1.
Ottoman wars in Europe
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The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars in the 13th century, followed by the Bulgarian–Ottoman wars and the Serbian–Ottoman Wars in the 14th century. Much of this period was characterized by Ottoman 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. The Ottoman–Venetian Wars spanned four centuries, starting in 1423 and lasting until 1718, the island of Corfu under Venetian rule remained the only Greek island not conquered by the Ottomans. Nevertheless, Ottoman armies were able to hold their own against their European rivals until the half of the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century the Ottomans were confronted with insurrection from their Serbian and this occurred in tandem with the Russo-Turkish wars, which further destabilized the empire. The final retreat of Ottoman rule came with the First Balkan War, Constantinople fell in 1453 after the Battle of Varna and the Second Battle of Kosovo. The remaining Greek state fell in 1461, sofia fell in 1382, followed by the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tarnovgrad in 1393, and the northwest remnants of the state after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Much of Serbia fell to the Ottomans by 1459, the Kingdom of Hungary made a partial reconquest in 1480, the Ottomans took much of Albania in the 1385 Battle of Savra. The 1444 League of Lezhë briefly restored one part of Albania, until Ottomans captured complete territory of Albania after capture of Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501. It has been argued that Albanian resilience halted the Ottoman advance along the Eastern flank of the Western Civilization, Sultan Mehmet II died in 1481, merely two years after the collapse of the Albanian resistance and one year after he launched an Italian campaign. Ottoman Empire first reached Bosnia in 1388 where they were defeated by Bosnian forces in the Battle of Bileca, after the fall of Serbia in 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where the Bosnians participated through Vlatko Vuković, the Turks began various offensives against the Kingdom of Bosnia. The Bosnians defended themselves but without much success, Bosnians resisted strongly in the Bosnian Royal castle of Jajce, where the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević tried to repel the Turks. The Ottoman army conquered it after a few months of the siege of Jajce, in 1463, the House of Kosača held Herzegovina until 1482. The Ottomans meanwhile reached the river Neretva and having conquered Herzegovina in 1482, they encroached upon Croatia, a decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle 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. After almost two hundred years of Croatian resistance against the Ottoman Empire, the victory in the Battle of Sisak marked the end of Ottoman rule, the Viceroys army, chasing the fleeing remnants at Petrinja in 1595, sealed the victory. The Kingdom of Hungary, which at the time spanned the area from Croatia in the west to Transylvania in the east, was gravely threatened by Ottoman advances. The origins of such a deterioration can be traced back to the fall of the ruling dynasty and their subsequent replacement with the Angevin
2.
Naval warfare
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Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years, even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive railroads was largely dependent upon rivers, canals, and other navigable waterways. Prior to 1750, materials largely moved by barge or sea vessels. Thus armies, with their exorbitant needs for food, ammunition, the oceanic influences throughout pre-recorded history, and classical works such as The Odyssey underscore the past influences. The Persian Empire – united and strong – could not prevail against the might of the Athenian fleet combined with that of city states in several attempts to conquer the Greek city states. Phoenicias and Egypts power, Carthages and even Romes largely depended upon control of the seas, so too did the Venetian Republic dominate Italys city states, thwart the Ottoman Empire, and dominate commerce on the Silk Road and the Mediterranean in general for centuries. For three centuries, the Northmen raided and pillaged and went where they willed, far into central Russia and the Ukraine, many sea battles through history also provide a reliable source of shipwrecks for underwater archaeology. A major example is the exploration of the wrecks of various warships in the Pacific Ocean, the first dateable recorded sea battle occurred about 1210 BC, Suppiluliuma II, king of the Hittites, defeated a fleet from Cyprus, and burned their ships at sea. In the Battle of the Delta, the Ancient Egyptians defeated the Sea Peoples in a sea battle circa 1175 BC, no written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived. Josephus Flavius reports a battle between Tyre and the king of Assyria who was aided by the other cities in Phoenicia. The battle took place off the shores of Tyre, although the Tyrian fleet was much smaller in size, the Tyrians defeated their enemies. The Greeks of Homer just used their ships as transport for land armies and it seems unlikely that all this was the product of a single mind or even of a generation, most likely the period of evolution and experimentation was simply not recorded by history. After some initial battles while subjugating the Greeks of the Ionian coast, the Persians determined to invade Greece proper. The first Persian campaign, in 492 BC, was aborted because the fleet was lost in a storm, attacks by the Greek armies repulsed these. The third Persian campaign in 480 BC, under Xerxes I of Persia, but the defeat on land at Thermopylae forced a Greek withdrawal, and Athens evacuated its population to nearby Salamis Island. The ensuing Battle of Salamis was one of the engagements of history. Themistocles trapped the Persians in a too narrow for them to bring their greater numbers to bear. Aeschylus wrote a play about the defeat, The Persians, which was performed in a Greek theatre competition a few years after the battle and it is the oldest known surviving play
3.
Battle of Lepanto
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The battle was in essence an infantry battle on floating platforms. It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the Age of Sail. It has long been compared to the Battle of Salamis both for tactical parallels and for its importance in the defense of Europe against imperial expansion. On 1 August, the Venetians had surrendered after being reassured that they could leave Cyprus freely, however, the Ottoman commander, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, who had lost some 50,000 men in the siege, broke his word, imprisoning the Venetians. The members of the Holy League were the Republic of Venice, the Spanish Empire, the Papal States, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchies of Savoy, Urbino and Tuscany, the Knights Hospitaller and others. The banner for the fleet, blessed by the Pope, reached the Kingdom of Naples on 14 August 1571. There, in the Basilica of Santa Chiara, it was consigned to John of Austria. All members of the alliance viewed the Ottoman navy as a significant threat, the combined Christian fleet was placed under the command of John of Austria with Marcantonio Colonna as his principal deputy. The various Christian contingents met the force, that of Venice, in July and August 1571 at Messina. John of Austria arrived on 23 August, see Battle of Lepanto order of battle for a detailed list of ships and commanders involved in the battle. This fleet of the Christian alliance was manned by 40,000 sailors, Ali Pasha, the Ottoman admiral, supported by the corsairs Mehmed Siroco of Alexandria and Uluç Ali, commanded an Ottoman force of 222 war galleys,56 galliots, and some smaller vessels. The Turks had skilled and experienced crews of sailors but were deficient in their elite corps of Janissaries. The number of oarsmen was about 37,000, virtually all of them slaves, the Ottoman galleys were manned by 13,000 experienced sailors—generally drawn from the maritime nations of the Ottoman Empire, namely Berbers, Greeks, Syrians, and Egyptians—and 34,000 soldiers. An advantage for the Christians was their numerical superiority in guns and cannon aboard their ships and it is estimated that the Christians had 1,815 guns, while the Turks had only 750 with insufficient ammunition. The Christians embarked with their much improved arquebusier and musketeer forces, serious conflict had broken out between the Venetian and Spanish soldiers, and Venier enraged Don Juan by hanging a Spanish soldier for impudence. Despite bad weather, the Christian ships sailed south and, on 6 October, they reached the port of Sami, Cephalonia, early on 7 October, they sailed toward the Gulf of Patras, where they encountered the Ottoman fleet. While neither fleet had immediate strategic resources or objectives in the gulf, on the morning of 7 October, after the decision to offer battle was made, the Christian fleet formed up in four divisions in a north-south line. At the northern end, closest to the coast, was the Left Division of 53 galleys, mainly Venetian, led by Agostino Barbarigo, with Marco Querini and Antonio da Canale in support
4.
National Maritime Museum
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The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings form part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, the museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Like other publicly funded museums in the United Kingdom, the National Maritime Museum does not levy an admission charge. The Museum was created by the National Maritime Act of 1934 Chapter 43, under a Board of Trustees and it is based on the generous donations of Sir James Caird. King George VI formally opened the Museum on 27 April 1937 when his daughter Princess Elizabeth, the first Director was Sir Geoffrey Callender. Since earliest times Greenwich has had associations with the sea and navigation and it was a landing place for the Romans, Henry VIII lived here, the navy has roots on the waterfront, and Charles II founded the Royal Observatory in 1675 for finding the longitude of places. An active loans programme ensures that items from the collection are seen in the UK, through its displays, exhibitions and outreach programmes the Museum also explores our current relationship with the sea and the future of the sea as an environmental force and resource. The museum plays host to exhibitions, including Ships Clocks & Stars in 2014, Samuel Pepys, Plague, Fire, Revolution in 2015 and Emma Hamilton, Seduction. The collection of the National Maritime Museum also includes items taken from the German Naval Academy Mürwik after World War II, including several ship models, the museum has been criticized for possessing what has been described as Looted art. The Museum regards these cultural objects as war trophies, removed under the provisions of the Potsdam Conference, the Museum awards the Caird Medal annually in honour of its major donor, Sir James Caird. The Caird Library is a comprehensive specialist reference library and a research resource for all. The reading room is open Monday to Friday,10. 00–16.45, the Archive and Library holds a fantastic range of resources for finding out more about maritime history. Material includes manuscripts, books, charts and maps dating back to the 15th century, the collection can be used to research maritime history and exploration, the history of the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy and much more, including astronomy and timekeeping. Many of the resources they hold are useful for family historians, including collections of Master’s Certificates dating back to 1845. For news and interesting items from the collection, see Caird Library blog To request items to view in the Library, search Archive catalogue and Library catalogue. The Library has produced a range of guides to help people carry out their own research on a wide range of topics. The guides provide information about the Museums collections and other sources for research into maritime history, find out more about the research guides at Research Guides. The museum was established in 1934 within the 200 acres of Greenwich Royal Park in the buildings formerly occupied by the Royal Hospital School
5.
Treaty of Sistova
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The Treaty of Sistova ended the last Austro-Turkish war. Brokered by Great Britain, Prussia and the Netherlands, it was signed in Sistova in present-day Bulgaria on 4 August 1791, the treaty was written in French and Turkish. Austria had been pushed back in the first year of the war, but had then conquered Belgrade, Austrias ally Russia had also been very successful. But Austria was threatened with invasion by Prussia, also, the French Revolution had broken out, under this pressure, Austria accepted only very meagre gains from the war, only the town of Orşova and two small places on the Croatian frontier were ceded to Austria. This treaty ended the Austro-Ottoman Wars, Austria did not participate in the Russian-led wars against the Ottomans during the 19th and 20th centuries. With the Turkish war ended, Austria joined with Prussia in the Declaration of Pillnitz on August 27, Austria renounced any expansion at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. In return Prussia promised not to expand to the east and not to support the Brabant Revolution, both countries pledged to intervene in France if the various powers of Europe all agreed it was necessary
6.
Central and Eastern Europe
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It is in use after the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989–90. In scholarly literature the abbreviations CEE or CEEC are often used for this concept, the transition countries in Europe are thus classified today into two political-economic entities, CEE and CIS. According to the World Bank, the transition is over for the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 and it can be also understood as all countries of the Eastern Bloc. The definition of this varies, depending on the source. Central Europe Central and Eastern European Online Library East-Central Europe Eastern Europe Regions of Europe Baltic states Visegrád Group
7.
Ottoman Old Regime
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The history of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century has classically been described as one of stagnation and reform. In analogy with 18th-century France, it is known as the Ancien Régime or Old Regime, contrasting with the New Regime of the Nizam-i Cedid. The period characterized as one of decentralization in the Ottoman political system, in light of this, the empires history during this period is now generally viewed in more neutral terms, eschewing concepts such as decline and stagnation. The Old Regime was brought to an end not by a dramatic event. Although Selim himself was deposed, his reforms were continued by his successors into the nineteenth century, of crucial importance for this period in Ottoman history was the institution of malikāne, or life-term tax farm. This system provided the Ottoman government with a more stable source of revenue. However, the impact of malikāne extended far beyond its original economic and it facilitated a new style of government in the Ottoman Empire, which has been characterized as one of decentralization. Malikāne contracts were split into shares and privately traded on an ever-expanding market and these state assets were traded among numerous social groups, including but not limited to military and religious officials, rural gentry, urban notables, and janissaries. This provided provincial figures with new ways to interact with the Ottoman state, the institution of malikāne continued largely undisturbed until 1793, when Selim III began to phase it out as part of his general reform effort, known as the New Order. As malikāne contracts expired they were transferred to the New Order treasury and this attempt at centralization was opposed by provincial figures who by then had a vested interest in the continuation of malikāne, and contributed to Selim IIIs overthrow in 1807. Malikāne contracts thus continued to be sold and traded until the 1840s, the last effort of a militarily active sultan to personally control the entire government of the empire was undone in the 1703 rebellion known as the Edirne incident, in which Mustafa II was deposed. Major governmental offices were no longer located within the imperial palace, by the 1790s the central bureaucracy had grown to number some 1, 500-2,000 scribes, representing a significant increase over the 183 who were serving in 1593. Ottoman rule in the provinces was predicated upon maintaining the loyalty of local interest groups, state authority was represented by the provincial governor and the judge, the latter carrying out most of the day-to-day administration of the province. Representing local interests were figures known as notables, ayan came from diverse backgrounds, what distinguished them was their entrenched local status. Unlike Ottoman state officials, they did not generally migrate from position to position across the empire, ayan utilized patronage networks to wield significant influence within their local city or region, and their cooperation was essential in order for Ottoman provincial administration to function. During the eighteenth century, ayan were tied to the state through the institution of malikāne. By purchasing malikāne, ayan were able to consolidate their control over their region of influence. The central government and provincial power-holders thus remained interdependent, and the latter did not seek independence from the Ottoman Empire, during the seventeenth century provincial governors had been appointed for unspecified periods of time, producing a significant degree of uncertainty among them with regard to security of office
8.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
9.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
10.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
11.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
12.
Archduchy of Austria
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The Archduchy of Austria was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empires southeastern periphery, the Archduchy developed out of the Bavarian Margraviate of Austria, elevated to the Duchy of Austria according to the 1156 Privilegium Minus by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The House of Habsburg came to the Austrian throne in Vienna in 1282 and in 1453 Emperor Frederick III, also Austrian ruler, the Archduchys history as an Imperial State ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was replaced with the Lower and Upper Austria crown lands of the Austrian Empire, located in the Danube basin, Austria bordered on the Kingdom of Hungary beyond the March and Leitha rivers in the east. In the west, the Upper Austrian part bordered on the Bavarian stem duchy, in the course of the German mediatisation in 1803, the Austrian archdukes also acquired the rule over the Electorate of Salzburg and the Berchtesgaden Provostry. After Austria was detached from Bavaria and established as an Imperial estate in 1156, in 1358/59 the Habsburg duke Rudolf IV, in response of the Golden Bull of 1356, already claimed the archducal title by forging the Privilegium Maius. By the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, his heirs divided the Habsburg lands, on Epiphany 1453 Emperor Frederick III, regent of Austria for his minor Albertinian cousin Ladislaus the Posthumous, finally acknowledged the archducal title. It was then conferred to all Habsburg emperors and rulers, as well as to the princes of the dynasty, however. Frederick further promoted the rise of the Habsburg dynasty into European dimensions with the arrangement of the marriage between his son Maximilian I and Mary the Rich, heiress of Burgundy in 1477. After Maximilians son Philip the Handsome in 1496 had married Joanna the Mad, Queen of Castile, by marrying Princess Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, Ferdinand inherited both kingdoms in 1526. The Archduchy of Austria continued to exist as a constituent crown land within the empire, history of Austria List of rulers of Austria
13.
Bohemia
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Bohemia is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech lands in the present-day Czech Republic. Bohemia was a duchy of Great Moravia, later an independent principality, a kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently a part of the Habsburg Monarchy, after World War I and the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak state, Bohemia became a part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and 1945, border regions with sizeable German-speaking minorities of all three Czech lands were joined to Nazi Germany as the Sudetenland, in 1990, the name was changed to the Czech Republic, which become a separate state in 1993 with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Until 1948, Bohemia was a unit of Czechoslovakia as one of its lands. Bohemia was bordered in the south by Upper and Lower Austria, in the west by Bavaria and in the north by Saxony and Lusatia, in the northeast by Silesia, and in the east by Moravia. In the 2nd century BC, the Romans were competing for dominance in northern Italy, the Romans defeated the Boii at the Battle of Placentia and the Battle of Mutina. After this, many of the Boii retreated north across the Alps, much later Roman authors refer to the area they had once occupied as Boiohaemum. The earliest mention was by Tacitus Germania 28, and later mentions of the name are in Strabo. The name appears to include the tribal name Boi- plus the Germanic element *haimaz home and this Boiohaemum was apparently isolated to the area where King Marobods kingdom was centred, within the Hercynian forest. The Czech name Čechy is derived from the name of the Slavic ethnic group, the Czechs, Bohemia, like neighbouring Bavaria, is named after the Boii, who were a large Celtic nation known to the Romans for their migrations and settlement in northern Italy and other places. Another part of the nation moved west with the Helvetii into southern France, to the south, over the Danube, the Romans extended their empire, and to the southeast in Hungaria, were Sarmatian peoples. In the area of modern Bohemia the Marcomanni and other Suebic groups were led by their king Marobodus and he took advantage of the natural defenses provided by its mountains and forests. In late classical times and the early Middle Ages, two new Suebic groupings appeared to the west of Bohemia in southern Germany, the Alemanni, many Suebic tribes from the Bohemian region took part in such movements westwards, even settling as far away as Spain and Portugal. With them were also tribes who had pushed from the east, such as the Vandals, other groups pushed southwards towards Pannonia. These are precursors of todays Czechs, though the amount of Slavic immigration is a subject of debate. The Slavic influx was divided into two or three waves, the first wave came from the southeast and east, when the Germanic Lombards left Bohemia. Soon after, from the 630s to 660s, the territory was taken by Samos tribal confederation and his death marked the end of the old Slavonic confederation, the second attempt to establish such a Slavonic union after Carantania in Carinthia. Other sources divide the population of Bohemia at this time into the Merehani, Marharaii, Beheimare, Christianity first appeared in the early 9th century, but only became dominant much later, in the 10th or 11th century
14.
Kingdom of Bohemia
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The Kingdom of Bohemia, sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czech Republic. It was an Imperial State in the Holy Roman Empire, the kings of Bohemia, besides Bohemia ruled also the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, which at various times included Moravia, Silesia and parts of Saxony, Brandenburg and Bavaria. Numerous kings of Bohemia were also elected Holy Roman Emperors and the capital Prague was the seat in the late 14th century. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the became part of the Habsburg Austrian Empire. The Czech language was the language of the Diet and the nobility until 1627. German was then formally made equal with Czech and eventually prevailed as the language of the Diet until the Czech national revival in the 19th century. German was also used as the language of administration in many towns after Germans immigrated and populated some areas of the country in the 13th century. The royal court used the Czech, Latin, and German languages, depending on the ruler, following the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, both the Kingdom and Empire were dissolved. Bohemia became the part of the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic. In 1204 Ottokars royal status was accepted by Otto IV as well as by Pope Innocent III and it was officially recognized in 1212 by the Golden Bull of Sicily issued by Emperor Frederick II, elevating the Duchy of Bohemia to Kingdom status. Under these terms, the Czech king was to be exempt from all obligations to the Holy Roman Empire except for participation in the imperial councils. The imperial prerogative to ratify each Bohemian ruler and to appoint the bishop of Prague was revoked, the kings successor was his son Wenceslaus I, from his second marriage. Corresponding with the Pope, she established the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star in 1233, four other military orders were present in Bohemia, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from c. 1160, the Order of Saint Lazarus from the late 12th century, 1200–1421, and the Knights Templar from 1232–1312. The 13th century was the most dynamic period of the Přemyslid reign over Bohemia, at the same time, the Mongol invasions absorbed the attention of Bohemias eastern neighbors, Hungary and Poland. Přemysl Ottokar II married a German princess, Margaret of Babenberg and he thereby acquired Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and part of Styria. He conquered the rest of Styria, most of Carinthia, and he was called the king of iron and gold. He campaigned as far as Prussia, where he defeated the natives and in 1256, founded a city he named Královec in Czech
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Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
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The Kingdom of Croatia was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy. The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, between 1744 and 1868 the Kingdom of Croatia included a subordinate autonomous kingdom, the Kingdom of Slavonia. The territory of the Slavonian Kingdom was recovered from the Ottoman Empire, in 1744 these territories were organized as the Kingdom of Slavonia and included within the Kingdom of Croatia as an autonomous part. In 1868 both were merged again into the newly formed Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, following the Battle of Mohács, in 1527 the Croatian and Hungarian nobles needed to decide on a new king. The bulk of the Croatian nobility convened the Croatian Parliament in Cetin, some of the nobles dissented and supported John Zápolya, but the Habsburg option prevailed by 1540, when John Zápolya died. Territory retaken from the Ottoman Empire was formed in 1745 as the Kingdom of Slavonia, in 1804 the Habsburg Monarchy became the Austrian Empire which annexed the Venetian Republic in 1814 and established the Kingdom of Dalmatia. Stephen in the Hungarian part of the Empire, while the Kingdom of Dalmatia became a Kronland in the Austrian part of the Empire. The new Kingdom claimed the Kingdom of Dalmatia, as the remaining Croatian land in the Empire, and often referred to itself as the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia. The change of leadership was far from a solution to the war with the Ottomans, in fact, Croatian territory under Habsburg rule was 25 years later reduced to about 20,000 km². In 1558, the parliaments of Croatia and Slavonia were united after many centuries into one, the centre of the Croatian state moved northward from coastal Dalmatia, as these lands were conquered by the Ottomans. The town of Zagreb gained importance, as did nearby Varaždin, taking advantage of the growing conflict between Maximilian and Sigismund, Suleyman started his sixth raid of Hungary in 1565 with 100,000 troops. They successfully progressed northwards until 1566 when they took a detour to capture the outpost of Siget which they failed to capture ten years previously. The small fort was defended by Count Nikola Šubić Zrinski and 2 and they were able to hold their ground for a month, and decimated the Ottoman army before being wiped out themselves. This siege, now known as the Battle of Szigetvár, bought time to allow Austrian troops to regroup before the Ottomans could reach Vienna. Ambroz Matija Gubec and other leaders of the mutiny raised peasants to arms in over sixty fiefs throughout the country in January 1573, Matija Gubec and thousands of others were publicly executed shortly thereafter, in a rather brutal manner in order to set an example for others. After the Bihać fort finally fell to the army of the Bosnian vizier Hasan Pasha Predojević in 1592, the remaining 16,800 km² where around 400,000 inhabitants lived were referred to as the remnants of remnants of the once great and renowned Kingdom of Croatia. By the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire was driven out of Ottoman Hungary and Croatia, subsequently, the empress made significant contributions to Croatian matters, by making several changes in the administrative control of the Military Frontier, the feudal and tax system. The empress also gave the independent port of Rijeka to Croatia in 1776, however, she also ignored the Croatian Parliament
16.
Genoa
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Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015,594,733 people lived within the administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba due to its glorious past, part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The citys rich history in notably its art, music. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the countrys major economic centres. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is among the oldest in the world and has played an important role in the citys prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Fincantieri, Selex ES, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo STS, Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone, Piaggio Aerospace, the Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was frequented and inhabited by Ligures, Phoenicians, Phocaeans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbour probably saw use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. In the 5th century BC was founded the first oppidum at the foot of the today called the Castle Hill which now is inside the medieval old town. The ancient Ligurian city was known as Stalia, so referred to by Artemidorus Ephesius and Pomponius Mela, Ligurian Stalia was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Stalia had an alliance with Rome through a foedus aequum in the course of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians accordingly destroyed it in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC. it received municipal rights, the original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trades included skins, wood, and honey, goods were shipped to the mainland, up to major cities like Tortona and Piacenza. Among the archeological remains from the Roman period, an amphitheatre was also found, another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means New City and still another from the Latin word ianua, related to the name of the God Janus, meaning door or passage. The latter is in reference to its position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as part of the Augustean Regio IX Liguria, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths occupied Genoa
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Republic of Genoa
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It began when Genoa became a self-governing commune within the Regnum Italicum, and ended when it was conquered by the French First Republic under Napoleon and replaced with the Ligurian Republic. Corsica was ceded to France in the Treaty of Versailles of 1768, before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. Nominally, the Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city, however, actual power was wielded by a number of consuls annually elected by popular assembly. The Adorno, Campofregoso, and other merchant families all fought for power in this Republic, as the power of the consuls allowed each family faction to gain wealth. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica, through Genoese participation on the Crusades, Genoese colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the Byzantine Empire, as Venices relations with the Byzantine Empire were temporarily disrupted by the Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, Genoa was able to improve its position. Genoa took advantage of opportunity to expand into the Black Sea and Crimea. Internal feuds between the families, the Grimaldi and Fieschi, the Doria, Spinola, and others caused much disruption. However, this prosperity did not last, the Black Death was imported into Europe in 1347 from the Genoese trading post at Caffa in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government, the wars with Venice continued, and the War of Chioggia -- where Genoa almost managed to decisively subdue Venice—ended with Venices recovery of dominance in the Adriatic. In 1390 Genoa initiated a crusade against the Barbary pirates with help from the French, though it has not been well-studied, the fifteenth century seems to have been a tumultuous time for Genoa. After a period of French domination from 1394–1409, Genoa came under rule by the Visconti of Milan, Genoa lost Sardinia to Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt and its Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Asia Minor colonies to the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, according to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World. At the time of Genoa’s peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. The architect Galeazzo Alessi designed many of the city’s splendid palazzi, as did in the decades that followed by fifty years Bartolomeo Bianco, a number of Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent. At the time of its founding in the early 11th century the Republic of Genoa consisted of the city of Genoa, as the commerce of the city increased, so did the territory of the Republic. By 1015 all of Liguria fell under the Republic of Genoa, after the First Crusade in 1098 Genoa gained settlements in Syria. In 1261 the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor became Genoese territory, in 1255 Genoa established the colony of Caffa in Crimea
18.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
19.
Moldavia
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Moldavia is a historical region, and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river. The western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Republic of Moldova, the original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. Dragoș was accompanied by his female hound called Molda, when reached the shores of an unfamiliar river. The dogs name would have given to the river and extended to the country. The old German Molde, meaning open-pit mine the Gothic Mulda meaning dust, dirt, a Slavic etymology, marking the end of one Slavic genitive form, denoting ownership, chiefly of feminine nouns. In several early references, Moldavia is rendered under the composite form Moldo-Wallachia, Ottoman Turkish references to Moldavia included Boğdan Iflak and Boğdan. See also names in other languages, the name of the region in other languages include French, Moldavie, German, Moldau, Hungarian, Moldva, Russian, Молдавия, Moldaviya, Turkish, Boğdan Prensliği, Greek, Μολδαβία. The inhabitants of Moldova were Christians, archaeological works revealed the remains of a Christian necropolis at Mihălășeni, Botoșani county, from the 5th century. The place of worship, and the tombs had Christian characteristics, the place of worship had a rectangular form with sides of 8 and 7 meters. Similar necropolis and place of worship were found at Nicolina, in Iași The Bolohoveni, the chronicle shows that this land is bordered on the principalities of Halych, Volhynia and Kiev. Archaeological research also identified the location of 13th-century fortified settlements in this region, Alexandru V. Boldur identified Voscodavie, Voscodavti, Voloscovti, Volcovti, Volosovca and their other towns and villages between the middle course of the rivers Nistru/Dniester and Nipru/Dnieper. The Bolohoveni disappeared from chronicles after their defeat in 1257 by Daniil Romanovichs troops, in the early 13th century, the Brodniks, a possible Slavic–Vlach vassal state of Halych, were present, alongside the Vlachs, in much of the regions territory. On the border between Halych and the Brodniks, in the 11th century, a Viking by the name of Rodfos was killed in the area by Vlachs who supposedly betrayed him. In 1164, the future Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, was prisoner by Vlach shepherds around the same region. In 1342 and 1345, the Hungarians were victorious in a battle against Tatar-Mongols, the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz mentioned Moldavians as having joined a military expedition in 1342, under King Władysław I, against the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In 1353, Dragoș, mentioned as a Vlach Knyaz in Maramureș, was sent by Louis I to establish a line of defense against the Golden Horde forces of Mongols on the Siret River and this expedition resulted in a polity vassal to Hungary, centered around Baia. His realm extended north to the Cheremosh River, while the part of Moldavia was still occupied by the Tatar Mongols. After first residing in Baia, Bogdan moved Moldavias seat to Siret, disfavored by the brief union of Angevin Poland and Hungary, Bogdans successor Lațcu accepted conversion to Roman Catholicism around 1370, but his gesture was to remain without consequences
20.
Wallachia
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Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians, Wallachia is traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia and Oltenia. Wallachia as a whole is referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections. In 1417, Wallachia accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, in 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia to form the United Principalities, which adopted the name Romania in 1866 and officially became the Kingdom of Romania in 1881. In the Early Middle Ages, in Slavonic texts, the name of Zemli Ungro-Vlahiskoi was also used as a designation for its location, official designations of the state were Muntenia and Țara Românească. The traditional Hungarian name for Wallachia is Havasalföld, or literally Snowy Lowlands, in Ottoman Turkish, the term Eflâk Prensliği, or simply Eflâk افلاق, appears. Mavrovlachi is another name of the Balkan Vlachs or Aromanians, both names could come from a confusion, Kara Iflak, the Turkish name of Wallachia, means land of Wallachians, but later kara was misconstrued as kara. Later, the Turks renamed Moldavia and Wallachia as Kara Iflak and Ak Iflak according to the Turkish cardinal points symbolism, north is symbolized by black, and west is symbolized by white. Ardeal/Erdel was the name of Transylvania, and Kara Iflak, Northern Wallachia was either Wallachia, north of the Balkan territories inhabited by Vlachs, the second explanation is typologically better. In the Second Dacian War western Oltenia became part of the Roman province of Dacia, the Roman limes was initially built along the Olt River, before being moved slightly to the east in the 2nd century—during which time it stretched from the Danube up to Rucăr in the Carpathians. The Roman line fell back to the Olt in 245 and, in 271, in 328, the Romans built a bridge between Sucidava and Oescus which indicates that there was a significant trade with the peoples north of the Danube. A short period of Roman rule in the area is attested under Emperor Constantine I, the period of Goth rule ended when the Huns arrived in the Pannonian Plain and, under Attila, attacked and destroyed some 170 settlements on both sides of the Danube. Wallachia was under the control of the First Bulgarian Empire from its establishment in 681, in 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Europe, Cuman domination was ended—a direct Mongol rule over Wallachia was not attested, but it remains probable. His successor was his brother Bărbat.1334, Basarab was succeeded by Nicolae Alexandru, followed by Vladislav I. Under Radu I and his successor Dan I, the realms in Transylvania, as the entire Balkan Peninsula became an integral part of the growing Ottoman Empire, Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations in the final years of Mircea the Elders reign. Mircea initially defeated the Ottomans in several battles, driving away from Dobruja and briefly extending his rule to the Danube Delta, Dobruja. He swung between alliances with Sigismund of Hungary and Jagiellon Poland, and accepted a treaty with the Ottomans in 1417, after Mehmed I took control of Turnu Măgurele. The two ports remained part of the Ottoman state, with interruptions, until 1829
21.
Tsardom of Russia
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From 1551 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 per year. After a military victory over Sweden and Poland, he implemented substantial reforms and proclaimed the Russian Empire in 1721. While the oldest endonyms of the Grand Duchy of Moscow used in its documents were Rus and the Russian land, in the 1480s Russian state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name Росиа, Medovartsev also mentions the sceptre of Russian lordship. In England of the 16th century, it was both as Russia and Muscovy. In Northern Europe and at the court of the Holy Roman Empire, however, muscovites refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond Russac, which means Russians, and when they are asked what place they are from, by the 16th century, the Russian ruler had emerged as a powerful, autocratic figure, a Tsar. By assuming that title, the sovereign of Moscow tried to emphasize that he was a ruler or emperor on par with the Byzantine emperor or the Mongol khan. At first, the Byzantine term autokrator expressed only the meaning of an independent ruler. Ivan IV was crowned Tsar and thus was recognized, at least by the Russian Orthodox Church and that concept was to resonate in the self-image of Russians in future centuries. The development of the Tsars autocratic powers reached a peak during the reign of Ivan IV, Ivan strengthened the position of the Tsar to an exceptional degree, demonstrating the risks of unrestrained power in the hands of a mentally unstable individual. Although apparently intelligent and energetic, Ivan suffered from breakdowns of paranoia and depression, Ivan IV became Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533 at the age of three. The Shuysky and Belsky factions of the boyars competed for control of the regency until Ivan assumed the throne in 1547, reflecting Moscows new imperial claims, Ivans coronation as Tsar was a ritual modeled after those of the Byzantine emperors. With the continuing assistance of a group of boyars, Ivan began his reign with a series of useful reforms, in the 1550s, he declared a new law code, revamped the military, and reorganized local government. These reforms undoubtedly were intended to strengthen the state in the face of continuous warfare, the key documents prepared by the so-called Select Council of advisors and promulgated during this period are as follows. Muscovy remained a fairly unknown society in Western Europe until Baron Sigismund von Herberstein published his Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii in 1549 and this provided a broad view of what had been a rarely visited and poorly reported state. In the 1630s, the Russian Tsardom was visited by Adam Olearius, whose lively, further information about Russia was circulated by English and Dutch merchants. One of them, Richard Chancellor, sailed to the White Sea in 1553, upon his return to England, the Muscovy Company was formed by himself, Sebastian Cabot, Sir Hugh Willoughby, and several London merchants. Ivan the Terrible used these merchants to exchange letters with Elizabeth I, despite the domestic turmoil of the 1530s and 1540s, Russia continued to wage wars and to expand
22.
Cossack Hetmanate
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The Cossack Hetmanate, officially known as the Ruthenian State or Zaporizhian Host, was a Ukrainian Cossack state in Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1764. For other names, please, see section Name, the Hetmanate was founded by the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Uprising of 1648–57. The official document, which symbolized union between Russia and Ukraine, however, was never preserved and is thought to be fictional. After a failed attempt to break the union with Russia by Ivan Mazepa in 1708, Catherine II of Russia officially abolished the institute of Hetman in 1764 and in 1764-1781 Cossack Hetmanate was incorporated as the Little Russia Governorate headed by Pyotr Rumyantsev. The official name of the Cossack Hetmanate was Zaporizhian Host, the historiographic term Hetmanate or Hetman state were coined in the late 19th century. It derives from the word hetman, the title of the general of the Zaporizhian Army, inhabitants of the Cossack Hetmanate referred to it in Ukrainian as Ukraine or Vkraine. In Muscovite diplomatic correspondence it was called the Little Russian State, in Polish, Ottoman, the Cossack Hetmanate was called the country of Ukraine by the Ottoman Empire. The founder of the Hetmanate, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, declared himself as the ruler of the Ruthenian state to the Polish representative Adam Kysil in February 1649 and he also called the Hetmanate as Ruthenian state in his letter to the Tsar on February 17,1654. His contemporary Metropolitan Sylvestr Kosiv recognized him as the leader and the commander of our land, Şerban he referred to himself as Clementiae divinae Generalis Dux Exercituum Zaporoviensium. He warned them about his intention to resume his military campaign, however, after obtaining an intelligence report of the superior cossack forces, the Polish troops retreated to Zbarazh to set a defense. The forces of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki reinforced the Zbarazh defenders while he took the lead of all Polish forces, Khmelnytsky besieged the city wearing down through series of random attacks and firing at it. The king while rushing to help Wisznewecki was ambushed with his newly gathered forces, Khmelnytsky leaving part of his army with Ivan Cherniata near Zbarazh moved together with İslâm III Giray to intercept the Polish reinforcements and block their way at a river crossing near Zboriv. Caught be some degree of surprise John Casimir started negotiations with the Tatars khan, bringing khan on his side they forced Khmelnytsky to start peace negotiations. Khmelnytsky signed the Treaty of Zboriv in August 1649 and was less than the cossack leader has anticipated from his campaign. As ruler of the Hetmanate, Khmelnytsky engaged in state-building across multiple spheres, in the military, administration, finance, economics, and culture. He invested the Zaporozhian Host under the leadership of its hetman with supreme power in the new Ruthenian state, the Hetmanate used Polish currency, and Polish as an administrative language and a language of command. This is known as the modern Ukrainian language, the treaty also led to the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667. The period in Hetmanate history, known as the Ruin, which lasted from 1657 to 1687, was marked by constant civil wars throughout the state, at the end of Bohdan Khmelnytskys life, his son Yuri Khmelnytsky was elected to be his successor
23.
Duchy of Mantua
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The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, Northern Italy, subject to the Holy Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Mantua was invaded by Byzantines, Lombards, in the 11th century it became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, marquis of Toscana. The last ruler of the family was the countess Matilde of Canossa, after the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a free commune and strenuously defended itself from the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries. During the Investiture Controversy, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the situation to seize power—as Captain General of the People—in 1273. His family ruled Mantua for the century, making it more prosperous. On 16 August 1328, the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the House of Gonzaga, ludovico, who had been podestà of the city in 1318, was elected capitano del popolo. Through a payment of 120,000 golden florins in 1433, Gianfrancesco was appointed marquis of Mantua by Emperor Sigismund, in 1459 Pope Pius II held a diet in Mantua to proclaim a crusade against the Turks. The first duke of Mantua was Federico II, who acquired the title from Charles V, the following year, the family acquired the Marquisate of Montferrat through marriage. Federico commissioned Giulio Romano to build the famous Palazzo Te, in the periphery of the city, in 1624, Ferdinando Gonzaga moved the ducal seat to a new residence, the Villa della Favorita, designed by the architect Nicolò Sebregondi. The War of the Mantuan Succession broke out, and in 1630 an Imperial army of 36,000 Landsknecht mercenaries besieged Mantua, Mantua never recovered from this disaster. Duke Ferdinand Charles, a ruler whose only aim was to hold parties and theatrical representations. After the latters defeat, he was declared deposed by Emperor Joseph I and took refuge in Venice, at his death, in 1708 his family lost Mantua forever in favour of the Habsburgs of Austria. Mantua was briefly united with the Duchy of Milan by an edict of Emperor Joseph II on 26 September 1786, Mantua was besieged by Napoleons French army in 1796, before falling in 1797. With the Treaty of Campo Formio, Mantua was annexed to the Cisalpine Republic becoming the Department of Mincio, duke of Mantua The House of Gonzaga, heirs to the sovereign marquessate of Mantua I Gonzaga di Mantova
24.
Republic of Venice
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It was based in the lagoon communities of the historically prosperous city of Venice. It was a leading European economic and trading power during the Middle Ages, the Venetian city state was founded as a safe haven for people escaping persecution in mainland Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In its early years, it prospered on the salt trade, in subsequent centuries, the city state established a thalassocracy. It dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Asia, Europe and North Africa, the Venetian navy was used in the Crusades. Venice achieved territorial conquests along the Adriatic Sea, the city became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art and architecture along the citys lagoons. Venetian merchants were influential financiers in Europe, the city was also the birthplace of great European explorers, including Marco Polo, as well as the classical music composer Vivaldi. The republic was ruled by the Doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism, Venetian citizens generally supported the system of governance. The city-state enforced strict laws and employed ruthless tactics in its prisons, the opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of Venices decline as a maritime republic. The city state suffered defeats from the navy of the Ottoman Empire, in 1797, the country was colonized by Austria and France, following an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte. Venice became a part of a unified Italy in the 19th century and it was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the Most Serene Republics. He was the first historical Doge of Venice, whichever the case, the first doges had their power base in Heraclea. Ursuss successor, Deusdedit, moved his seat from Heraclea to Malamocco in the 740s and he was the son of Ursus and represented the attempt of his father to establish a dynasty. Such attempts were more commonplace among the doges of the first few centuries of Venetian history. They desired to remain well-connected to the Empire, another faction, republican in nature, believed in continuing along a course towards practical independence. The other main faction was pro-Frankish, supported mostly by clergy, they looked towards the new Carolingian king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, as the best provider of defence against the Lombards. A minor, pro-Lombard faction was opposed to close ties with any of these further-off powers, the successors of Obelerio inherited a united Venice. By the Pax Nicephori, the two emperors had recognised that Venice belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence, many centuries later, the Venetians claimed that the treaty had recognised Venetian de facto independence, but the truth of this claim is doubted by modern scholars
25.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
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It was founded as the Knights Hospitaller circa 1099 in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Blessed Gerard, making it the worlds oldest surviving chivalric order. It operated from Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, over which it was sovereign until the French occupation, the order venerates as its patroness Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title Our Lady of Mount Philermos. The Order retains sovereignty under international law, including United Nations permanent observer status, issuing its own passports, currency, the orders military corps, three brigades, are stationed throughout Italy, liaisoned with the Italian Armed Forces. Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the order aids victims of disasters, epidemics. In several countries, including France, Germany and Ireland, local associations of the order are important providers of emergency services. In the ecclesiastical heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Order of Malta is one of two orders whose insignia may be displayed in a clerical coat of arms. The shield is surrounded with a rosary for professed knights. Members may also display the Maltese cross behind their shield instead of the ribbon, in order to protect its heritage against frauds, the order has legally registered 16 versions of its names and emblems in some 100 countries. The birth of the dates back to around 1048. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem–the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land–became independent under the guidance of its founder, by virtue of the Papal Bull, the hospital became an order exempt from the control of the local church. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission, as time went on, the order adopted the white eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today. The eight points represent the eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced in his Sermon on the Mount, when the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell after the Siege of Acre in 1291, the order settled first in Cyprus. In 1310, led by Grand Master Fra Foulques de Villaret, in the early 14th century, the institutions of the Order and the knights who came to Rhodes from every corner of Europe were grouped according to the languages they spoke. Each Langue included Priories or Grand Priories, Bailiwicks, and Commanderies, the Order was governed by its Grand Master, the Prince of Rhodes, and its Council. The senior positions of the Order were given to representatives of different Langues, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender in 1523 and left Rhodes with military honours. The Reformation which split Western Europe into Protestant and Roman Catholic states affected the knights as well, in several countries, including England, Scotland and Sweden, the order was disestablished. In others, including the Netherlands and Germany, entire bailiwicks or commanderies experienced religious conversions and it was established that the order should remain neutral in any war between Christian nations
26.
History of Malta under the Order of Saint John
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Malta was ruled by the Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798. The islands of Malta and Gozo, as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya, were granted to the Order by Spanish Emperor Charles V in 1530, following the loss of Rhodes. The Ottoman Empire managed to capture Tripoli from the Order in 1551, following the 1565 siege, the Order decided to settle permanently in Malta, and began to construct a new capital city, Valletta. For the next two centuries, Malta went through a Golden Age, characterized by a flourishing of the arts, architecture, and an overall improvement in Maltese society. In the mid-17th century, the Order was the de jure proprietor over some islands in the Caribbean, the Order began to decline in the 1770s, and was severely weakened by the French Revolution in 1792. In 1798, French forces under Napoleon invaded Malta and expelled the Order, the Maltese eventually rebelled against the French, and the islands became a British protectorate in 1800. Malta was to be returned to the Order by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, but the British remained in control, the Order of Saint John was expelled from its base in Rhodes during the Ottoman siege of 1522. The Order settled in the town of Birgu and made it their capital, the ancient fortress known as Castrum Maris was rebuilt as Fort Saint Angelo, the towns defences were strengthened, and many new buildings were constructed. The Order soon began to mint its own coins as it settled in Malta, the Hospitallers continued their actions against the Muslims and especially the Barbary pirates. Although they had only a few ships they quickly drew the ire of the Ottomans, in July 1551, Ottoman forces attempted to take over Fort Saint Angelo and later Mdina but saw that they were outnumbered and invaded Gozo several days later. They sailed to Tripoli and captured the city in August, following these attacks, the Order tried to repopulate Gozo and strengthen the Grand Harbour fortifications. Several forts including Saint Elmo and Saint Michael were built, sometime between 1551 and 1556, a tornado hit Malta and destroyed at least four of the Orders galleys and killed 600 people. This is the worst natural disaster that occurred on Malta. In 1553, Charles V offered a third possession to the Order, however, the Order refused to take control of the city since the commission that was set up decided that it would be too expensive to maintain. Therefore, the emperor ordered the Viceroy of Sicily, Juan de Vega, de Vega burnt Mehdia, but retaliated against Malta for not accepting the city, and prohibited exportation of wheat to the island. To combat this, Grandmaster Sengle brought the engineer Vincenzo Vogo to Malta to upgrade the mills so the population would not starve, at first the battle went as badly for the Hospitallers as Rhodes had, most of the cities were destroyed and about half the knights killed. On 18 August the position of the besieged was becoming desperate, dwindling daily in numbers, but when his council suggested the abandonment of Birgu and Senglea and withdrawal to Fort St. Angelo, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette refused. A wrong decision could mean defeat and exposing Sicily and Naples to the Ottomans and he had left his own son with de Valette, so he could hardly be indifferent to the fate of the fortress
27.
Petro Doroshenko
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Petro Dorofeyevych Doroshenko was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of Right-bank Ukraine and a Russian voyevoda. Petro Doroshenko was born in Chyhyryn to a noble Cossack family with a strong leadership background and his father, a Registered Cossack, held the rank of colonel, and his grandfather Mykhailo held the bulava in the 1620s as hetman of the Registered Cossack Army. Though it is not known where Doroshenko studied, there is no doubt that he received an excellent education, Doroshenko became fluent in Latin and Polish and had a broad knowledge of history. In 1648 Doroshenko joined the forces of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in the uprising against the Polish domination of Ukraine, in the earlier stages of the uprising Doroshenko served in both a military and a diplomatic capacity. He primarily served in the Chyhyryn regiment, where he held the rank of artillery secretary, when Khmelnytskys death occurred in 1657 Doroshenko supported the election of general chancellor Ivan Vyhovsky as Khmelnytskys successor. Between 1657 and 1658 he helped Hetman Vyhovsky to suppress the uprising of Iakiv Barabash and Martyn Pushkar. Hetman Pavlo Teteria promoted Doroshenko to the rank of his chief yesaul in 1663, Doroshenko became the leader of the Cossack starshyna and elements within the ecclesiastical authorities who opposed 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav. Supported by Crimean Tatars and Ottoman Turkey in 1665, Doroshenko crushed the pro-Russian Cossack bands and they found it in the realm of the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate. In the beginning the first Hetman recognized by Crimea was Sotnyk Stepan Opara from the Medvedesky company, however, that same summer of 1665 he was replaced by Doroshenko. In order to strengthen his new position, Doroshenko introduced reforms in hope of winning the respect of the rank, Doroshenko would often organize general councils where he would listen to the lower classes opinions. And in order to rid himself of the dependence on the starshyna, when his hetmancy began, Doroshenko, like all Right-bank hetmans, followed a pro-Polish line, but he quickly changed this policy upon hearing the signing of the 1667 Treaty of Andrusovo. The treaty officially divided Ukraine between Russia and Poland, with Russia gaining sovereignty over Left-bank Ukraine and Poland acquiring Right-bank Ukraine, once the news reached Doroshenko, he reportedly suffered a seizure upon learning of Ukraines partitioning. Doroshenko quickly deserted his position and decided to seek aid from the Ottoman Empire. In the fall of 1667 Doroshenko, with support Crimean Tatars, after the battle the Doroshenkos opposition led by the Kosh Otaman Ivan Sirko and Tatars stopped his further advance against Poles. With the Right-Bank seemingly secured, Doroshenko and his men crossed into Left-bank Ukraine, following Briukhovetskys execution, Doroshenko was proclaimed the hetman of all Ukraine on 18 June 1668. As Doroshenko was reaching his zenith of power after successfully reuniting Ukraine, the new Polish offensive forced him to return the Right-bank Ukraine appointing Demian Mnohohrishny acting hetman of the Left-bank. Doroshenko managed to secure the release from Polish captivity the Metropolitan of Kiev Yosyf Tukalsky-Neliubovych who moved his seat to Chyhyryn, in January 1668 the Council of Officers in Chyhyryn expressed its support for Doroshenkos intentions for the alliance with the Ottoman Empire. In autumn of 1668 Cossack delegation was sent to Istanbul with proposal for military alliance between the Cossack state and the Ottoman Empire, the alliance was once again approved at the 1669 Korsun Cossack Council on 10–12 March
28.
Crimean Khanate
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The Crimean Khanate was a Turkic vassal state of the Ottoman Empire from 1478 to 1774, the longest-lived of the Turkic khanates that succeeded the empire of the Golden Horde. The khanate was located in present-day Russia and Ukraine, Ottoman forces under Gedik Ahmet Pasha conquered all of the Crimean peninsula and joined it to the khanate in 1475. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Crimean Khanate was an important center of the slave trade. In 1774, it was released as a independent state, following the Russo-Turkish Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. English-speaking writers during the 18th and early 19th centuries often called the territory of the Crimean Khanate, the name Little Tartary distinguished the area from Tartary - those areas of central and northern Asia inhabited by Turkic peoples or Tatars. The Khanate included the Crimean peninsula and the adjacent steppes, mostly corresponding to the parts of South Ukraine between the Dnepr and the Donets. The Crimean Khanate originated in the early 15th century when certain clans of the Golden Horde Empire ceased their nomadic life in the Desht-i Kipchak and decided to make Crimea their yurt. At that time, the Golden Horde of the Mongol empire had governed the Crimean peninsula as an ulus since 1239, the local separatists invited a Genghisid contender for the Golden Horde throne, Hacı Giray, to become their khan. Hacı Giray accepted their invitation and traveled from exile in Lithuania and he warred for independence against the Horde from 1420 to 1441, in the end achieving success. But Hacı Giray then had to fight off internal rivals before he could ascend the throne of the khanate in 1449, the khanate included the Crimean Peninsula as well as the adjacent steppe. The sons of Hacı I Giray contended against each other to succeed him, the Ottomans intervened and installed one of the sons, Meñli I Giray, on the throne. Menli I Giray, took the imperial title Sovereign of Two Continents, in 1475 the Ottoman forces, under the command of Gedik Ahmet Pasha, conquered the Greek Principality of Theodoro and the Genoese colonies at Cembalo, Soldaia, and Caffa. Thenceforth the khanate was a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman sultan enjoyed veto power over the selection of new Crimean khans. The Empire annexed the Crimean coast but recognized the legitimacy of the rule of the steppes. In 1475, the Ottomans imprisoned Meñli I Giray for three years for resisting the invasion, after returning from captivity in Constantinople, he accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, Ottoman sultans treated the khans more as allies than subjects, the khans continued to have a foreign policy independent from the Ottomans in the steppes of Little Tartary. The khans continued to mint coins and use their names in Friday prayers and they did not pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire, instead the Ottomans paid them in return for their services of providing skilled outriders and frontline cavalry in their campaigns. Later on, Crimea lost power in this relationship as the result of a crisis in 1523, during the reign of Meñlis successor and he died that year and beginning with his successor, from 1524 on, Crimean khans were appointed by the Sultan
29.
Balkan campaign of 1529
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The Balkan campaign of 1529 was launched by Suleiman the Magnificent to take the Austrian capital Vienna and thereby strike a decisive blow, allowing him to consolidate his hold on Hungary. This was in response to Ferdinand Is daring assault on Ottoman Hungary, suleimans march to Vienna was also an attempt to assist his vassal, John Szapolyai who claimed the throne of Hungary. Suleiman sent his army of 120,000 strong north on the 10 May 1529 and his campaign was marked by speedy success- on September 8 Buda surrendered to the Ottomans and John Szapolyai was installed as King of Hungary. Suleiman then went further taking Gran, Tata, Komárom and Raab so that much of Ferdinand Is gains the two years were lost. On 27 September, Suleiman reached Vienna, however, when Suleiman began besieging Vienna it would prove to be his first and most decisive blunder. Madden, Thomas F. Crusades the Illustrated History, ann Arbor, University of Michigan P,2005 Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 -1699
30.
Siege of Vienna
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The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empires power and the extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe. Thereafter,150 years of military tension and reciprocal attacks ensued, culminating in the Battle of Vienna of 1683. The inability of the Ottomans to capture Vienna in 1529 turned the tide against almost a century of conquest throughout eastern, the Ottoman Empire had previously annexed Central Hungary and established a vassal state in Transylvania in the wake of the Battle of Mohács. According to Arnold J. Toynbee, The failure of the first brought to a standstill the tide of Ottoman conquest which had been flooding up the Danube Valley for a century past. There is speculation by historians that Suleimans main objective in 1529 was actually to assert Ottoman control over the whole of Hungary. The decision to attack Vienna after such an interval in Suleimans European campaign is viewed as an opportunistic manoeuvre after his decisive victory in Hungary. Other scholars theorise that the suppression of Hungary simply marked the prologue to a later and his brother-in-law, Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, claimed the vacant Hungarian throne. Thus Hungary became divided into Royal Hungary and Ottoman Hungary up until 1700, Ferdinand set out to enforce his claim on Hungary and captured Buda in 1527, only to relinquish his hold on it in 1529 when an Ottoman counter-attack stripped Ferdinand of all his territorial gains. Estimates of Suleimans army vary widely from 120,000 to more than 300,000 men mentioned by various chroniclers, Suleiman launched his campaign on 10 May 1529 and faced numerous obstacles from the onset. Sickness and poor health became common among the janissaries, claiming many lives along the perilous journey, Suleiman arrived in Osijek on 6 August. The only resistance came at Pozsony, where the Turkish fleet was bombarded as it sailed up the Danube, as the Ottomans advanced towards Vienna, the citys population organised an ad-hoc resistance formed from local farmers, peasants and civilians determined to repel the inevitable attack. The Ottoman army that arrived in late September had been depleted during the long advance into Austrian territory, leaving Suleiman short of camels. Many of his troops arrived at Vienna in a state of health after the tribulations of a long march through the thick of the European wet season. Of those fit to fight, a third were light cavalry, or Sipahis, three richly-dressed Austrian prisoners were dispatched as emissaries by the Sultan to negotiate the citys surrender, Salm sent three richly-dressed Muslims back without a response. More rain fell on 11 October, and with the Ottomans failing to make any breaches in the walls, in addition, Suleiman was facing critical shortages of supplies such as food and water, while casualties, sickness, and desertions began taking a toll on his armys ranks. The janissaries began voicing their displeasure at the progression of events, the Sultan convened an official council on 12 October to deliberate the matter. It was decided to attempt one final, major assault on Vienna, extra rewards were offered to the troops
31.
Siege of Klis
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The Siege of Klis or Battle of Klis was a siege of Klis Fortress in the Kingdom of Croatia within Habsburg Monarchy. After decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field in 1493, and especially after the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Croats continued defending themselves against the Ottoman attacks. The Ottoman conquest during the years of the 16th century prompted the formation of the Uskoks. As a part of the Habsburg defensive system, Uskoks used the base at Klis as an important defensive position and they fought almost alone against the Ottomans, and for more than two decades defended the fortress against the Ottoman attacks. Citizens fled the town, while the Uskoci retreated to the city of Senj, Klis became an administrative centre or sanjak of the Bosnia Eyalet, and would remain so for a century. Decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field in 1493, however, it did not dissuade the Croats from making more decisive and persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the much larger enemy. A new wave of Ottoman conquest began in 1521, after which a portion of Croatia was conquered or pillaged. On 29 August 1526, at the Battle of Mohács, the Christian forces led by King Louis II were defeated by Ottoman forces led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Louis was killed in the battle, which resulted in the end of the independent Kingdom of Hungary as he died without an heir, both the Kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia became disputed territories with claims from both the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. Owing to its location, Klis Fortress was an important defensive position during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, the fortress stands along the route by which the Ottomans could penetrate the mountain barrier separating the coastal lowlands from around Split, from Ottoman-held Bosnia. Although nominally accepting the sovereignty of the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand, who obtained the Croatian crown in 1527, Kružić, from 1513, Petar Kružić was one of the commanding officers of Klis Fortress. The Ottomans attempted to conquer the Klis Fortress on several occasions, the first major attempt was by Skender-beg Ornosović in 1515. The Ottomans captured Klis, a village just below the fortress bearing the same name, Kružić was promoted to captain of the Klis Fortress by the ban Petar Berislavić in 1520. The second major attempt was in 1520, and a year later another attempt was made by Makut-paša, with additional 2,000 infantry,50 horsemen, another unsuccessful attempt was made in 1522, by Hasan-paša from Mostar and Mehmed-beg Mihalbegović. Later that year, Mihalbegović made another attempt at a siege with 3,000 men, during 1523, Klis Fortress was again under attack by the Sultans army. Attempts were also made by Gazi Husrev-beg in 1526 and 1528, in 1534, the Ottomans under Mihalbegović laid a months-long siege with a constant concentrated cannonade to the fortress. Ferdinand urged the Pope to send ships to relieve the Ottoman siege, although the Ottomans eventually lifted the siege, Ferdinand was displeased that the Pope had provided no assistance in the defense of the fortress. In 1535, the Ottomans tried to seize the fortress by treachery, and again in 1536, during that year the Ottomans started a new siege which would last until the final fall of the fortress
32.
Siege of Eger (1552)
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The Siege of Eger occurred during the 16th century Ottoman Wars in Europe. Later, the siege has become an emblem of national defense, the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, commenced his expansion of the empire in 1520 after the reign of Selim I. He began assaults against Hungarian and Austrian influenced territories, invading Hungarian soil in 1526, the Hungarian Army was crushed at the Battle of Mohács and the way was paved for an attack on the Danube Basin. The battle also brought about the death of the King of Hungary and Bohemia, Louis II, the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I succeeded to the Bohemian throne but was challenged to the Hungarian throne by the pretender John Zápolya whose claim was backed by nobles and the Sultan. The power struggle continued beyond Johns death in 1540 when his son and it was not resolved until he renounced the throne in 1570 when he was succeeded by Maximilian I. The Ottomans met resistance during the Siege of Güns in 1532, however, this only delayed their campaign by 25 days, and they continued to close in on Buda, finally occupying the capital in 1541. Buda became the seat of Ottoman rule in the area, with the Ottoman supported John II governing the occupied territories, the loss of Christian forts at Temesvár and Szolnok in 1552 were blamed on mercenary soldiers within the Hungarian ranks. Eger was an important stronghold and key to the defense of the remainder of Hungarian soil, the Castle of Eger is located east of the town on a hillside. The Varkoch gate sat on the wall of the inner fortress while a further bastion, Church Bastion. The fortress of Eger was built on the ruins of a stone fort. This made Egers foundations stronger than usual and greatly hindered the work of Ottoman miners, none of these attempts were successful during the siege of Eger. The old Hungarian data and Gárdonyis value of the size of the Ottoman Army are romantic exaggeration, in reality the Ottoman army numbered 35-40,000 men from the Rumelian army and the troops of Ahmed Pasha from Buda. The defenders had 6 large and about a dozen smaller cannons, despite the difference in troop numbers, Egers strong walls and the high morale of its defenders allowed the fortress to withstand five major assaults and continuous cannon fire. The fortress was defended by 2, 100-2,300 people, a mixture of soldiers, insurgent peasants. The defenders were commanded by István Dobó and his deputy István Mekcsey, another noted officer, famous in Hungarian literature and folklore, was Gergely Bornemissza. He commanded a detachment of 250 Hungarian infantry, however it was his skill with explosives that was to make this young officers name and his secret lay in the gunpowder not simply exploding but sparking even more fire. He loaded these weapons with oil, sulfur and flint in order to shower the enemy with burning missiles, the Ottomans had expected an easy victory, but the bravery of the castles defenders, as well as Dobós inspired leadership, resisted and repulsed repeated Ottoman assaults. Even after the tower containing 24 metric tons of black gunpowder exploded and caused extensive structural damage
33.
Long Turkish War
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The Long Turkish War or Thirteen Years War was an indecisive land war between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the Principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia. It was waged from 1593 to 1606 but in Europe is sometimes called the Fifteen Years War, in the series of Ottoman wars in Europe it was the major test of force between the Ottoman–Venetian War and the Cretan War. The next of the major Ottoman-Habsburg wars was the Great Turkish War of 1683-99, overall, the conflict consisted in a great number of costly battles and sieges, but with very little result for either side. The major participants of this war were the Habsburg Monarchy, the Principality of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia opposing the Ottoman Empire, ferrara, Tuscany, Mantua and the Papal State were also involved to a lesser extent. Skirmishes along the Habsburg–Ottoman border intensified from 1591, in 1592, the fort of Bihać fell to the Ottomans. That victory marked the end of the Hundred Years Croatian–Ottoman War, the war started on July 29,1593, when the Ottoman army under Sinan Pasha launched a campaign against the Habsburg Monarchy and captured Győr and Komarom in 1594. In early 1594, the Serbs in Banat rose up against the Ottomans, the rebels had, in the character of a holy war, carried war flags with the icon of Saint Sava. The war banners were consecrated by Patriarch Jovan Kantul, and the uprising was aided by Serbian Orthodox metropolitans Rufim Njeguš of Cetinje, along the way, the Ottoman convoy killed all the people in its path as a warning to the rebels. The Ottomans publicly incinerated the relics of Saint Sava on a pyre atop the Vračar plateau on April 27 and had the ashes scattered, aron Vodă of Moldavia and Michael the Brave of Wallachia joined the alliance later that year. The Ottomans objective of the war was to seize Vienna, while the Habsburg Monarchy wanted to recapture the territories of the Kingdom of Hungary controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Control over the Danube line and possession of the fortresses located there was crucial, the war was mainly fought in Royal Hungary, Transdanubia, Royal Croatia and Slavonia, the Ottoman Empire, and Wallachia. In 1595, the Christians, led by Mansfeld, captured Esztergom and Visegrád, strategic fortresses on the Danube, the Ottomans launched a siege of Eger, conquering it in 1596. In the following years, Spanish fleets continued to raid the Levant waters, instead, they were privateers such as Alonso de Contreras who took the role of harassing the Ottoman sailing. Michael continued his attacks deep within the Ottoman Empire, taking the forts of Nicopolis, Ribnic, at one point his forces were only 24 kilometres from the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. The push was successful, managing to capture not only Giurgiu but also Bucharest and Târgovişte. At this point the Ottoman command grew complacent and stopped pursuing the retreating Wallachian army, focusing instead on fortifying Târgovişte and Bucharest and considering their task all, the Battle of Giurgiu in particular was devastating for the Ottoman forces, which had to retreat across the Danube in disarray. The war between Wallachia and the Ottomans continued until late 1599, when Michael was unable to continue the war due to support from his allies. The turning point of the war was the Battle of Mezőkeresztes, the combined Habsburg-Transylvanian force of 45–50,000 troops was defeated by the Ottoman army
34.
Great Turkish War
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The war was a defeat for the Ottoman Empire, which lost large amounts of territory in Central Europe. The war was significant in that it marked the first time Russia was involved in a western European alliance. After Bohdan Khmelnytskys rebellion, when the Tsardom of Russia acquired parts of Eastern Ukraine from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and their leader, Petro Doroshenko, wanted to connect the rest of Ukraine with the Ottoman Empire, starting a rebellion against Hetman John Sobieski. Sultan Mehmed IV, who knew that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was weakened due to conflicts, attacked Kamianets-Podilskyi. The small Polish force resisted the Siege of Kamenets for two weeks but was forced to capitulate. The Polish Army was too small to resist the Ottoman invasion, after three months, the Poles were forced to sign the Treaty of Buchach in which they agreed to surrender Kamyanets-Podilsky, Podolia and to pay tribute to the Ottoman Sultan. When the news about the defeat and treaty terms reached Warsaw, the Sejm refused to pay the tribute and organized an army under Jan Sobieski, subsequently. After King Michaels death in 1673, Jan Sobieski was elected king of Poland, he tried to defeat the Ottomans for four years. The war ended on 17 October 1676 with the Treaty of Żurawno in which the Turks only retained control over Kamianets-Podilskyi and this Turkish attack also led in 1676 to the beginning of the Russo-Turkish Wars. After a few years of peace, the Ottoman Empire attacked the Habsburg Empire, the Turks almost captured Vienna, but John III Sobieski led a Christian alliance that defeated them in the Battle of Vienna, stalling the Ottoman Empires hegemony in south-eastern Europe. A new Holy League was initiated by Pope Innocent XI and encompassed the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the second Battle of Mohács was a crushing defeat for the Sultan. The Turks were more successful on the Polish front and were able to retain Podolia during their battles with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, russias involvement marked the first time the country formally joined an alliance of European powers. This was the beginning of a series of Russo-Turkish Wars, which continued into the 20th century, as a result of the Crimean campaigns and Azov campaigns, Russia captured the key Ottoman fortress of Azov. Following the decisive Battle of Zenta in 1697 and lesser skirmishes, the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary, Transylvania and Slavonia to the Habsburg Empire while Podolia returned to Poland. Most of Dalmatia passed to Venice, along with the Morea, Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side. In the first half of 1688, the Habsburg army, together with units of Serbian Militia, captured Gyula, Lipova and Ineu from the Ottoman Empire. After Belgrade had been liberated from the Ottomans in 1688, Serbs from the territories in the south of Sava and Danube rivers began to join Serbian Militia units. However, with the rise of the Ottomans, during the 16th and early 17th centuries, they lost most of these, such as Cyprus and Euboea to the Turks
Order of Saint John
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