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The Austrian-Ottoman Wars, also known as the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars, were a series of conflicts between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. The wars began in the early 16th century, with low-level conflict in a border zone roughly defined by the Danube and Sava rivers. The wars continued intermittently until the 19th century, with the last Austro-Turkish War taking place from 1788 to 1791. The Austrian-Ottoman Wars were marked by periods of intense fighting, including sieges, battles, and conquests, as well as periods of relative calm and diplomatic maneuvering. The wars had significant consequences for both empires, shaping their histories and the region as a whole.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Conflict | 1788–1791 |
| Participants | Austria, Ottoman Empire, Russia |
| Outcome | Austria gained a small town and a strip of Croatian land |
| Impact | Negative effect on Austria's economy, hindered progress towards a modern civil society |
| Related Events | Serbian liberation movement, Bread riots in Vienna, Ottoman-Habsburg Wars, Great Turkish War |
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What You'll Learn
The Ottoman-Habsburg Wars
In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman I (also known as Suleiman the Magnificent), began to pose a significant threat to European powers. The Ottoman conquests in Europe gained early momentum with a decisive victory at Mohács, which brought a third of central Hungary under Ottoman control. The Ottoman Empire's influence continued to grow, with Ottoman ships seizing Venetian possessions in the Aegean and Ionian seas, and Ottoman-supported Barbary pirates capturing Spanish territories in the Maghreb.
The Habsburgs, facing internal separatist movements and external conflicts with Prussia and France for control of central Europe, assembled a coalition of European powers, including the Kingdom of Hungary, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Holy Roman Empire, and Habsburg Spain, known as the Holy League, to counter the Ottoman threat.
The conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs was characterised by a series of military campaigns, sieges, and shifting control over fortresses and territories. Notable engagements include the siege of Buda in 1529, the siege of Esztergom in 1543, the siege of Szigetvár in 1566, and the Battle of Sisak, where Ottoman ghazis were defeated by Imperial troops. The Peace of Westphalia and the War of the Spanish Succession in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively, left the Austrian Empire as the sole firm possession of the House of Habsburg.
The Second Siege of Vienna in 1683 marked a turning point, with the successful defence of the city by the Austrians leading to a shift in momentum and the decline of the Ottoman Empire's power. The Great Turkish War ended with a decisive victory for the Holy League at Zenta. Despite intermittent tensions continuing into the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire and Austria did not engage in direct warfare again, ultimately finding themselves allied during World War I, after which both empires were dissolved.
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The Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791)
The Austro-Turkish War, also known as the Habsburg-Ottoman War, was fought from 1788 to 1791 between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The war was fought concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792).
The Austrian Emperor Joseph II had concluded an alliance with the Russians in 1781, which obliged him to assist the Russians in their conflict with the Ottoman Empire. The war began in August 1787 when, after "numerous Russian provocations", the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Russians. The Austrians entered the war in February 1788, though they had by now lost their best chance for an easy victory due to the slow preparations of Russia, which resulted in the Ottoman concentration on Belgrade. The Austrians relied on Russian support in Moldavia, which only began in late 1788, and Joseph II seemed to have been reluctant to fight the Ottomans. In July, the Ottomans crossed the Danube and broke into the Austrian Banat. Shortage of supplies struck both sides, while disease struck the Austrian soldiers. As many as 50,000 Serb refugees flooded across the Danube, causing logistical problems for the Austrians. In mid-August, Joseph II dispatched 20,400 soldiers into the Banat. A Serbian Free Corps of 5,000 soldiers had been established in the Banat, composed of refugees that had fled earlier conflicts in the Ottoman Empire. The Corps would fight for the liberation of Serbia and unification under Habsburg rule.
The balance later shifted towards Austria: the Turks were expelled from parts of Croatia, the Banat, and parts of Bosnia. Belgrade was taken in a three-week campaign by the aging Field Marshal Laudon, and Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788-1791) was established. The Austrian army also decisively participated in the victories of Focşani and Rymnik de facto under the overall command of Suvorov, and Josias of Saxe-Coburg conquered Bucharest. However, Joseph II spent most of the war at the front and ultimately died of illness contracted there on 20 February 1790. Joseph's successor Leopold II was compelled to end the war due to the threat of Prussian intervention in support of the Ottomans. In the final negotiated outcome, established in the Treaty of Sistova of 4 August 1791, Austria's gains were minor: Austria returned all the territory from its conquests save the small town of Orsova and a strip of Croatian land near the Bosnian-Croatian border.
The war had serious negative effects on the economy of Austria, and derailed progress in creating a modern civil society. Joseph's predatory foreign policy, combined with that of Catherine II, led to a devastated domestic economy, with the national debt soaring to 400 million gulden in 1790. As food prices and taxes rose and a new conscription was implemented, the mood in Vienna turned ugly, and bread riots erupted. The morale of the cultural elite was severely eroded, and there were widespread feelings of disillusionment with Emperor Joseph, a sense that he had betrayed the promise of an enlightened reform movement.
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The Little War
In the early sixteenth century, the Ottoman conquests in Europe made significant gains, with a decisive victory at Mohács reducing around one-third of central Hungary to the status of an Ottoman tributary. By 1568, the Ottomans controlled Transylvania as an autonomous principality, leaving western Hungary to the Habsburgs. For the next two decades, the Austrian-Ottoman border was quiet, but Christian refugees from Ottoman territory were resettled on the Habsburg side of the "military frontier." Hungary became divided into two parts: Royal Hungary, ruled by the Habsburgs, and Transylvania, ruled by the Ottomans.
In 1768, a major war broke out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Austria initially stayed out of the conflict to avoid encouraging Russian expansion plans. However, after Russian successes, the Austrians entered the conflict and mediated the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, gaining little new territory. In 1787, Austria was again prodded into action by Russia, and a series of decisive victories left them poised to advance towards Constantinople in 1790. However, the French Revolution caused other European powers to pressure them to end the war, which they did in 1791.
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The Ottoman Conquests in Europe
The Ottoman Empire's conquests in Europe began in the late fourteenth century with the invasion of the Balkans. By the early sixteenth century, there was a steady low-level conflict in a border zone roughly defined by the Danube and Sava rivers between the Ottomans and European Christian rulers. The Ottoman conquests in Europe continued into the sixteenth century, with the fall of Buda in 1526 and the siege of Vienna in 1529. The latter invasion failed, in part due to the lack of heavy artillery, and the arrival of a relief force led by Sobieski. The superior armament and tactics of the Polish army forced the Ottomans to retreat after just one day. The defeat at Vienna forced the Ottoman Sultan to turn his attention elsewhere, allowing Archduke Ferdinand to launch an offensive in 1530, recapturing forts and pushing into Hungary.
The Ottoman Empire continued to make gains in Europe, with the conquest of Cyprus and the capture of Eger in 1596. The early seventeenth century saw the outbreak of the Fifteen Years' War (1591-1606), which ended with two peace agreements in 1606. The first, the Peace of Vienna, guaranteed the rights of Hungarian Protestants, while the second, the Peace of Zsitvatorok, recognised the existing Austro-Ottoman borders. The Ottoman Empire made its greatest European advance in the early seventeenth century, but this was halted by the Polish, who drove them back at the Battle of Khotyn in 1621. The second siege of Vienna in 1683 is often depicted as a decisive Austrian victory that marked the decline of the Ottoman Empire. However, recent historians have noted that the Habsburgs were also resisting internal separatist movements and fighting Prussia and France for control of central Europe.
The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the continuation of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars, with both sides trading fortresses and incursions. The Peace of Westphalia and the War of the Spanish Succession in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, respectively, left the Austrian Empire as the sole firm possession of the House of Habsburg. The Habsburgs assembled a large coalition of European powers, known as the Holy League, to fight the Ottomans and regain control over Hungary. The Great Turkish War ended with a decisive Holy League victory at Zenta. The last major conflict between the Ottomans and Austrians in the eighteenth century was the Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791). This war devastated Austria's domestic economy and had negative effects on its society, contributing to instability in the empire.
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The Ottoman-Austrian Conflict in the Nineteenth Century
The nineteenth century saw the continuation of intermittent tensions between Austria and the Ottoman Empire. However, the two empires never engaged in direct warfare during this period. By the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was already in decline, and its military prowess was not what it once was. Nevertheless, it remained a powerful and dangerous threat in the eyes of the Austrians.
The previous centuries had witnessed numerous conflicts between the two empires, with the Ottomans making significant conquests in Europe, including the fall of Esztergom and the siege of Vienna in 1683. The latter is considered a decisive victory for the Austrians, marking the beginning of the end of Ottoman dominance in the region. The Habsburgs, who ruled Austria, also resisted internal separatist movements and fought Prussia and France for control of central Europe.
The Austrians, led by Joseph II, had formed an alliance with the Russians in 1781, which later drew them into conflict with the Ottomans from 1787 to 1790 or 1791. This war, known as the Austro-Turkish War, ended with the Treaty of Sistova in 1791, with minimal territorial gains for Austria. The war had a detrimental impact on Austria's economy and domestic reforms.
The nineteenth century also saw the rise of nationalism in the Balkans, with nationalist elites mobilizing local populations and seeking intervention from Great Powers like Austria-Hungary and Czarist Russia to attain statehood. This dynamic became a characteristic feature of European politics during this period due to advancements in communication technologies. Despite their differences, Austria and the Ottoman Empire found themselves on the same side during World War I, after which both empires were dissolved.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria and the Ottoman Empire fought during the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars, which began in the early 16th century.
The primary cause of the wars was the Ottoman conquests of Balkan territory, which led to a steady low-level conflict with European Christian rulers along the border defined by the Danube and Sava rivers.
Some significant battles during the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars include the Battle of Lepanto, the Siege of Vienna in 1529, the Battle of Călugăreni, the Battle of Sisak, and the Battle of Zenta.
The Ottoman-Habsburg Wars had significant consequences for both empires. The wars resulted in territorial gains and losses for each side, with the Habsburgs gaining control over parts of Hungary and Croatia, while the Ottomans maintained control over Transylvania. The wars also had economic impacts, with the national debt in Austria soaring during the conflict. Additionally, the wars contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of religious tensions in the region.
No, Austria and the Ottoman Empire did not fight each other during World War I. In fact, they were allies during the war, and both empires were ultimately dissolved after the end of the conflict.
