Ottoman wars in Europe

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The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.

[edit] Rise (1299–1453)

See also: Rise of the Ottoman Empire

	Military & Political History
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
Time Span	154 years
# Sultans	8
Soc-Econ	Enlargement
See also	Graphical timeline

After striking a blow to the weakened Byzantine Empire in 1356 (it is disputed that the year may have been 1358 due to a change in the Byzantine calendar), (see Suleyman Pasha) which provided it a basis for operations in Europe, the Ottoman Empire started its westward expansion into the European continent in the middle of the 14th century. Its first significant opponent was the young Serbian Empire, which was worn down by a series of campaigns, notably in the Battle 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 beginning of bad luck for Serbia. The Ottoman Empire proceeded to conquer the lands of the Second Bulgarian Empire—the Southern half (Thrace) in 1371 (Battle of Maritsa), Sofia in 1382, the then capital Tarnovgrad in 1393, the northern rest after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, except Vidin, which fell in 1422; Albania in 1385 (Battle of Savra) and again in 1480; Constantinople in 1453 after the Battle of Varna and Second Battle of Kosovo; Greece in 1460; Serbia by 1459 and (after partial Hungarian reconquest in 1480) again by 1499; Bosnia in 1463 (the Northwestern part only by 1527) and Herzegovina in 1482.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Growth (1453–1683)

See also: Growth of the Ottoman Empire

	Military & Political History
Growth of the Ottoman Empire
Time Span	230 years
# Sultans	11
Soc-Econ	Enlargement
See also	Graphical timeline

The defeat in 1456 at the Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) held up Ottoman expansion into Catholic Europe for 70 years, though for one year (1480–1481) the Italian port of Otranto was taken, and in 1493 the Ottoman army successfully raided Croatia and Styria.^[3]

[edit] Ottoman Conquest of the Balkans

Main article: Ottoman Conquest of the Balkans

Main article: History of the Serbian-Turkish wars

[edit] Serbian Resistance

Battle of Stephaniana in 1344
Battle of Gelibolou in 1347
Battle of Savra in 1385
Battle of Maritsa in September 26, 1371
Battle of Dubravnica in 1381
Battle of Plocnik in 1386
Battle of Bileća in 1388
Battle of Kosovo in 1389
Battle of Gracanica in 1402(Serbian victory over Turks)
Battle of Despotovac in 1406 (Serbians defeat Ottomans of Musa)
Battle of Kosmidion in 1408(Serbians defeated by Suleiman's armies)
Battle of Carmorlu in 1410(Serbian victory over Turks)
Crusade of Varna in 1443
Battle of Kosovo (1448)
Siege of Belgrade in 1456
conquest of Serbia in 1459

Battle of Kosovo

Battle of Kosovo

Battle on Kosovo, by Adam Stefanovic, oil, 1870 Date June 15, 1389 (Julian calendar) Location Kosovo, Serbia Result Draw;[1] alternatively considered Ottoman Pyrrhic victory Belligerents Ottoman Empire Serbia Bosnia Commanders Murad I †, Bayezid I, Yakub † Lazar Hrebeljanovic †, Vuk Brankovic, Vlatko Vukovic Strength ~ 27,000-40,000[2][3][4] ~ 12,000-30,000[2][3][4][5] Casualties and losses Reasonably high; Sultan Murad I was assassinated by Milos Obilic . Reasonably high; most of the Serbian nobility including Tzar Lazar Hrebeljanovic were killed during the battle.

The Battle of Kosovo (Serbian: Kosovski boj, or Boj na Kosovu; Turkish: Kosova Meydan Muharebesi) was fought on St Vitus' Day (celebrated on June 15 according to the Julian calendar, June 28 by the Gregorian calendar) between the Serbian Empire and her allies and the Ottoman Empire, in a field about 5 kilometers northwest of Pristina. [1]

Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. However a critical comparison with historically contemporaneous battles (such as the Battle of Angora or Nikopolis) enable reliable reconstruction.[6]

The Battle of Kosovo is particularly notable to Serbian concepts of history, heritage, tradition and national identity.

Prince Lazar of Serbia

After the Bosnians defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Bileca and the Serbs defeated Ottomans at the Battle of Plocnik, Murad I, the reigning Ottoman sultan, gathered his troops in Philippoupolis (Plovdiv) in the spring of 1389, and arrived in Ihtiman after a three-day march. From there, the party travelled across Velbužd (Kyustendil) and Kratovo. Though longer than the alternate route through Sofia and the Nišava Valley, which would have given them direct access to Prince Lazar's lands, the route taken led the Ottoman party to Kosovo, an area that was strategically important, one of the most important crossroads in the Balkans: from Kosovo, Murad's party could attack either Lazar's or Vuk's lands. Having stayed in Kratovo for a time, Murad and his troops passed across Kumanovo, Preševo and Gnjilane to Priština, where he arrived on June 14.[6]

While there is less information about Lazar's preparations, it can be assumed that he gathered his troops near Niš, possibly on the right bank of Južna Morava. His party likely remained there until he learned that Murad had moved to Velbužd, whereby he also moved probably across Prokuplje to Kosovo. This was Lazar's optimal choice for the battlefield as it meant having control of all the possible routes that Murad could take.[6]

Army composition

It is not certain how large the armies were, especially as later sources tended to exaggerate their size, even into the hundreds of thousands.[7]

Murad's army may have numbered 27,000-40,000.[2][3][4][6] If we take the estimate of 40,000, it probably included 2,000-5,000 Janissaries,[8] 2,500 of Murad's cavalry guard, 6,000 sipahis, 20,000 azaps and akincis and 8,000 of his vassals.[6] Lazar's army might have been 12,000-30,000.[2][3][4][5] If we take the estimate of 25,000, some 15,000 were under Lazar's command, with 5,000 under Serbian nobleman from Kosovo Vuk Brankovic, and as many under Bosnian vojvoda Vlatko Vukovic.[5] Of these, several thousand were cavalry, but perhaps only a few hundred were clad in full plate armour.[7]

Both armies included some foreign troops: for example, the Serbian force included a small number of troops from the Croatian ban Ivan Paližna, probably as part of the Bosnian contingent, while the Turkish army was helped by the Serbian noble Konstantin Dejanovic. This has led some analysts to describe the armies as coalitions.[7] “ ...if all of us would now turn to salt, we couldn't even salt the Turk's lunch...[9] ”

The battle Kosovo Field with probable disposition of troops before the battle

[edit] Troop disposition

The armies met at Kosovo Field. The Ottoman army was headed by Murad, with his son Bayezid on his right, and his son Yakub on his left. Around 1,000 archers were in the front line in the wings, backed up by azap and akinci; in the front centre were janissary, behind whom was Murad, surrounded by his cavalry guard; finally, the supply train at the rear was guarded by a small number of troops.[7]

The Serbian army had prince Lazar at its center, Vuk on the right and Vlatko on the left. At the front of the Serbian army was placed the heavy cavalry and archer cavalry on the flanks, with the infantry to the rear. While parallel, the dispositions of the armies were not symmetric, as the Serbian center overlapped the Ottoman center.[7] “ When torrent a of arrows landed on Serbian armsmen, who until then stood motionless like mountains of iron, they rode forward, rolling and thundering like the sea[10] ”

Start

The battle commenced with Ottoman archers firing at Serbian cavalry, who then made for the attack. After positioning in a "V" shaped formation,[citation needed] the Serbian cavalry managed to break through the Ottoman left wing, but were not as successful against the center and the right wing.[7]

Turkish counterattack

Kosovo battle by Petar Radicevic (1987)

The Serbs had the initial advantage after their first charge, which significantly damaged the Turkish wing commanded by Yakub Celebi.[2] When the knights' charge was finished, light Ottoman cavalry and light infantry counter-attacked and the Serbian heavy armour became a disadvantage. In the centre, Serbian fighters managed to push back Ottoman forces with only Bayezid's wing holding off the forces commanded by Vlatko Vukovic. The Ottomans, in a counter-attack, pushed the Serbian forces back and then prevailed later in the day, through the help of treachery in the Serbian camp. It is said that Vuk Brankovic , one of the great lords, to whom was entrusted one wing of the Serbian army, had long been jealous of his sovereign. Some historians state that he had arranged with Sultan Amourath to betray his master, in return for the promise of the imperial crown of Serbia, subject to the Sultan's overlord-ship. At a critical moment in the battle, the traitor turned his horse and fled from the field, followed by 12,000 of his troops,[citation needed] who believed this to be a stratagem intended to deceive the Turks. Bayezid I, who would become the Ottoman sultan after the battle, gained his nickname "the thunderbolt" here, after leading the decisive counter-attack.

Murad's death

Bayezid I, oil on canvas by Haydar Hatemi (1999) Miloš Obilić

Based on Turkish historical records, it is believed that Sultan Murad I was killed by Milos Obilic who, pretending to be dead, killed Murad while he walked on the battlefield after the fighting had finished. In contrast, Serbian sources allege that he was assassinated by Obilic, who went into the Turkish camp on the pretext of being a deserter and, just prior to kneeling before the Sultan, stabbed him in the stomach and killed him. Obilic was immediately "slashed to pieces" by the Sultan's bodyguards.[11] Murad was the only Ottoman sultan who died in battle. Murad's son, Bayezid, was immediately informed of the Sultan's death and, while the battle was still raging, called his brother Yakub and informed him that their father had some new orders for them. When Yakub arrived he was strangled to death, his demise leaving Bayezid as the sole heir to the throne.

However, according to the earliest preserved record, a letter from the Florentine senate to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad was killed during the battle. The killer is not named but it was one of 12 Serbian noblemen who managed to break through the Ottoman ranks, probably during the initial charge of Serbian knights: “ Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse.

The Sultan's tomb remains to this day, in a corner of the battlefield. While it is not in good condition, it has not been vandalized or destroyed - this despite centuries of hostilities between Turks and Serbs.

[edit] Albanian Resistance

The Ottomans faced fierce resistance from Albanian highlanders who gathered around their leader, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the offspring of a feudal nobleman, and managed to fend off Ottoman attacks for more than 30 years. The Albanian struggle was one of the two remaining bastions of anti-Ottoman resistance in Eastern Europe after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. It has been argued that their resilience halted the Ottoman advance along the Eastern flank of the Western Civilization, saving the Italian peninsula from Ottoman conquest. Sultan Mehmet II died in 1481, merely two years after the collapse of the Albanian resistance and one year after he launched the Italian campaign.

[edit] Occupation of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary, which at the time spanned the area from Croatia in the west to Transylvania in the east, was also gravely threatened by Ottoman advances. The origins of such a deterioration can be traced back to the fall of the Árpád ruling dynasty and their subsequent replacement with the Angevin and Jagiellonian kings. After a series of inconclusive wars over the course of 176 years, the kingdom finally crumbled in the Battle of Mohács of 1526, after which most of it was either occupied or brought under Ottoman suzerainty. (The 150-year Turkish Occupation, as it is called in Hungary, lasted until the late 1600s but parts of the Hungarian Kingdom were occupied from 1421 and until 1718.)

[edit] 1423–1503: Wars with Venice

The Ottoman Empire started sea campaigns as early as 1423, when it waged a seven-year war with the Venetian Republic over maritime control of the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The wars with Venice resumed in 1463, until a favorable peace treaty was signed in 1479. In 1480, now no longer hampered by the Venetian fleet, the Ottomans besieged Rhodes and captured Otranto.^[4] War with Venice resumed from 1499 to 1503. In 1500, a Spanish-Venetian army commanded by Gonzalo de Córdoba took Kefalonia, temporarily stopping the Ottoman offensive on eastern Venetian territories.

[edit] 1462–1483: European campaigns

In 1462, Mehmed II was driven back by Wallachian prince Vlad III Dracula at The Night Attack. However, the latter was imprisoned by Hungarian king Matthias 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 the Vatican. 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 recover Bosnia from the Ottomans. He defeated Ottoman Forces and he gained his first victory against the Ottoman Empire. Upon this victory, Ottoman Forces entered Bogdan in 1476 under the command of Mehmed II.^{[clarification needed]} During the war, Vlad was killed and, according to some sources, his head was sent to Constantinople to discourage the other rebellions.

In 1482, Bosnia was completely added to Ottoman Lands. Bosnians did not complain about being under Ottoman Sovereignty because there was already a sectarian conflict going in Bosnia, and because Mehmed II did not force Bosnians to convert to Islam.

[edit] 1526–1566: Attack on Habsburg Empire

After the Mohács, only the southwestern part of the Hungarian Kingdom was actually conquered,^[5] but the Ottoman campaign continued with small campaigns and major summer invasions (troops returned south of the Balkan Mountains before winter) through the land between 1526 and 1556. In 1529, they mounted their first major attack on the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy (with up to 300,000 troops in earlier accounts, 100,000 according to newer research^[who?]), attempting to conquer the city of Vienna (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 of Kőszeg in western Hungary, fighting a suicidal battle.^[6] 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 invaded Moldavia. In 1541, another campaign in Hungary took Buda and Pest (which today together form the Hungarian capital Budapest) 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 for Suleiman 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 successful 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 northern végvárs (border castles), which Hungary originally built as defence against an expected second Mongol invasion—hence, afterwards, borders on this front changed little. For Hungarians, the 1552 campaign was a series of tragic losses and some heroic (but pyrrhic) victories, which entered folklore—most notably the fall of Drégely (a small fort defended to the last man by just 146 men^[7]), and the Siege of Eger. The latter was a major végvár with more than 2,000 men, but in poor shape and without outside help. They faced two Ottoman armies (150,000 troops by earlier accounts, 60-75,000 men according to newer research^[who?]), which were 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 of Szigetvár.

The Ottoman Empire conducted another major war against the Habsburgs and their Hungarian territories between 1566 and 1568. The 1566 Battle of Szigetvar, the third siege in which the fort was finally taken, but the aged Sultan died, deterring that year's push for Vienna.

[edit] 1522–1573: Rhodes, Malta and the Holy League

Ottoman forces invaded and captured the island of Rhodes in 1522, after two previous failed attempts (see Siege of Rhodes).^[8] The Knights of Rhodes were banished to Malta, which was in turn besieged in 1565.

After three months of intense fighting, pitting an Ottoman army of around 65,000 against 2,000 Maltese and 500 Knights, the Ottomans failed to conquer Malta, sustaining very heavy losses, 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 the Great Siege of Malta, turned the tide and stopped the westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire. It also marked the importance of the Knights of Saint John and their relevant presence in Malta to aid Christendom in its defence against the Muslim onslaught.

Malta was the first defeat of two suffered by Suleiman the Magnificent, the greatest Sultan of the Ottomans.

The Ottoman naval victories of this period were in the Battle of Preveza (1538) and the Battle of Djerba (1560).

The Mediterranean campaign, which lasted from 1570 to 1573, ended with the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), but occupation of Cyprus from 1570. A Holy League of Venice, the Papal States, Spain, the Knights of Saint John in Malta and initially Portugal opposed the Ottoman Empire during this period.

[edit] 1593–1669: Austria and Venice

Turkish Empire, drawn by Hondius, just at the end of the Long War, 1606

Long War (15-Year War with Austria, 1593–1606) ends with status quo. War with Venice 1645–1669 and the conquest of Crete (see Cretan War (1645–1669)).

[edit] 1620-1621: Poland

Main article: Polish-Ottoman War (1620–1621)

Main article: Polish-Ottoman War (1633–1634)

Fought over Moldavia. Polish army advances into Moldavia and is defeated in Battle of Ţuţora. Next year, Poles repel Turkish invasion in Battle of Khotyn. Another conflict starts in 1633 but is soon settled.

[edit] 1657–1683 Conclusion of Wars with Habsburgs

In 1657, Transylvania, the Eastern part of the former Hungarian Kingdom that after 1526 gained semi-independence while paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire, felt strong enough to attack the Tatars (then the Empire's vassals) to the East, and later the Ottoman Empire itself, that came to the Tatar's 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, marking the greatest territorial extent of Ottoman rule in the former Hungarian Kingdom. At the same time, there was another campaign against Austria between 1663 and 1664. However, the Turks were defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard on 1 August 1664 by Raimondo Montecuccoli, forcing them to enter the Peace of Vasvár with Austria, which held until 1683.^[9]

[edit] 1672–1676: Poland

Main article: Polish-Ottoman War (1672–1676)

A year after Poland beat back a Tatar invasion, war with Poland 1672–1676, Jan Sobieski distinguishes himself and becomes the King of Poland.

[edit] 1683–1699: Great Turkish War – Loss of Hungary and the Morea

The Great Turkish War started in 1683, with a grand invasion force of 140,000 men^[10] marching on Vienna, supported by Hungarian noblemen rebelling against Habsburg rule. To stop the invasion, another Holy League was formed, composed of Austria and Poland (notably in the Battle of Vienna), Venetians and the Russian Empire. After winning the Battle of Vienna, the Holy League gained the upper hand, and conducted the re-conquest of 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 an expedition into Greece, which conquered the Peloponnese. During the 1687 Venetian attack on the city of Athens (occupied by the Ottomans), the Ottomans turned the ancient Parthenon into an ammunitions storehouse. A Venetian mortar hit the Parthenon, detonating the Ottoman gunpowder stored inside and partially destroying it.

The war ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Prince Eugene of Savoy first distinguished himself in 1683 and remained the most important Austrian commander until 1718.^[11]^[12]

[edit] Stagnation (1699–1827)

See also: Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire

	Military & Political History
Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire
Time Span	133 years
# Sultans	11
Soc-Econ
See also	Graphical timeline

[edit] 1700s

The second Russo-Turkish War took place 1710–1711 near Prut. It was instigated by Charles XII of Sweden after the defeat at the Battle of Poltava, in order to tie down Russia with the Ottoman Empire and gain some breathing space in the increasingly unsuccessful Great Northern War. The Russians were severely beaten but not annihilated, and after the Treaty of Prut was signed the Ottoman Empire disengaged, allowing Russia to refocus its energies on the defeat of Sweden.

Another war with Austria and Venice started in 1714. Austria conquered the remaining areas of the former Hungarian Kingdom, ending with the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718.

Another war with Russia started in 1735. The Austrians joined in 1737; the war ended in 1739 with the Treaty of Belgrade (with Austria) and the Treaty of Nissa (with Russia).

The fourth Russo-Turkish started in 1768 and ended in 1774 with the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji.

Yet another war with Russia and Austria started in 1787; it ended by Austria with the 1791 Treaty of Sistova, and with the 1792 Treaty of Jassy with Russia.

An invasion of Egypt and Syria by Napoleon I of France 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 the Ionian Islands. Their successful capture of these islands led to the setting up of the Septinsular Republic.

[edit] 1800s

The sixth Russo-Turkish War began in 1806 and ended in 1812 due to Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

The First Serbian Uprising took place in 1804, followed by the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815; Serbia was fully liberated by 1867. Officially recognized independence followed in 1878.

The Crimean War in the 1850s saw Britain and France join against Russia with the Ottomans.

Moldavian-Wallachian (Romanian) Uprising (starting simultaneously with the Greek Revolution 1821–1824.

[edit] Decline (1828–1908)

See also: Decline of the Ottoman Empire

	Military & Political History
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
Time Span	82 years
# Sultans	5
Soc-Econ	Reformation
See also	Graphical timeline

The Greek War of Independence, taking place from 1821 to 1832, in which the Great Powers intervened from 1827, including Russia (Seventh Russo–Turkish war, 1828–1829), achieved independence for Greece; the Treaty of Adrianople ended the war.

Wars with Bosnia 1831–1836, 1836–1837, 1841.

War with Montenegro 1852–1853.

Eighth Russo-Turkish war 1853–1856, Crimean War, in which the United Kingdom and France joined the war on the side of the Ottoman Empire. Ended with the Treaty of Paris.

Second war with Montenegro in 1858–1859.

War with Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia in 1862.

Cretan Uprising in 1866.

Bulgarian Rebellion in 1876.

The ninth and final Russo–Turkish war started in 1877, the same year the Ottomans withdrew from the Conference of Constantinople. Romania then declared its independence and waged war on Turkey, joined by Serbians and Bulgarians and finally the Russians (see also Russian Foreign Affairs after the Crimean War). Bosnia was occupied by Austria in 1878. The Russians and the Ottomans signed the Treaty of San Stefano in early 1878. After deliberations at the Congress of Berlin, which was attended by all the Great Powers of the time, the Treaty of Berlin, 1878 recognized several territorial changes.

Eastern Rumelia was granted some autonomy in 1878, rebelled in 1885 and joined Bulgaria in 1886. Thessalia ceded to Greece in 1881, but after Greece attacked the Ottoman Empire to help the Second Cretan Uprising in 1897, Greece was broken in Thessalia.

[edit] Dissolution (1908–1922)

See also: Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire

	Military & Political History
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
Time Span	14 years
# Sultans	2
Soc-Econ	Reformation
See also	Graphical timeline

Public demonstration in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, 1908

[edit] Macedonia

Macedonian insurrection from 1903.

[edit] 1912-1913: Balkan Wars

Two Balkan Wars, in 1912 and 1913, involved further action against the Ottoman Empire in Europe. The Balkan League first conquered Macedonia and most of Thrace from the Ottoman Empire, and then fell out over the division of the spoils. Albania also declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, after several rebellions and uprisings. This reduced Turkey's possessions in Europe (Rumelia) to their present borders in Eastern Thrace.

[edit] World War I

The Ottoman Empire suffered a defeat in World War I. However, the Empire did not allow the Allied Navy to pass to Istanbul in the famous Battle of Gallipoli; Turkey temporarily lost most of the rest of what it had left in Europe.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

Military history of the Ottoman Empire portal

[0] The History of the Ottoman (Osmanli) Empire 1290-1924

[1] Ottoman Empire

[2] The End of Europe's Middle Ages - Ottoman Turks

[3] Ottoman Empire on the Offensive, 1300 - 1600

[4] The Battle of Mohacs, 1526

[5] Castles and History in Northern Transdanubia

[6] Hungary - Drégelypalánk

[7] Timeline: 1501 to 1600

[8] The years 1300 and later

[9] 1683 Siege of Vienna

[10] Habsburg-Ottoman War, 1683-1699

[11] Decline of Islamaic and Ottoman Power

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