Austro-Turkish Wars
The Austro-Turkish Wars were a series of military conflicts primarily between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The wars initiated with the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Hungary, notably marked by Süleyman I's campaigns, which included two unsuccessful sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1631. The conflict intensified with the Siege of Vienna in 1683, where a coalition including Polish forces successfully repelled the Ottomans, leading to their retreat and subsequent losses in battles across the region.
The wars continued into the 18th century, with Austria engaging in multiple conflicts against the Ottomans alongside Russia, reflecting the broader geopolitical tensions of the time. Key treaties, such as the Treaty of Carlowitz (1699) and the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), resulted in significant territorial changes, with Austria gaining control over parts of Hungary, Serbia, and other regions. The Austro-Turkish Wars ultimately contributed to the decline of Ottoman influence in Central Europe while simultaneously shaping Austria's role in the balance of power in the Balkans. After 1791, Austria shifted its focus from direct confrontation with the Ottomans to maintaining the stability of the Ottoman Empire against Russian expansionism.
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Austro-Turkish Wars
At issue: Security in Central Europe and control of the Balkans
Date: 1526–1791
Locations: Balkans, Hungary, Austria
Combatants: Ottoman Turks vs. Austrian Habsburgs
Principal commanders:Turkish, Süleyman I (1496–1566), Köprülü Fazil Ahmed (1635–1676), Kara Mustapha (d. 1683), Fazil Mustapha (d. 1691); Austrian, Count Stahremberg, Don Juan de Austria (1547–1578), Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), John III Sobieski (1624–1696), Charles V, duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
Principal battles: Mohács, Vienna, Lepanto, Mezö-Keresztes, St. Gotthard’s Abbey, Györ, Esztergrom, Peterwardein, Zenta, Temesvär, Krotzka
Result: The disappearance of the major Turkish threat to Central Europe and the liberation of Hungary
Background
Süleyman I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, launched his dream of Balkan conquest by defeating the Hungarians at Mohács in 1526; more than 24,000 Magyars were killed. Süleyman’s European thrusts threatened Austria, whose Duke Ferdinand (later Ferdinand I) claimed title to the Hungarian throne after Louis II died at Mohács. Turks ruled the central area of Hungary, leaving the northwest region to Ferdinand. This was formalized by treaty in 1562.
Action
Austrian fears were realized when Süleyman brought his terrifying janissaries to the gates of Vienna in 1529. Despite an army of 250,000 and 300 siege guns, the sultan failed to penetrate the Viennese walls. Heavy rains and mud favored the defenders, and Süleyman retreated after executing 2,000 prisoners. Süleyman returned three years later with a larger army of 300,000, but the difficulty of conveying heavy artillery through thick mud frustrated the sultan, who aborted the venture. Nourishing his dream of taking the Habsburg capital, Süleyman tried again in 1566 but died en route to Vienna.
The sea battle at Lepanto changed the fortunes of the Ottoman Empire. In 1571, the Habsburgs put together a naval coalition under Don Juan de Austria that crushed the Ottoman fleet of pirates. Some 200 of 245 Turkish vessels were sunk in this battle, and European shipping was reopened.
War broke out again when the Habsburgs supported the rebels in Wallachia and Moldavia in 1593. Habsburg forces won the initial contest in northern Hungary, but the Turks rebounded under Sultan Mehmed III to win at Mezö-Keresztes (October, 1596). After other inconclusive battles, Ahmed I signed the Treaty of Szitvatorok (1606) to end Austrian tribute to the sultan.
For forty years, the Ottoman Empire was preoccupied with Safavid Persia and Crete. Grand Vizier Köprülü Fazil Ahmed, part of the Köprülü family, took the offensive in 1664 against Austria at St. Gotthard Abbey but stopped when French troops arrived to aid the Habsburgs. However, the Janissaries seized Podolia in a war against Poland from 1672 to 1676. Another Köprülü, Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha, then launched the dramatic Siege of Vienna in 1683.
Aided by Crimean Tatars and renegade Magyars, on July 7, 1683, Kara Mustapha’s infantry seized Györ, only eighty-five miles from Vienna. Days later they were within sight of the Habsburg capital, and Emperor Leopold I had fled. Kara Mustapha erected an impressive, colorful camp beyond the defenses, where his army remained for sixty days. To demoralize the foe, he displayed decapitated heads of those taken prisoner. The 15,000 defenders commanded by Count Stahremberg stood ready to hold the fortifications against the huge army of attackers. After the assault began, a hole was blown through the wall, but not before 76,000 Poles arrived to engage the enemy along the vineyards of Kahlenberg. Led by John III Sobieski, the Poles were soon joined by Germans from Lorraine under Duke Charles V and compelled Kara Mustapha to retreat, first to Györ, then to Belgrade where, on December 25, 1683, he was strangled on orders of the sultan. Charles V’s Germans liberated Esztergrom, an Islamicized city retaken by Christians.
War continued as Austrian armies took Belgrade on August 20, 1688, and Nis a year later. Grand Vizier Fazil Mustapha drove the Austrians out of Serbia, but he was killed in the Battle of Peterwardein (1691). Ottoman forces suffered a decisive defeat at Zenta in 1697, after which a peace treaty was signed two years later at Carlowitz. Poland recovered title to Podolia, and the Porte recognized Austria as sovereigns of Transylvania and a united Hungary.
In the eighteenth century, Austria joined Russia in conflicts with the Turks. Austria was as much concerned with restraining Russian expansion as with the diminution of Ottoman hegemony. In 1716, Austria’s Prince Eugene of Savoy led the Habsburg troops to victories at Peterwardein and Temesvär and the following year at Belgrade. The resulting Peace of Passarowitz (1718) gave the Austrians the Banat, parts of Bosnia and Wallachia, and northern Serbia, including Belgrade. In 1735, Austria and Russia went to war with Turkey again. The Russians were victorious in the Crimea, but the Austrians were defeated at Krotzka (July, 1739) and pressured Czarina Anna to accept the Treaty of Belgrade (1739), returning Belgrade and lesser Wallachia to Turkey.
After 1768, when Russia and Turkey resumed conflict, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa was in a quandary. Her advisers suggested that she ally with the Turks to prevent the Russians from becoming dominant in the Balkans. Torn between that fear and her dislike of the Turks, she remained out of that war. The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774 realized some of her fears when the Turks conceded to Russia the role of protector of their Orthodox Christian subjects. Austria was also wary of the plan to create a new Byzantine Empire in the Romanian provinces, under Russian protection. A treaty with Turkey ceded Bukovina to Austria in 1775.
Twelve years later, Austria joined Russia in a new war with the Ottoman Empire. Austrian emperor Joseph II personally commanded his troops without success. He called upon the Serbs to revolt, which they did with some success, but he died before the war ended. Austria under its new ruler, Leopold II, and Turkey under the new sultan, Selim III, were anxious for peace and signed a separate treaty at Sistova on August 4, 1791, with no major territorial changes but providing some civil liberties for Serbs.
Aftermath
After 1791, Austria, no longer fearful of the Turks, was concerned with maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire in the face of Russian expansion toward Constantinople.
Bibliography
Goodwin, Godfrey. The Janissaries. London: Saqi, 1997.
Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. London: Vintage, 1999.
Palmer, Alan Warwick. The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire. New York: M. Evans, 1993.
Setton, Kenneth Meyer. Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century. Philadelphia, Pa.: American Philosophical Society, 1991.
Spielman, John Philip. Leopold I of Austria. London: Thames and Hudson, 1977.