Background

The Ottoman Empire, under Sultan Murad II, was expanding its influence in the Balkans and had conquered significant territories. The Ottoman threat prompted European powers to form alliances to counter the expansion.

Pope Eugene IV issued a papal bull in 1443, calling for a new crusade to halt Ottoman advances. The call was heeded by various European leaders, including King Władysław III of Poland and Hungary, John Hunyadi (a prominent Hungarian military commander), and other European nobles.

Formation of the Crusader Army

King Władysław III of Poland and Hungary took command of the crusader army, which was a diverse coalition of forces from Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Wallachia, and others. The Hungarian nobleman John Hunyadi played a crucial role in organizing and leading the troops.

The crusader army marched towards Varna, aiming to confront the Ottoman forces and stop their advance. The European forces were not fully unified, and communication and coordination among the different contingents were challenging.

The Battle of Varna

The crusader army initially achieved some success, pushing back the Ottoman forces. However, the lack of coordination among the European forces and the absence of proper communication played a significant role in the later outcome.

During the battle, a contingent of Polish knights, believing that the Ottoman forces were in retreat, broke formation to pursue the retreating enemy. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as it exposed the crusader army to a well-coordinated Ottoman counterattack.

Sultan Murad II had strategically held back some of his troops, and when the Polish knights pursued the retreating Ottoman forces, they fell into a trap. The Ottoman forces regrouped and launched a devastating counterattack, leading to the eventual defeat of the crusader army.

Aftermath

The defeat at Varna dealt a significant blow to the crusading efforts in the region. The loss of key leaders and the demoralization of the European forces hindered subsequent attempts to counter Ottoman expansion.

Consolidation of Ottoman Power: The victory at Varna solidified Ottoman control over the Balkans, allowing the empire to continue its expansion into southeastern Europe.

The Crusade of Varna had long-term consequences for the power dynamics in the region. The Ottoman Empire continued to be a dominant force in the Eastern Mediterranean, while the dream of a united European front against Ottoman expansion faced significant setbacks.

Background

The Polish–Ottoman War of 1485–1503 was a prolonged conflict, rather a series of conflicts, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Ottoman Empire. The conflict formally lasted eighteen years, but during this time hostilities were ceased on several occasions due to temporary treaties being signed between the warring parties. In the war the Kingdom of Poland was supported by its fiefs, the Duchy of Mazovia and the State of the Teutonic Order, as well as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand, was allied with the Crimean Khanate and by the Principality of Moldavia during the Moldavian Campaign of 1497–1499. For most of the 15th century, Moldavia was a vassal of Poland, but other states, notably the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate, meanwhile tried to subdue Moldavia. After the Fall of Constantinople (1453), the Ottomans directed their expansion northwards towards the lower Danube and behind the mighty river and also threatened Poland.

Outbreak of war

Battle of the Cosmin Forest

In 1485, the Ottomans captured the Moldavian Black Sea ports Akkerman and Kilia. That undermined Polish eastern trade. The king promised help and called the pospolite ruszenie, the royal army and mercenaries. In November 1485, the Poles commanded by Jan Karnkowski, entered Moldavia and defeated Tatar forces. John Albert himself prepared an anti-Ottoman raid in 1487 but had to change the plans and sent his forces to fight Tatars, allied with the Ottomans. On September 8, 1487, the Battle of Kopystrzyn in Podolia took place in which the Tatars were defeated.

On March 23, 1489, a two-year truce was signed between Poland and Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. In it, Casimir IV recognized the Ottomans' possession of Kilia and Akkerman, a violation of his suzerainty^[4] over Moldavia, which led Stephen III of Moldovia to renounce Poland and seek Ottoman suzerainty. On January 25, 1491 the Battle of Zasław in Volhynia took place, in which Polish forces destroyed a Tatar raid. In 1494, King John began military preparations for a new raid, despite a three-year truce that was signed on April 6 of that year. Stephen III refused to join the Polish effort, fearing that Moldavia would become the battleground between the Ottomans and Poles. Instead, he sought Ottoman assurance of support if the Poles invaded Moldavia.^[5] It took Poland three years to complete their preparations. Its army was made of Polish Crown forces, aided by a number of foreign mercenaries, 400 Teutonic Knights under Grand Master Johann von Tieffen and a 600-strong unit from Mazovia. Altogether, the Polish Army was some 40,000 strong, with 200 cannons.

Fearful of an alliance between Moldavia, Muscovy and the Ottomans, the Poles sought to make a pre-emptive strike to capture Moldavia; the Lesser Poland nobles, especially the Polish Ruthenians, in particular demanded war to eliminate the Tatar raiding threat and to seize access to the eastern trade. Polish units of the pospolite ruszenie gathered in May to June 1497 in Podolia, and in early August, the army crossed the Dniestr River and entered Moldavia. On 1497, Poland began its Moldavian Campaign of 1497–1499. On September 24, the Poles began the siege of Suceava, which was a failure, and on October 19, they began to retreat. A week later, on October 26, the Poles were defeated in the Battle of the Cosmin Forest. The campaign ended in 1499 in a Moldovian victory.

The Polish raid provoked Ottomans and Tatars, with the aid of Stephen of Moldavia, to invade the southeastern corner of Poland.^[6] This took place in spring 1498: after crossing the Dniestr, the invaders ransacked Red Ruthenia, capturing thousands of people and reaching as far as Przeworsk. In the summer of that year, the Tatars again invaded Poland, mainly Podolia and Volhynia.

Truce

On July 13, 1498, John Albert signed a treaty with the Kingdom of Hungary in which both sides agreed to co-operate against the Ottomans. On August 15, 1499, Stephen III accepted the truce, and on October 9, 1503, King Alexander I Jagiellon signed a five-year peace treaty with Sultan Bayezid II.

Background

In early 1595 Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, convinced Ștefan Răzvan, a commander of Hungarian mercenaries in the service of the then Hospodar Aaron the Tyrant to rebel. Ștefan captured Aaron and sent him to Transylvania, then proclaimed himself as the new Hospodar and a vassal of Sigismund. In response the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III, who had been Aaron's protector and sovereign, decided to put an end to the ongoing power struggles in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania between various magnates. While Wallachia was to receive a new Turkish sponsored ruler, Moldavia was to be simply incorporated into the Ottoman Empire as a province. The Ottoman intervention aroused alarms in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which sought to reestablish its influence in the region, having lost sovereignty over Moldavia some hundred years earlier after the Battle of the Cosmin Forest.

Battle of Cecora

''Battle over the Turkish banner'', by Józef Brandt

In the summer of 1595, a Polish army of 5,000 cavalry and 2,300 infantry entered Moldavia, occupied Khotyn on August 27 and the capital Iasi on September 3, where Zamoyski installed Ieremia Movilă as the new hospodar who pursued a policy favorable to Poland.The Ottoman Sultan, not idle, sent against Zamoyski an army consisting mainly of Tartars and regular Ottoman troops in a strength of about 25,000. Zamoyski, upon hearing of the approaching enemy, fortified himself between the river Prut. The Tatar-Ottoman army arrived on September 18, and several skirmishes took place on the same day. The main clash occurred on September 19 when the Tatars unsuccessfully tried several times to break into the Polish camp, on September 20 the Tatar Khan Gazi, unable to gain victory over the Polish camp, entered negotiations. On September 21, a peace treaty was signed in which the Tatars recognized Ieremia Movilă as hospodar and agreed to station Polish troops in Moldavia. On September 23, the Tatars proceeded to retreat.

Moldavia as Polish-Ottoman condominium

After the victory of the Polish army at Cecora and the recognition of Ieremia Movilă as hospodar, Moldavia became a de facto Polish-Ottoman condominium, paying tribute to the Ottomans while at the same time being a vassal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, this did not please the previous hospodar Ștefan Răzvan, who, aided by the Turks at the head of an army of 5,000, entered Moldavia to overthrow Ieremia Movilă.

Hetman Jan Zamoyski

Battle of Suceava

On December 12, Razvan's army skirmished with a twice smaller Polish force near Suceava. Commander Jan Potocki tried unsuccessfully to resolve the conflict with Razvan. However, Razvan was not eager to negotiate, so Potocki gave him the battle. Razvan's forces spread out on a mountain sheltered by palisades, while the Poles took up a position in the valley opposite. The Poles opened the battle with artillery fire, killing one of the commanders of Razvan's forces in the process. The shelling was followed by a counterattack by the Transylvanian cavalry, which was smashed by Potocki, the Poles broke into Razvan's camp, who defended himself bravely although he had to give way and retreat with the remnants of his troops. Razvan, however, did not escape far and was quickly caught, Ieremi Movila showed him no mercy and after long torture ordered him to be impaled.

Aftermath

In 1597, the treaty of Polish-Ottoman friendship was renewed recognizing the election of hospodars by Polish kings, but Moldavians still had to pay tribute to the Sultan. The following year, the Ottomans obliged the Crimean Khan not to violate Polish borders and even to provide military assistance at the king's call.

Background

Stefan Potocki

The death of Ieremia Movila (July 10, 1606) was followed by a violent outbreak of power struggles in Moldavia. In violation of the rights of Ieremia's sons, the Moldavian throne was assumed by the deceased's brother, Simon. The Ottoman Empire argued such a move with the requests of the Moldavians and Ieremia's eldest son, Constantin Movila (he was only twelve years old at the time). This was protested by Ieremia's widow, Elisabeth, and her Polish sons-in-law – Prince Michał Wiśniowiecki, and Stefan Potocki. Simon Movila, dying on September 24, 1607, passed the hospodar throne to his son Michael. In such a situation, King Sigismund III Vasa granted Potocki and Wisniowiecki permission to intervene militarily in Moldavia to restore the throne to Constantin Movila. For the magnates themselves, a successful expedition allowed them to multiply their family fortunes through loot and contributions. In addition, Moldawia, lying at the intersection of important trade routes and allowing control of the Danube crossing and the land connection between the Crimean Khanate and the Turkish possessions, was an important area for economic and military reasons.

Expedition to Moldavia

Stefan Potocki, together with Prince Michael Wisniowiecki, his brothers and the hospodar, entered Moldova and defeated the Moldovan-Tatar troops at Stefanesti on December 16, 1607. Michael Movila had to flee the country, and his place was taken by Constantin Movila. Diplomatic efforts to have his reign approved by the Ottoman Empire began immediately, which was greatly facilitated by Michael's death. The approved hospodar, upon ascending to the throne in late 1607, began efforts to reduce the tribute paid to the Ottomans. The Sultan's court was offended by Constantine's submissiveness to the Poles, both magnates and soldiers remaining in his pay, but this too was tolerated for a long time. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that in the period the hospodar was only twelve years old, so most of the decisions that decided the fate of the state were the result of the rule of a group of boyars. It was they who were later held responsible for the overthrow of the prince.

Background

The Cossack communities emerged in the fourteenth century in the Ukrainian steppe by the Dnieper River. The Cossacks developed highly militaristic communities largely responsible for raids on Tatars. Neighboring states, including the Kingdom of Poland, employed them in times of conflict. In the 1500s, the Cossacks frequently attacked the Crimean Tatars and Ottomans with the intention of plundering treasure and liberating Christian slaves. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Cossacks began raiding communities in the Black Sea, including the cities of Varna, Perekop, Bilhorod, Izmail, and Trebizond.

The plundering of Ottoman possessions by Cossacks angered the Turkish Sultans which eventually led to wars between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire.

Background

Traditionally, Moldavia had been a subject of the Kingdom of Poland, and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As the Ottoman influence grew in the 16th century, they had become more and more interested in the region. From the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, the magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, which the Ottoman Empire considered within its sphere of influence. Additionally, the Ottomans were aggravated by the constant raids of Cossacks, then nominally subjects of the Commonwealth, across the border into Ottoman territories. Another reason causing the war was the recent outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, and the request of support from the Protestant rebel leaders in Bohemia.

Zaporozhian Cossacks in chaika boats attacking Turkish galleys in the Black Sea

At the time, the Thirty Years' War was raging across Europe. Gabriel Bethlen, prince of Transylvania saw an opportunity to unite the two Hungarian principalities, Transylvania and Royal Hungary, and sacked Vienna in November 1619. He also asked Sultan Osman II for aid, but this was unsuccessful. The Commonwealth was relatively uninvolved in this war but the Polish king, Zygmunt III Waza, sent an elite and ruthless mercenary unit, the Lisowczycy, to aid his Habsburg allies. They defeated the Hungarian lord George Rákóczi at the Battle of Humenné in 1619, and thus, cut the supply lines of Transylvanian forces. Then Gaspar Graziani, ruler of Moldavia, switched sides and joined Poland.

Thus, the sultan agreed to help Bethlen, gathering a large Ottoman army with the intent of a punitive invasion of the Commonwealth.

Battle of Cecora (1620)

The war

Józef Brandt, Battle of Khotyn (1621)

In 1620, the Ottoman forces crushed the Commonwealth army at the Battle of Ţuţora (Cecora). The campaign was suspended for the winter but, in 1621, both sides resumed hostilities.

The Turks, following their victory in the Battle of Ţuţora, had high hopes of conquering Ukraine (then a part of Poland), and perhaps even toppling the Commonwealth entirely and reaching the Baltic Sea. This time, however, they were stopped by a Commonwealth army, aided by a large Cossack detachment, at the Battle of Khotyn. The 45,000 Poles and Cossacks were able to withstand an Ottoman army at least two times the size of the Commonwealth's army at Khotyn and deal severe losses to the Ottoman army throughout the month of September.^[7] When the Polish cavalry rallied forth in October they broke the will of the besiegers and the Sultan sued for peace.^[8] The ensuing peace treaty gave the Fortress of Khotyn to Moldavia as a Ottoman vassal, and the Commonwealth agreed to stop its interference in Moldavia. Both sides claimed victory, as the Commonwealth saw the battle of Khotyn as a successful stopping of the Ottoman invasion of its mainland and the Ottoman Empire achieved its goal of removing the impending threat on the Moldavian lands.

Haile-i Osmaniye

Haile-i Osmaniye is the name given to the event in which the Ottoman Sultan Osman II was killed. It was carried out on May 20, 1622, by a brigade within the Janissary Corps. As a result of the incident, Sultan Osman II was killed and riots broke out all over the empire. These revolts were called the Abaza uprisings.

Aftermath

The Polish–Ottoman border would remain relatively peaceful until the Polish–Ottoman War (1633–34) and the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76).

Background

Abaza Mehmed Pasa

Stanisław Koniecpolski

Mehmed Abazy was the governor of the Ottoman province of Sylistria (Silistra, today in Bulgaria). In 1632, after the death of the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, the Tsardom of Russia broke an armistice and started a war with the Commonwealth (Smolensk War 1632–1634). Abazy mobilized his troops and called Moldavian, Wallachian and Nogai Tatar (of the Budjak Horde) as reinforcements. Abazy was ambitious and possibly acted without the sultan's or the grand vizier's knowledge as the Ottoman Empire was deeply involved with a war against the Safavids (1623–1639). The sultan claimed ignorance of Abazy's actions but it's possible that sultan Murad IV secretly agreed to the risky campaign against the Commonwealth.

1633

Around June 29, 1633 a strong Tatar group of the Budjak Horde (about 1,000 men) raided the area near the city of Kamieniec Podolski. This raid ended and the Tatars returned to Moldavia with their loot and slaves. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth commander, Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski was in Bar and moved immediately in pursuit with 2,000 cavalry when the news reached him. The hetman crossed Dniestr river and entered the Ottoman-controlled territory of Moldavia, which had been the theatre of the previous Commonwealth-Ottoman war just a few decades earlier (the Moldavian Magnate Wars). The Tatars probably thought they were safe and slowed down thus allowing the hetman to catch up to them on July 4 near Sasowy Róg at the river Prut. Several dozen Tatars were killed and captured, the rest dispersed. Among the captives were several high-ranking Nogai Tatars and Khan Temir's son-in-law (Khan Temir, Kantymir – chief of Budjak Horde, a well known and ferocious Nogai Tatar leader). Most of the loot, all captives, cattle and horses were recovered.

Koniecpolski, who had an extensive spy network through the region and was responsible for much of the Commonwealth foreign policy there, had probably known about Abazy's plans at this moment. He returned to the left bank of Dniestr, started the construction of a fortified camp near Kamieniec Podolski (an important city and a strong fortress in the Podolia region) and called for reinforcement of about 3,000 regular troops in his disposition: Cossacks and private troops of magnates (about 8,000 men). Abazy started his march in the second half of September with Ottoman troops from his province, vassal troops and about 5,000–10,000 Tatars, including almost the whole Budjak horde led by Kantymir. In mid-October he was near Chocim (Khotyn) and learned about Koniecpolski's preparations. Abazy started negotiations, probably wanting to outmanoeuver Koniecpolski by diplomacy. It is possible that he got news about the sultan's increasing dissatisfaction, and decided to hurry his plans. Abazy crossed the Dniestr about October 20. Kantymir started his attacks on October 20 and continued during the next day. On October 22 Abazy attacked with his full forces but was repelled with heavy losses and ordered a retreat. It can only be speculated whether he got orders from Constantinople (Istanbul), if he did not believe that he could defeat Koniecpolski, or if he heard the false news that more Cossack reinforcements were coming to aid Koniecpolski.

1634

In next year a full war with the Ottoman Empire was close (according to one source, the sultan created a huge army, while according to others, it was close to being formed); however the sultan suffered from another failure: his vassal, khan of Crimea Canibek Giray (also known as Janibek or Dzhanibek), had decided to attack Muscovy. Muscovite troops were fighting with Polish troops, then-Polish Ukraine was bolstered by Cossacks and Koniecpolski's troops, and many times Tatars themselves offered to the Commonwealth to raid Muscovy in exchange for “gifts” (or were sent “gifts” to do so). An army of Tatars, approximately 20,000 strong, attacked Muscovy in 1632, and again in 1633 in even larger numbers. Attacks continued until 1637. In June 1634, Tatars operated in the area of Kursk, Orel, and Mtsensk. A year later they attacked the Lesser Nogai Horde and Azov Horde. In 1636 Crimean Tatars attacked again and the Greater Nogai horde changed their allegiance to Crimea. The southern defenses were destroyed and the country was depopulated (the number of jasyr captives sold in Crimea is estimated at 10,000). Russian historians accuse the Poles of coordinating their attacks with those of Tatars.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth victories against Muscovy (Shein had been forced to capitulation near Smolensk in February 1634, while further plundering of Muscovite lands by Cossacks, the Commonwealth troops, and Tatars continued) caused the tsar to decide to seek peace with the Polish new king, Władysław IV. A new peace treaty in Polanowo (or Polanówko, called pokój polanowski in Polish) was signed in June 1634. The terms of the previous treaty were confirmed and in exchange for a large amount of money Władysław resigned the tsar title. After that Władysław went south with some of his troops to Ukraine.

In September 1634 about 29,000 Commonwealth soldiers were concentrated near Kamieniec Podolski. These included expanded regular troops of Koniecpolski (6,500 including Piechota wybraniecka), 5,500 infantry and dragoons that came with the king from Smolensk, private troops of magnates and mercenaries hired by provinces. Commonwealth forces were making preparations for war, the Smoleńsk campaign showing that the Polish infantry reform program had succeeded. New reforms in artillery were introduced, which resulted in creation of new centers of cannon-making, and additionally Cossacks could be mobilized. The whole situation changed dramatically: instead of opening a second front and attack on the soft belly of a desperate Commonwealth, the sultan would have to confront the entire power of a victorious king. In order to explain the previous year's “misunderstandings,” the sultan sent his envoy Chavush Shaheen aga to Warsaw, blamed Abazy, and promised to punish him. Abazy tried to hide or cover his failure by sending the sultan rich gifts; however, he was called to Istanbul and sentenced to death.

The peace treaty was extended, and the sultan promised to displace the Budjak horde but never did so. Additionally Abazy was “relieved” and the new governor of Silistria received orders not to make any mischief.

Hostilities

Sultan Mehmed IV

In 1666, Hetman Petro Doroshenko of the Cossack Hetmanate aiming to gain control of Ukraine but facing defeats from other factions struggling over control of that region (the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Tsardom of Muscovy) in a final bid to preserve his power in Ukraine, signed a treaty with the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV that recognized the Cossack Hetmanate as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.

In the meantime, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's forces were trying to put down unrest in Ukraine, but were weakened by decades long wars (Khmelnytsky Uprising, The Deluge and Muscovite–Polish War (1654–1667)). Trying to capitalize on that weakness, Crimean Tatars, who commonly raided across the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth borders in search of loot and slaves, invaded, this time allying themselves with Zaporozhian Cossacks under the command of Hetman Petro Doroshenko. They were however stopped by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's forces under the command of Hetman John III Sobieski, who stopped their first push (1666–1667), defeating them a several times, and finally gaining an armistice after the Battle of Pidhaitsi in 6–16 October 1667.

In 1670, however, Hetman Petro Doroshenko tried once again to take over Ukraine, and in 1671 Khan Adil Giray, supportive of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, was replaced with a new one, Khan Selim I Giray, by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV. Khan Selim I Giray entered into an alliance with Hetman Petro Doroshenko; but again like in 1666–1667 the Cossack–Tatar forces were defeated by Hetman John III Sobieski. Khan Selim I Giray then renewed his oath of allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV and pleaded for assistance, to which the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV agreed. Thus an irregular border conflict escalated into a regular war, as the Ottoman Empire was now prepared to send its regular units onto the battlefield in a bid to try to gain control of that region for itself.

Prelude

Józef Brandt, Attack of the cavalry

The causes of the Polish-Ottoman War of 1672–1676 can be traced to 1666. Petro Doroshenko Hetman of Zaporizhian Host, aiming to gain control of Ukraine but facing defeats from other factions struggling over control of that region, in a final bid to preserve his power in Ukraine, signed a treaty with Sultan Mehmed IV in 1669 that recognized the Cossack Hetmanate as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.^[9]

Kamenets-Podilskyi castle

The first phase (1672)

Ottoman forces, numbering 80,000 men and led by Grand Vizier Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed and Ottoman sultan Mehmed IV, invaded Polish Ukraine in August, took the Commonwealth fortress at Kamieniec Podolski and besieged Lwów. Unprepared for war, and torn by internal conflict between the king Michael I and the szlachta nobility, the Commonwealth Sejm could not act to raise taxes and gather a larger army. Its representatives were forced to sign the Peace of Buczacz in October that year, which ceded to the Ottomans the Commonwealth part of Ukraine (the Right-bank Bracław Voivodeship, Podole Voivodeship and part of Kiev Voivodeship;^[10] Left-bank Ukraine was already controlled by Russia since the Treaty of Andrusovo of 1667) and promised an annual tribute of 22,000 ducats.

The second phase (1673–1676)

Battle of Khotyn (1673)

Instead of ratifying the peace treaty,^[10] the Commonwealth Sejm, with most of the deputies finally united by anger due to the territorial losses and the demeaning tribute finally raised taxes for a new army (of about 37,000 strong was raised) and increased the Cossack register to 40,000. Hetman John Sobieski led a military campaign against the Ottomans and dealt several defeats to the Ottomans; of which the Battle of Khotyn was the largest; next he took control of the Moldavia territory and most of disputed Ukrainian lands. That year King Michael I of Poland died, and in recognition of his victories and dedication, John Sobieski was elected king of the Commonwealth in 1674.

Over the next year, however, the Polish forces were subject to attrition, as the Sejm again refused to raise taxes and pay the army, resulting in mass desertions of unpaid soldiery. The Polish problems were further aggravated by the incompetent leadership of hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac, who obstructed Sobieski's leadership, while the Ottomans continued to receive reinforcements. Nonetheless, in 1674 the Commonwealth resumed the offensive, taking advantage of a new Russo-Turkish conflict that year, and the Polish-Ottoman war remained undecided. Sobieski's force of 6,000 defeated 20,000 Turks and Tatars under Ibrahim Shyshman in the battle of Lwow in August 1675. Even after the Battle of Trembowla, the Sejm still refused his pleas for more funds and a larger army.

In 1676, after Sobieski's 16,000 withstood the two-week siege of Żurawno, by 100,000 men under Ibrahim Pasha, a new peace treaty was signed, the Treaty of Żurawno. The peace treaty partially reversing those from Buczacz: the Ottomans kept approximately two thirds of the territories they gained in 1672, and the Commonwealth no longer was obliged to pay any kind of tribute to the Empire; a large number of Polish prisoners were released by the Ottomans.

Aftermath

The Sejm rejected the treaty, through the actions of Austrian diplomats and Pope Innocent XI. Sobieski also was forced to reduce his army from 30,000 to 12,000 men.

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 the partitions of Poland. The unruly Sejm, paralyzed by liberum veto and foreign bribery, was dominated by politicians who thought in short term gains only and constantly refused the funds to raise an army, as it appeared that most of the Commonwealth would not be ravaged by the Ottoman armies. Even after the unfavourable Buczacz treaty, which convinced the Sejm to raise the taxes, once initial successes were achieved, the majority of the Sejm again couldn't be convinced to keep up the pressure on the enemy; soldiers were left unpaid and desertions on a mass scale negatively affected the Polish cause. This apparent inability to defend itself, also seen in the other recent and future conflicts the Commonwealth was involved in, increasingly invited foreign forces to prey on the Commonwealth.

On the Polish side the fighting was done mostly by a force privately financed by John Sobieski. He gained reputation as an able, courageous commander and a patriot, having invested part of his personal fortune in the defense of the Commonwealth. In 1674 he was elected King of Poland and ruled now as John III. Sobieski's reputation also preceded him in the Ottoman Empire, and his victory several years later at the Battle of Vienna would ensure his reputation as the top commander fighting the Ottomans — however even he would not be able to stop the Commonwealth from decline and introduce reforms that would save the country.

The Commonwealth did regain the territories lost in this war after the Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699) in 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz, but that was one of the last of its victories.

War

King John III Sobieski at Vienna

After a few years of peace, the Ottoman Empire attacked the Habsburg Empire again. The Ottomans almost captured Vienna, but king of Poland John III Sobieski led a Christian alliance that defeated them in the Battle of Vienna which shook the Ottoman Empire's hegemony in south-eastern Europe.^[11]

A new Holy League was initiated by Pope Innocent XI and encompassed the Holy Roman Empire (headed by Habsburg Austria), the Venetian Republic and Poland in 1684, joined by Tsarist Russia in 1686. Ottomans suffered two decisive defeats against the Holy Roman Empire: the second Battle of Mohács in 1687 and a decade later, in 1697, the battle of Zenta.

On the smaller Polish front, after the battles of 1683 (Vienna and Parkany), Sobieski, after his proposal for the League to start a major coordinated offensive, undertook a rather unsuccessful offensive in Moldavia in 1686, with the Ottomans refusing a major engagement and harassing the army. For the next four years Poland would blockade the key fortress at Kamenets, and Ottoman Tatars would raid the borderlands. In 1691, Sobieski undertook another expedition to Moldavia, with slightly better results, but still with no decisive victories.^[12]

The last battle of the campaign was the battle of Podhajce in 1698, where Polish hetman Feliks Kazimierz Potocki defeated the Ottoman incursion into the Commonwealth. The League won the war in 1699 and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign the Treaty of Karlowitz. The Ottomans lost much of their European possessions, with Podolia (including Kamenets) returned to Poland with imposition of Austria.

Treaty of Karlowitz

Following a two-month congress between the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Holy League of 1684, a coalition of the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Republic of Venice and Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia,^[13] a peace treaty was signed on 26 January 1699.

On the basis of uti possidetis, the treaty confirmed the territorial holdings of each power.^[14] The Habsburgs received from the Ottomans the Eğri Eyalet, Varat Eyalet, much of the Budin Eyalet, the northern part of the Temeşvar Eyalet and parts of the Bosnia Eyalet. That corresponded to much of Hungary, Croatia and Slavonia. The Principality of Transylvania remained nominally independent but was subject to the direct rule of Austrian governors. Poland recovered Podolia, including the dismantled fortress at Kamaniçe.

Venice obtained most of Dalmatia along with the Morea (the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece) though the Morea was restored to the Turks within 20 years by the Treaty of Passarowitz. There was no agreement about the Holy Sepulchre although it was discussed in Karlowitz.^[15]

The Ottomans retained Belgrade, the Banat of Temesvár (now Timișoara), as well as suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia. Negotiations with Tsardom of Russia for a further year under a truce agreed at Karlowitz culminated in the Treaty of Constantinople of 1700 in which the Sultan ceded the Azov region to Peter the Great. (Russia had to return the territories eleven years later after the failed Pruth River Campaign and the Treaty of the Pruth in 1711.)^{[citation needed]}

''Return from Vienna''

Commissions were set up to devise the new borders between the Austrians and the Turks, with some parts disputed until 1703. Largely through the efforts of the Habsburg commissioner, Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, the Croatian and Bihać borders were agreed by mid-1700 and that at Temesvár by early 1701, leading to a border demarcated by physical landmarks for the first time.

The acquisition of some 60,000 square miles (160,000 km²) of Hungarian territories at Karlowitz and of the Banat of Temesvár 18 years later by the Treaty of Passarowitz, enlarged the Habsburg monarchy to its largest extent to that point, cementing Archduchy of Austria as a dominant regional power. It was later increased further in size by the acquisition of Polish territories in 1772 and 1795, by the annexation of Dalmatia in 1815, and by the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.^{[citation needed]}

The treaty was a watershed moment in the history of the Ottoman Empire, which for the first time lost substantial amounts of territory after three-and-a-half centuries of expansionism in Europe. Although the Ottoman borders in the region would wax and wane over the next 100 years, never again would there be any further acquisition of territory on a scale seen during the reigns of Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim the Grim, or Suleiman the Magnificent in the 15th-16th centuries. Indeed, after the mid-1700s the Ottoman frontier was largely delimited to the south of the Sava River and the Balkans proper, and would be further pushed south as the 19th century began.

Battles of the Polish-Ottoman Wars

Date	Battle	Belligerents	Belligerents	Result
1420	Siege of Khilia and White Fortresses	Kingdom of Poland Moldavia	Ottoman Empire	Moldavian-Polish victory
1443	Nish	Kingdom of Poland Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Croatia	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1443	Zlatitsa	Kingdom of Poland Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary Papal States	Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Victory
1444	Kunovica	Kingdom of Poland Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1444	Varna	Kingdom of Poland Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary Papal States Kingdom of Croatia Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Victory
1475	Vaslui	Kingdom of Poland Kingdom of Hungary Moldavia	Ottoman Empire	Moldavian-Polish Victory
1485	Cătlăbuga	Kingdom of Poland Moldavia	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1487	Szawrań	Kingdom of Poland	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1487	Kopystrzyń	Kingdom of Poland	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1491	Zasław	Kingdom of Poland Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1497	Cosmin Forest	Kingdom of Poland	Ottoman Empire Moldavia	Moldavian- Ottoman victory
1595	Cecora	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Moldavia	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1595	Suceava	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Moldavia	Ottoman Empire Transylvania	Polish Victory
1612	Cornul lui Sas	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Moldavia Crimean Khanate	Ottoman Victory
1620	Cecora	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Moldavia	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Transylvania	Ottoman Victory
1621	Khotyn	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Zaporozhian Sich	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Moldavia Wallachia	Polish Victory
1633	Sasowy Róg	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Budjak Horde	Polish Victory
1633	Kamieniec	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Budjak Horde	Polish Victory
1667	Podhajce	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Cossack Hetmanate	Polish Victory
1672	Ladyzhyn	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Cossack Hetmanate	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Cossack Hetmanate	Indecisive
1672	Kamieniec Podolski	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Cossack Hetmanate Moldavia Wallachia Lipka Tatars	Ottoman Victory
1672	Lwów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Cossack Hetmanate	Polish Victory
1672	Krasnobród	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Cossack Hetmanate	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1672	Narol	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1672	Niemirów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1672	Komarno	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1672	Petranka	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1672	Kalush	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1673	Khotyn	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Moldavia Wallachia	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1675	Lwów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1675	Trembowla	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1676	Wojniłów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1676	Żurawno	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1683	Vienna	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Holy Roman Empire	Ottoman Empire Upper Hungary Crimean Khanate Moldavia Wallachia Transylvania	Polish Victory
1683	Párkány	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Holy Roman Empire	Ottoman Empire Upper Hungary	Polish Victory
1685	Yazlovets	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1687	Kamenets	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Victory
1688	Novoselka	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Ottoman Victory
1690	Suceava	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1691	Pererita	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1691	Târgu Neamţ	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire	Polish Victory
1694	Hodów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1694	Ustechko	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1695	Lwów	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory
1698	Podhajce	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Polish Victory