Genoese plan to seize the Tunisian port ofAl-Mahdiya. Both the Roman and Avignon popes awarded indulgences and the French king's uncle,Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, was the leader. There is little evidence of cross taking, and the exercise was more of a chivalric promenade by a small force. After a disease-ridden, nine-week siege, theTunis crusade agreed to withdraw.[6] After their victory at theBattle of Kosovo in 1389, the Ottomans had conquered most of theBalkans and had reduced Byzantine influence to the area immediately surroundingConstantinople, whichthey later besieged. In 1393, theBulgarian TsarIvan Shishman lost Nicopolis to the Ottomans. In 1394,Pope Boniface IX proclaimed a new Crusade against the Turks, although theWestern Schism had split the papacy.[7]Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary, led this Crusade which involved several French nobles includingJohn the Fearless, the son of the Duke of Burgundy, who became the Crusade's military leader. Sigismund advised the Crusaders to focus on defence when they reached the Danube, but they besieged the city ofNicopolis. The Ottomans defeated them in theBattle of Nicopolis on 25 September, capturing 3,000 prisoners.[8]
As the Ottomans pressed westward, SultanMurad II destroyed the lastPapal-funded Crusade atVarna on theBlack Sea in 1444 and four years later crushed the last Hungarian expedition.[7]John Hunyadi andGiovanni da Capistrano organised a 1456 Crusade to lift theSiege of Belgrade.[9]Æneas Sylvius andJohn of Capistrano preached the Crusade, the princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the Diets of Ratisbon and Frankfurt promised assistance, and a league was formed between Venice, Florence and Milan, but nothing came of it. Venice was the only polity to continue to pose a significant threat to the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, but it pursued the "Crusade" mostly for its commercial interests, leading to the protractedOttoman–Venetian Wars, which continued, with interruptions, until 1718. The end of the Crusades, in at least a nominal effort of Catholic Europe against Muslim incursion, came in the 16th century, when the Franco-Imperial wars assumed continental proportions.Francis I of France sought allies from all quarters, including from German Protestant princes and Muslims. Amongst these, he entered into one of thecapitulations of the Ottoman Empire withSuleiman the Magnificent while making common cause withHayreddin Barbarossa and a number of the Sultan's North African vassals.[10]
Since 1360s Hungary confronted with the Ottoman Empire. The Kingdom of Hungary ledseveral crusades, campaigns and carried out several defence battles and sieges against the Ottomans. Hungary bore the brunt of the Ottoman wars in Europe during the 15th century and successfully halted the Ottoman advance.
In the year of 1442, John Hunyadi won four victories against the Ottomans, two of which were decisive.[11] In March 1442, Hunyadi defeated Mezid Bey and the raiding Ottoman army at theBattle of Szeben in the south part of theKingdom of Hungary inTransylvania.[12] In September 1442, Hunyadi defeated a large Ottoman army ofBeylerbeyŞehabeddin, the Provincial Governor ofRumelia. This was the first time that a European army defeated such a large Ottoman force, composed not only of raiders, but of the provincial cavalry led by their ownsanjak beys (governors) and accompanied by the formidablejanissaries.[13] These victories made Hunyadi a prominent enemy of the Ottomans and a renowned figure throughoutChristendom and were prime motivators for him to undertake along with King Władysław the famous expedition known as the "Long Campaign" in 1443, with theBattle of Niš being the first major clash of this expedition. Hunyadi was accompanied byGiuliano Cesarini during the campaign.[14][15]
The defeat in 1456 at thesiege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) held up Ottoman expansion into Catholic Europe for 70 years, though for one year (1480–1481) the Italian port ofOtranto was taken, and in 1493 the Ottoman army successfully raidedCroatia andStyria.[16]
During the reign of KingMatthias of Hungary, the standing professional mercenary army was called theBlack Army of Hungary Matthias recognized the importance and key role of early firearms in the infantry, which greatly contributed to his victories. Every fourth soldier in the Black Army had anarquebus, which was an unusual ratio at the time. In the great Viennese military parade in 1485, the Black Army consisted 20,000 horsemen and 8,000 infantry in 1485. The Black Army was larger than the army of KingLouis XI of France, the only other existing permanent professional European army in the era. The Hungarian army destroyed the three times bigger attacker Ottoman and Wallachian troops at theBattle of Breadfield in Transylvania in 1479. The battle was the most significant victory for theHungarians against the raidingOttomans, and as a result, theOttomans did not attack southernHungary andTransylvania for many years thereafter. The Black Armyrecaptured Otranto in Italy from the Ottoman Empire in 1481.
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The Ottomans took much ofAlbania in the 1385Battle of Savra. The 1444League of Lezhë briefly restored one part of Albania, until Ottomans captured complete territory of Albania aftercapture of Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501.
The Ottomans faced resistance fromAlbanians who gathered around their leader,Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, son of a feudal Albanian Nobleman,Gjon Kastrioti who also fought against the Ottomans in theAlbanian revolt of 1432–1436 led byGjergj Arianiti. Skanderbeg managed to fend off Ottoman attacks for more than 25 years, culminating at thesiege of Shkodra in 1478–79. During this period, many Albanian victories were achieved like theBattle of Torvioll,Battle of Otonetë,siege of Krujë,Battle of Polog,Battle of Ohrid,Battle of Mokra,Battle of Oranik 1456 and many other battles, culminating in theBattle of Albulena in 1457 where the Albanian Army under Skanderbeg won a decisive victory over the Ottomans. In 1465Ballaban's Campaign against Skanderbeg took place. Its goal was to crush the Albanian Resistance, but it was not successful and it ended in an Albanian victory. With the death ofSkanderbeg on 17 January 1468, theAlbanian Resistance began to fall. After the death of Skanderbeg, the Albanian Resistance was led byLekë Dukagjini from 1468 until 1479, but it didn't have the same success as before. Merely two years after the collapse of the Albanian resistance in 1479, SultanMehmet II launched anItalian campaign, which failed thanks to Christian recapture ofOtranto and Sultan's death in 1481.
The Ottoman Empire first reached Bosnia in 1388 where they were defeated by Bosnian forces in theBattle of Bileća and then were forced to retreat.[17] After the fall of Serbia in 1389Battle of Kosovo, where the Bosnians participated throughVlatko Vuković, the Turks began various offensives against theKingdom of Bosnia. The Bosnians defended themselves but without much success. The Bosnians resisted strongly in the Bosnian Royal castle ofJajce (thesiege of Jajce), where the last Bosnian kingStjepan Tomašević tried to repel the Turks. The Ottoman army conquered Jajce after a few months in 1463 and executed the last King of Bosnia, endingMedieval Bosnia.[18][19][b]
TheHouse of Kosača heldHerzegovina until 1482. It took another four decades for the Ottomans to defeat the Hungarian garrison atJajce Fortress in 1527. Bihać and the westernmost areas of Bosnia were finally conquered by the Ottomans in 1592.[18][19]
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After the fall of theKingdom of Bosnia into Ottoman hands in 1463, the southern and central parts of theKingdom of Croatia remained unprotected, the defense of which was left to Croatian gentry who kept smaller troops in the fortified border areas at their own expense. The Ottomans meanwhile reached the riverNeretva and, having conqueredHerzegovina (Rama) in 1482, they encroached upon Croatia, skillfully avoiding the fortified border towns. A decisive Ottoman victory at theBattle of Krbava Field shook all of Croatia. However, it did not dissuade the Croats from making persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the superior Ottoman forces.[20] After almost two hundred years of Croatian resistance against the Ottoman Empire victory in theBattle of Sisak marked the end of Ottoman rule and theHundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War. The Viceroy's army, chasing the fleeing remnants atPetrinja in 1595, sealed the decisive Croatian victory.
The Ottomans raidedCarniola in 1469 and launched almost annual raids intoStyria after 1471.[21] In 1477, Ottoman forces led byÖmer Bey andSkender Pasha conducted a major raid into Carniola, Styria, Carinthia, andFriuli. The raiders, primarily light cavalry known asakinjis, penetrated deep into Habsburg and Venetian territory, causing widespread devastation.Carinthia saw five Turkish incursions into its territory between 1473 and 1483, with much plundering and killing at the hands of Ottoman cavalry. These raids led to theCarinthian Peasant Revolt of 1478, as peasants, left unprotected by the nobility, tried to defend themselves and formed a peasants' league to organize their own defense.[22] The raids also prompted the construction of defensive structures like fortified churches and castles (tabor).[23] In 1491, Ottoman raids in the Habsburg territories of Styria and Carniola ended after a significant defeat at theBattle of Vrpile.
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As a result of heavy losses inflicted by the Ottomans in theBattle of Maritsa in 1371, theSerbian Empire had dissolved into several principalities. In theBattle of Kosovo in 1389, Serbian forces were again annihilated. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, constant struggles took place between various Serbian kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire. The turning point was thefall of Constantinople to the Turks. In 1459, following the siege, the temporary Serbian capital ofSmederevo fell.Zeta was overrun by 1499.Belgrade was the last major Balkan city to endure Ottoman forces. Serbs,Hungarians, and Europeancrusaders defeated the Turkish army in thesiege of Belgrade in 1456. After repelling Ottoman attacks for over 70 years, Belgrade finally fell in 1521, along with the greater part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The rebellion of Serbian military commanderJovan Nenad between 1526 and 1528 led to the proclamation of the Second Serbian Empire in modern-day Serbian province ofVojvodina, which was among the last Serbian territories to resist the Ottomans. TheSerbian Despotate fell in 1459, thus marking the two-century-long Ottoman conquest of Serbian principalities.[20]
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The wars with theRepublic of Venice began in 1463. A favorable peace treaty was signed in 1479 after the lengthysiege of Shkodra (1478–79). In 1480, now no longer hampered by the Venetian fleet, the Ottomansbesieged Rhodes andcaptured Otranto.[24] War with Veniceresumed from 1499 to 1503. In 1500, a Spanish–Venetian army commanded byGonzalo de Córdobatook Kefalonia, temporarily stopping the Ottoman offensive on eastern Venetian territories. The offensive resumed after the Ottoman victory ofPreveza (1538), fought between an Ottoman fleet commanded byHayreddin Barbarossa and that of a Christian alliance assembled by Pope Paul III.
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In 1462, Mehmed II was driven back byWallachian princeVlad III Dracula in theNight Attack at Târgovişte. However, the latter was imprisoned by Hungarian kingMatthias Corvinus. This caused outrage among many influential Hungarian figures and Western admirers of Vlad's success in the battle against the Ottoman Empire (and his early recognition of the threat it posed), including high-ranking members of theVatican. Because of this, Matthias granted him the status of distinguished prisoner. Eventually, Dracula was freed in late 1475 and was sent with an army of Hungarian and Serbian soldiers to recoverBosnia from the Ottomans. There he defeated Ottoman forces for the first time. Upon this victory, Ottoman forces entered Wallachia in 1476 under the command of Mehmed II.[clarification needed] Vlad was killed and, according to some sources, his head was sent toConstantinople to discourage the other rebellions. (Bosnia was completely added to Ottoman lands in 1482.)
The Turkish advance was temporarily halted afterStephen the Great ofMoldavia defeated the armies of the Ottoman SultanMehmed II at theBattle of Vaslui in 1475, one of the greatest defeats of the Ottoman Empire until that time. Stephen was defeated the next year atRăzboieni (Battle of Valea Albă), but the Ottomans had to retreat after they failed to take any significant castle (seesiege of Neamț Citadel) as a plague started to spread in the Ottoman army. Stephen's search for European assistance against the Turks met with little success, even though he had "cut off the pagan's right-hand", as he put it in a letter.
Since 1360s Hungary confronted with the Ottoman Empire. The Kingdom of Hungary ledseveral crusades, campaigns and carried out several defence battles and sieges against the Ottomans. Hungary bore the brunt of the Ottoman wars in Europe during the 15th century and successfully halted the Ottoman advance. From 1490, after the death of KingMatthias of Hungary, the royal power declined. In 1521, Hungary was invaded by SultanSuleiman the Magnificent, the border fortressBelgrade considered as the key and southern gate of the Kingdom of Hungary, after two previous sieges, the Ottomans captured this stronghold by theThird Siege of Belgrade. The Sultan launched an attack against the weakened kingdom, whose smaller army was defeated in 1526 at theBattle of Mohács and KingLouis II of Hungary died.[25]
After the Ottoman victory in theBattle of Mohács in 1526, only the southwestern part of theKingdom of Hungary was actually conquered.[26] The Ottoman campaign continued between 1526 and 1556 with small campaigns and major summer invasions – troops would return south of theBalkan Mountains before winter. In 1529, they mounted their first major attack on theAustrianHabsburg monarchy, attempting to conquer the city ofVienna (siege of Vienna). In 1532, another attack on Vienna with 60,000 troops in the main army was held up by the small fort (800 defenders) ofKőszeg in western Hungary, fighting a suicidal battle.[27] The invading troops were held up until winter was close and the Habsburg Empire had assembled a force of 80,000 at Vienna. The Ottoman troops returned home through Styria, laying waste to the country.
In the meantime, in 1538, the Ottoman Empire invadedMoldavia. In 1541, another campaign in Hungary tookBuda andPest (which today together form the Hungarian capitalBudapest) with a largely bloodless trick: after concluding peace talks with an agreement, troops stormed the open gates of Buda in the night. In retaliation for a failed Austrian counter-attack in 1542, the conquest of the western half of central Hungary was finished in the 1543 campaign that took both the most important royal ex-capital,Székesfehérvár, and the ex-seat of the cardinal,Esztergom. However, the army of 35–40,000 men was not enough forSuleiman to mount another attack on Vienna. A temporary truce was signed between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires in 1547, which was soon disregarded by the Habsburgs.
In the major but moderately successfulOttoman campaign of 1552, two armies took the eastern part of central Hungary, pushing the borders of the Ottoman Empire to the second (inner) line of northernvégvárs (border castles), which Hungary originally built as defence against an expected secondMongol invasion—hence, afterwards, borders on this front changed little. For Hungarians, the 1552 campaign was a series of tragic losses and some heroic (butpyrrhic) victories, which entered folklore—most notably the fall ofDrégely (a small fort defended to the last man by just 146 men,[28] and thesiege of Eger. The latter was a majorvégvár with more than 2,000 men, without outside help. They faced two Ottoman armies, which were surprisingly unable to take the castle within five weeks. (The fort was later taken in 1596.) Finally, the 1556 campaign secured Ottoman influence over Transylvania (which had fallen under Habsburg control for a time), while failing to gain any ground on the western front, being tied down in the second (after 1555) unsuccessful siege of the southwestern Hungarian border castle ofSzigetvár.
The Ottoman Empire conducted another major war against the Habsburgs and their Hungarian territories between 1566 and 1568. The 1566siege of Szigetvár, the third siege in which the fort was finally taken, but the aged Sultan died, deterring that year's push for Vienna.
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Ottoman forces invaded and captured the island ofRhodes in 1522, after two previous failed attempts (seeSiege of Rhodes (1522)).[29] TheKnights of Saint John were banished toMalta, which was in turn besieged in 1565.
After a siege of three months, the Ottoman army failed to control all of the Maltese forts. Delaying the Ottomans until bad weather conditions and the arrival of Sicilian reinforcements, made Ottoman commander Kızılahmedli Mustafa Pasha quit the siege. Around 22,000 to 48,000 Ottoman troops against 6,000 to 8,500 Maltese troops, the Ottomans failed to conquer Malta, sustaining more than 25,000 losses,[30] including one of the greatest Muslim corsair generals of the time,Dragut, and were repulsed. Had Malta fallen, Sicily and mainland Italy could have fallen under the threat of an Ottoman invasion. The victory of Malta during this event, which is nowadays known as theGreat Siege of Malta, turned the tide and gave Europe hopes and motivation. It also marked the importance of theKnights of Saint John and their relevant presence in Malta to aid Christendom in its defence against the Muslim conquest.
The Ottoman naval victories of this period were in theBattle of Preveza (1538) and theBattle of Djerba (1560).
TheMediterranean campaign, which lasted from 1570 to 1573, resulted in the Ottoman conquest ofCyprus. AHoly League of Venice, thePapal States,Spain, the Knights of Saint John in Malta and initiallyPortugal was formed against the Ottoman Empire during this period. The League's victory in theBattle of Lepanto (1571) briefly ended Ottoman predominance at sea.
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In the summer of 1570, the Turks struck again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. About 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery, under the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha landed unopposed nearLimassol on 2 July 1570, and laid siege toNicosia. In an orgy of victory on the day that the city fell—9 September, every public building and palace was looted. Word of the superior Ottoman numbers spread, and a few days later Mustafa took Kyrenia without having to fire a shot. Famagusta, however, resisted and put up a defense that lasted from September 1570 until August 1571.
Thefall of Famagusta marked the beginning of the Ottoman period in Cyprus. Two months later, the naval forces of theHoly League, composed mainly of Venetian, Spanish, and Papal ships under the command ofDon John of Austria, defeated the Ottoman fleet at theBattle of Lepanto in one of the decisive battles of world history. The victory over the Turks, however, came too late to help Cyprus, and the island remained under Ottoman rule for the next three centuries.
In 1570, theOttoman Empire first conqueredCyprus, andLala Mustafa Pasha became the first Ottoman governor of Cyprus, challenging the claims of Venice. Simultaneously, thePope formed a coalition between thePapal States,Malta,Spain,Venice and several other Italian states, with no real result. In 1573 the Venetians left, removing the influence of theRoman Catholic Church.
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Wars fought over Moldavia. The Polish army advanced into Moldavia and was defeated in theBattle of Ţuţora. The next year, the Poles repelled the Turkish invasion in theBattle of Khotyn. Another conflict started in 1633 but was soon settled.
Transylvania, the Eastern part of the former Hungarian Kingdom, gained semi-independence in 1526, while paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire. In 1657, Transylvania underGeorge II Rákóczi felt strong enough to attack theTatars to the East (then the Empire's vassals), and later the Ottoman Empire itself, which had come to the Tatars' defence. The war lasted until 1662, ending in defeat for the Hungarians. The Western part of the Hungarian Kingdom (Partium) was annexed and placed under direct Ottoman control. At the same time, there was another campaign against Austria between 1663 and 1664. Despite being defeated in theBattle of Saint Gotthard on 1 August 1664 byRaimondo Montecuccoli, the Ottomans secured recognition of their conquest ofNové Zámky in thePeace of Vasvár with Austria, marking the greatest territorial extent of Ottoman rule in the former Hungarian Kingdom.[31]
ThePolish–Ottoman War (1672–1676) ended with theTreaty of Żurawno, in which the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ceded control of most of its Ukrainian territories to the empire. The war showed the increasing weakness and disorder of the Commonwealth, who by the second half of the 17th century had started its gradual decline that would culminate a century later with thepartitions of Poland.
TheGreat Turkish War started in 1683, with a grandinvasion force of 140,000 men[32] marching on Vienna, supported byProtestant Hungarian noblemen rebelling against Habsburg rule. To stop the invasion, anotherHoly League was formed, composed of Austria and Poland (notably in theBattle of Vienna), Venetians and theRussian Empire, Vienna had been besieged by theOttoman Empire for two months. The battle marked the first time the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily against the Ottomans, and it is often seen as a turning point in history, after which "the Ottoman Turks ceased to be a menace to the Christian world".[33][c] In the ensuing war that lasted until 1699, the Ottomans lost almost all of Hungary to theHoly Roman Emperor Leopold I.[33]
After winning the Battle of Vienna, the Holy League gained the upper hand and reconquered Hungary (Buda and Pest were retaken in 1686, the former under the command of a Swiss-born convert to Islam). At the same time, the Venetians launched anexpedition into Greece, which conquered thePeloponnese. During the 1687 Venetian attack on the city ofAthens (conquered by the Ottomans), the Ottomans turned the ancientParthenon into an ammunitions storehouse. A Venetian mortar hit the Parthenon, detonating the Ottoman gunpowder stored inside, partially destroying it.[34][35]
The war ended with theTreaty of Karlowitz in 1699.Prince Eugene of Savoy first distinguished himself in 1683 and remained the most important Austrian commander until 1718.[36][37]
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TheFourth Russo-Turkish War took place in 1710–1711 in the basin of thePruth river, as part of theGreat Northern War. It was instigated byCharles XII of Sweden after the defeat at theBattle of Poltava, in order to tie down Russia with the Ottoman Empire and gain some breathing space in the increasingly unsuccessful campaign. The Russians were severely beaten but not annihilated, and after theTreaty of the Pruth was signed, the Ottoman Empire disengaged, allowing Russia to refocus its energies on the defeat of Sweden.
TheOttoman–Venetian War started in 1714. It overlapped with theAustro-Turkish War (1716–1718), in which Austria conquered the remaining areas of the former Hungarian Kingdom, ending with theTreaty of Passarowitz in 1718.
A war erupted againwith Russia in 1735 and Austria in 1737. It lasted until 1739 when theTreaty of Belgrade was signed with Austria and theTreaty of Niš with Russia.
TheSixth Russo-Turkish War started in 1768 and ended in 1774 with theTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca. As a result of this treaty, theCrimean Khanate became a Russianclient state.
Another war with Russia started in 1787 anda concurrent war with Austria followed in 1788; the Austrian war ended with the 1791Treaty of Sistova, and the Russian war ended with the 1792Treaty of Jassy.
Aninvasion of Egypt and Syria byNapoleon I ofFrance took place in 1798–99, but ended due to British intervention.
Napoleon's capture of Malta on his way to Egypt resulted in the unusual alliance of Russia and the Ottomans resulting in a joint naval expedition to theIonian Islands. Their successful capture of these islands led to the setting up of theSeptinsular Republic.
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TheFirst Serbian Uprising took place in 1804, followed by theSecond Serbian Uprising in 1815. The result of this successfulSerbian Revolution was the establishment of a semi-independentPrincipality of Serbia, and its acknowledgment by the Ottoman Empire (althoughde jure independent in domestic matters, the principality had to pay a yearly tax to the Porte and accept the permanent presence of the Ottoman army on its soil).
TheEighth Russo-Turkish War began in 1806 and ended in May 1812, just 13 days beforeNapoleon's invasion of Russia.
TheMoldavian–Wallachian (Romanian) Uprising (starting simultaneously with theGreek Revolution).
TheGreek War of Independence started in 1821. The Great Powers intervened from 1827 in support of the revolutionaries, including Russia (Ninth Russo-Turkish War). TheTreaty of Adrianople ended the war in 1829, and forced the Ottomans to accept Greek independence (as the newKingdom of Greece), more autonomy for Serbia and the Russian occupation of the Romanian principalities.[38]
The decline of the Ottoman Empire included the following conflicts.
Albanian rebellions 1820–1822, 1830–1839, 1843, 1845, 1847.
Bosnian rebellions 1831–1836, 1836–1837, 1841.
War with Montenegro 1852–1853.
The Tenth Russo-Turkish War of 1853–56, better known as theCrimean War, in which theUnited Kingdom andFrance joined the war on the side of the Ottoman Empire. Ended with theTreaty of Paris.
Second war withMontenegro in 1858–1859.
War with Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia in 1862.
Cretan Uprising in 1866.
The decision to increase taxes to Christian nations in the empire's Balkan provinces resulted in widespread outrage that lead to several revolts. The first was theHerzegovinian Uprising in 1875, followed by Bulgarian revolutionariesstarting an uprising in April 1876 that was brutally suppressed (seeBatak massacre). Later in June, Serbia and Montenegrojointly declared war on the empire. After six months of inconclusive fighting, international reaction to atrocities committed by Turkish troops forced intervention of the major European powers, which concluded a ceasefire. In December, theConstantinople Conference was organized to deal with the situation and resolve the crisis. However, the Ottoman Empire refused the proposed reforms and withdrew from the Conference.
Russia, inspired byPan-Slavism and feeling support in the anti-Ottoman sympathies running throughout Europe, saw the chance to declare war on the Ottoman Empire and fulfill the union of all Orthodox nations in the Balkans under its mantle. That started the eleventhRusso-Turkish War in 1877, fought in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, with Russia leading a coalition with Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The coalition won the war, pushing the Ottomans all the way back to the gates of Constantinople. Russians and Ottomans signed theTreaty of San Stefano in early 1878. After deliberations at theCongress of Berlin, which was attended by all the Great Powers of the time, theTreaty of Berlin (1878) provided independence or autonomy for the Christian nations in the empire's Balkan territories, and drastically restructured the map of the region.
Shortly after the war, Austria-Hungary was allowed to militarily occupy Bosnia, which formally continued to be part of the Ottoman territories.
Eastern Rumelia was granted some autonomy in 1878, but then rebelled and joined Bulgaria in 1885.Thessaly was ceded toGreece in 1881, but afterGreece attacked the Ottoman Empire to help the Second Cretan Uprising in 1897, Greece was defeated in Thessaly. Crete would gain autonomy in 1898 after theCretan Revolt (1897–1898).
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In 1911, Italy invadedOttoman Tripolitania (During thecolonisation of Africa, Tripolitania becameLibya), which was controlled by theOttoman Empire. The war ended with the Italian annexation of the Tripolitania.
Bulgaro-Macedonian insurrection from 1903. SeeIlinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising.
TwoBalkan Wars, in 1912 and 1913, entailed further action against the Ottoman Empire in Europe. TheBalkan League first conquered Macedonia and most ofThrace from the Ottoman Empire, and then fell out over the division of the spoils. Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, after several rebellions and uprisings. This reduced Turkey's possessions in Europe (Rumelia) to their present borders inEastern Thrace.
World War I (1914–1918) became the ultimate cause of thecollapse of the Ottoman Empire, which formally ended in 1922. However, during wartime operations the Empire prevented the BritishRoyal Navy from reachingConstantinople, stopping an Entente invasion in theBattle of Gallipoli (1915–1916). Nevertheless, under the provisions of theTreaty of Lausanne (1923) the Empire ultimately fell.[citation needed]
John Hunyadi accompanied by the cardinal-legate Giuliano Cesarini.
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