Ottoman-Russian Wars: From the Prut (1711) to the War of ’93 (1877)

The Ottoman-Russian wars were a long struggle that lasted from the first clashes in the 16th century to the First World War. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Russia’s foremost goal was to gain an outlet to the Black Sea. In the period that began with the war of 1768–1774 and the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, Russia took on the role of protector of the Orthodox. This turned the rivalry between the two states into the Eastern Question.

Quick Summary

The first armed encounter was the Astrakhan campaign of 1569.
The first official peace between the two states was concluded at Bakhchisaray in 1681.
The Russian army suffered a heavy defeat in the Prut campaign of 1711.
Under the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) Crimea became independent; Russia annexed it in 1783.
Kars, Ardahan and Batumi were ceded to Russia after the war of 1877–1878.

The main cause of the wars
The first encounters
Azov and the Prut
The war of 1768–1774 and Küçük Kaynarca
The loss of Crimea and the 19th century
The Crimean War
The War of ’93
Results of the wars
Frequently asked questions

What Was the Main Cause of the Ottoman-Russian Wars?

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, reaching the Black Sea was a vital matter for Russia. The encyclopedia explains this less as an obsession than as the necessity of a landmass cut off from warm seas. For the Ottomans, who did not want even a single foreign boat sailing on the Black Sea, the situation was exactly the opposite. This conflict of interests set the two great powers against each other for centuries. Over time the rivalry spread to the Caucasus and the Balkans as well.

In time religion also became part of this rivalry. According to the encyclopedia, after Küçük Kaynarca Russia took on the role of protector of the Orthodox in Ottoman lands and liberator of the Slavic peoples. It supported the uprisings in the Balkans. The policy of a strengthening Russia of dividing up this inheritance entered the literature as the Eastern Question.

The First Encounters: Astrakhan and Chyhyryn

Russia’s capture of Kazan in 1552 and of Astrakhan in 1556 drew attention to the north. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Russians, who had pushed as far as the Terek, were also harassing the merchants and pilgrims coming from Turkestan. This led in 1569 to the operation known as the “Astrakhan campaign”. According to the encyclopedia, at the end of this first undeclared war Russia was forced to keep away from the Terek.

According to the encyclopedia, the Crimean khan Devlet Giray and Tsar Ivan IV found themselves on the same side, since neither wanted Istanbul’s power to settle permanently in the region. For this reason the project for a canal to link the Don and the Volga also came to nothing.

According to the encyclopedia, in the 17th century war broke out between the two states on 11 April 1678 over the Cossack question. Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha took Chyhyryn, the center of the Ukrainian Cossacks who had passed under Russian protection, on 21 August 1678. The first official peace between the two states was concluded at Bakhchisaray on 13 February 1681 as a twenty-year truce.

The Fortress of Azov and the Prut Campaign

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Cossacks seized the fortress of Azov in 1637 and wanted to hand it over to Russia, but Russia could not yet risk an open conflict.

During the wars of 1683–1699 Russia joined the alliance formed against the Ottomans. With ships built at the Voronezh shipyard and heavy guns, it captured the fortress of Azov on 6 August 1696, and it kept the fortress under the Treaty of Constantinople of 1700. According to the encyclopedia, a Russian warship carrying the Russian envoy also appeared before Istanbul for the first time.

The situation changed in 1711. According to the encyclopedia, the refuge that the Swedish king Charles XII, defeated at Poltava, found in the sultan’s lands and the policy of Tsar Peter the Great led to a new war. Grand Vizier Baltacı Mehmed Pasha trapped the Russian army on the banks of the Prut.

According to the encyclopedia, after its heavy defeat at the Prut, Russia undertook in the peace that followed to return the fortress of Azov. It avoided keeping this promise, however, and handed the fortress over only with the Treaty of Edirne of 1713. According to the encyclopedia, the Treaty of Belgrade, concluded after the war of 1736–1739, provided for Azov to be demolished and the area to be treated as “no man’s land”.

Oil painting of the Ottoman army and its commanders gathered with their banners before a fortress in the Ottoman-Russian wars

The War of 1768–1774 and Küçük Kaynarca

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the war declared in September 1768 rested on just grounds but was started without the necessary preparation. The Russians quickly overran Crimea, occupied Wallachia and Moldavia and advanced as far as the Danube. A Russian fleet that came from the Baltic also dealt the Ottoman fleet a heavy blow at Çeşme. The encyclopedia counts the poor management of the army, indiscipline and supply problems among the signs of a general disintegration.

The war ended with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed on 21 July 1774. Crimea became independent, and the fortresses of Kinburn, Yenikale and Kerch were ceded to Russia. Russian pilgrims’ right to visit the holy places freely was also accepted. According to the encyclopedia, Russia was given permission to build an Orthodox church in Beyoğlu and to protect it. The encyclopedia notes that the Russians’ later reading of these articles as a right of protection over all the Orthodox was a deliberate distortion.

The Loss of Crimea and the 19th Century

According to the encyclopedia, Russia annexed in 1783 the Crimea it had made independent at Kaynarca. Refusing to accept this, the Ottoman state went to war again with Russia and Austria between 1787 and 1792. The war ended with the Treaty of Jassy in January 1792, and the annexation of Crimea was recognized for good.

Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt briefly made the two states allies, and Russian warships passed through the Straits for the first time. According to the encyclopedia, Russia’s encouragement of the Greeks to revolt ended this friendship, and in 1806 war broke out again. Under the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812, which ended the war, Bessarabia passed to Russia and autonomy for the Serbs was accepted. In the war of 1828–1829 the Russian army came as far as Edirne; the Peace of Edirne of 14 September 1829 imposed a heavy war indemnity and led to the creation of a small Greek state.

The Crimean War (1853–1856)

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Crimean War grew out of the struggle for political influence in the East, with the question of the Holy Places as its pretext. This time Britain and France sided with the Ottoman state against Russia. According to the encyclopedia, the Treaty of Paris of 1856, which ended the war, put an end to Russia’s supremacy in Europe. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, however, Russia freed itself from the provisions of the treaty that bound it.

The War of ’93 (1877–1878)

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, after the Treaty of Paris Russia stepped up its activity among the Slavs of the Balkans with a policy of Pan-Slavism. By exploiting the Herzegovina and Bulgarian uprisings, it tried to leave the Ottoman state isolated in Europe. After the Ottomans rejected the proposals of the Constantinople Conference, which ran counter to their independence, Russia declared war on 24 April 1877. Because it fell in the year 1293 of the Rumi calendar, the war is known as the War of ’93 (Doksanüç Harbi).

According to the encyclopedia, Osman Pasha reached Plevna on 18 July, retook the position and held out against Russian assaults. In eastern Anatolia, meanwhile, the Russians captured Doğubayazıt on 30 April. The Russian army finally came as far as Yeşilköy (San Stefano), and the Treaty of San Stefano was signed on 3 March 1878. According to the encyclopedia, the dispersal of forces over a wide area, the lack of contact between commanders and the direction of operations from Istanbul contributed to the defeat. We examined the domestic politics of this period in our article on the era of Abdülhamid II.

When the European powers objected to San Stefano, the Treaty of Berlin was signed on 13 July 1878. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Kars, Ardahan and Batumi were ceded to Russia in return for part of the war indemnity, while Doğubayazıt and the Eleşkirt valley were recovered. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania became independent, and Austria occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Results of the Ottoman-Russian Wars

The Black Sea ceased to be a Turkish lake, and Russia established itself on its southern shores.
The Crimean Khanate first became independent and then was annexed to Russia.
Through its role as protector of the Orthodox, Russia gained a means of interfering in internal affairs.
With Russian support, the Balkan peoples won their independence one by one.
The borders retreated in the Caucasus and in eastern Anatolia.

The struggle with Russia continued into the 20th century. We described the Balkan front of this period in our article on the Balkan Wars, and the eastern front in why the Caucasus Front was opened.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many times did the Ottomans and Russia go to war?

The sources give different numbers. The clashes continued at intervals from the Astrakhan campaign of the 16th century to the First World War.

Which of the Ottoman-Russian wars had the heaviest consequences?

The war of 1768–1774, which led to the loss of Crimea, and the war of 1877–1878, which caused great territorial losses in the Balkans, had the heaviest consequences.

When was the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca signed?

It was signed on 21 July 1774. Crimea became independent under this treaty.

Why is it called the War of ’93?

The war got this name because it fell in the year 1293 of the Rumi calendar.

What happened in the Prut campaign?

In 1711 the Russian army suffered a heavy defeat at the Prut, and Russia agreed to return the fortress of Azov.

Conclusion

The Ottoman-Russian wars arose from the clash between Russia’s wish to reach the Black Sea and the Ottomans’ determination to keep this sea to themselves. Despite the success at the Prut, the balance turned in Russia’s favor in the second half of the 18th century. Küçük Kaynarca and the annexation of Crimea gave Russia both territory and influence through the Orthodox. The losses that came with the war of 1877–1878 accelerated the disintegration of the empire.