Ottoman Sultans’ War Strategies: Victories and Defeats from 1453 to 1683

The war strategies of the Ottoman sultans rested on careful diplomatic preparation, the skillful use of firearms and quick decision-making. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, heavy defeats revealed the strengths and weaknesses of these strategies as much as the great victories did. In this article we examine examples ranging from Istanbul to Vienna.

Quick Summary

Before the siege, Mehmed the Conqueror built the fortress of Boğazkesen and cut Constantinople off from the Black Sea.
At Chaldiran (1514), chained cannon and musket-armed Janissaries stopped the Safavid cavalry.
At Ridaniya (1517), the army got past the Mamluk trench by outflanking it.
Mohács (1526) was short; the province of Buda, however, was created in 1541.
After the defeat at Lepanto (1571), the fleet was rebuilt in a single winter.
The rout at Vienna in 1683 was the start of a long war that lasted until Karlowitz (1699).

The foundations of strategy
The conquest of Istanbul
Chaldiran and Marj Dabiq
Ridaniya
Mohács and Buda
Defeats and lessons
Frequently asked questions

What Were Ottoman War Strategies Based On?

The great campaigns of the Ottoman army began long before the battlefield. Before a campaign, the sultans tried to separate the fronts, pacify potential enemies and secure the army’s rear. One of the clearest examples of this approach is the conquest of Istanbul.

On the battlefield, the sultan, the Janissaries, the gunners and the household cavalry stood in the center. The Anatolian troops stood on the right wing and the Rumelian troops on the left. The encyclopedia describes this order in detail in its accounts of Chaldiran and Marj Dabiq. We explained how the Janissaries were trained in our article on the devshirme system.

The war strategies of the Ottoman sultans: stories of victory and defeat

The Conquest of Istanbul: Preparation and Determination

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Mehmed II secured the diplomatic front before the siege. In September 1451 the old treaty with Venice was renewed, and in November 1451 a three-year truce was signed with the Hungarians. The Serbian despot and the king of Bosnia were also won over to the Ottoman side.

The first tower of a new fortress opposite Anadoluhisarı had risen in February 1452, and the structure was completed at the end of August. This fortress, called Boğazkesen (“Throat-cutter”), was to cut Constantinople off from its supply centers on the Black Sea. It would also secure the crossing between Anatolia and Rumelia and serve as a base for the besieging army.

The siege lasted fifty-four days, from 6 April to 29 May 1453. In the council of war Çandarlı Halil Pasha spoke in favor of a settlement, while Zağanos Pasha argued for a general assault. According to the encyclopedia, the destruction of the walls by the cannon, the disagreements among the defenders and the wounding of the defense commander Giustiniani were decisive. The army entered the city through the breaches opened between Topkapı and Yalıkapı.

The Power of Firearms: Chaldiran and Marj Dabiq

Selim I reached Chaldiran after an exhausting march of about 2,500 kilometers. Because the crops and pastures along the way had been burned on the shah’s orders, the army advanced in hardship. On the plain of Eleşkirt the restless Janissaries went so far as to fire at the sultan’s tent; Selim’s short, harsh speech calmed the situation.

According to the encyclopedia, on 23 August 1514 he led his army straight into battle, despite some statesmen’s suggestion that the troops rest. The aim was to give the shah no chance to win over the kızılbaş in the army to his side.

In front, behind a barricade of carts and camels, stood the musket-armed Janissaries, and behind the azabs were cannon chained to one another. Shah Ismail wanted to attack both wings at once and carry out an encircling movement. On the right wing, Sinan Pasha withdrew as planned and drew the Safavid cavalry in front of the guns. The gunners’ fire scattered this wing of the Safavid army.

On the left wing, however, the azabs could not withdraw in time, so the cannon could not be used and the Rumelian troops gave way. The musket-armed Janissaries sent by Sultan Selim changed the course of the battle. When the wounded Shah Ismail fled, the Safavid army broke up.

Two years later, at Marj Dabiq (24 August 1516), a similar formation was used against the Mamluks. According to the encyclopedia, a line had been formed in front of the musket-armed Janissaries by chaining together about 300 gun carriages. The army numbered about 80,000, of whom 12,000 were musket-armed Janissaries.

Ridaniya: Going Around the Trench

The Mamluk sultan Tumanbay had a trench dug before Cairo stretching from the Muqattam hills to the Nile. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, cannon were brought to the entrenchments from Alexandria and the Citadel of Cairo, and some heavy guns were hidden by burying them in the sand. On 22 January 1517 the Ottoman army did not force this line head-on.

Infantry units went around by the side of the hills and brought the Mamluk front under fire with light guns and muskets. Unable to use their cannon, the Mamluks had to leave the trench and re-form their ranks. On the plain of Ridaniya, the heavy fire of the gunners and musketeers scattered the Mamluk left wing.

Mohács and Buda: From Victory to Lasting Rule

On the campaign of 1526, Suleiman the Magnificent advanced by taking the fortresses of Petrovaradin and Ilok. According to the encyclopedia, he gave strict warnings at this time that villages must not be burned, because these lands were now considered Ottoman territory. The battle fought on the plain of Mohács on 29 August was short, and the Hungarian king lost his life.

This pitched battle in a sense brought the Kingdom of Hungary to an end. On 11 September the sultan entered Buda without meeting any resistance. Lasting Ottoman rule in Hungary, however, began only with the creation of the province of Buda in 1541.

According to the encyclopedia, on the Vienna campaign of 1529 the army again camped on the plain of Mohács, and King János, who was under the sultan’s protection, was invited there. Mohács also became the center of the first new sanjak created in the province of Buda. You can find the overall picture of the period in our article on the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.

Defeats and the Lessons Drawn

Ankara (1402): An Army That Fell Apart

According to the encyclopedia, Timur won over the Kara Tatars in the Ottoman army to his side through his spies. Some beylik troops, above all those of Germiyan, also changed sides during the battle. Bayezid I was taken prisoner, and the state was dragged into the Interregnum. We described the details of the battle in our article on Bayezid I and the Battle of Ankara.

Lepanto (1571): A New Fleet in One Winter

In the council of war before Lepanto, Uluç Ali Pasha and Pertev Pasha proposed that the fleet, which had shortcomings, wait in the gulf. Grand Admiral Müezzinzade Ali Pasha, however, insisted on fighting in line with the orders he had received. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, on 7 October 1571 the worn-out fleet suffered a heavy defeat against fresh allied forces. The number of ships sunk or captured reached 190.

Uluç Ali Pasha managed to save thirty ships with skillful maneuvers. In the following winter shipbuilding began in all the shipyards, and 134 ships were built within five or six months. In June 1572 a fleet of 250 galleys put to sea under the command of the same admiral, now known as Kılıç Ali Pasha. According to the encyclopedia, Cyprus could not be retaken, and in 1573 Venice agreed to pay a war indemnity. The encyclopedia regards this battle as a temporary victory with no lasting result.

Vienna (1683): The Great Rout

Vienna had already been besieged in 1529, and the siege had been lifted on 14 October because of unrest among the troops and the approach of winter. The second siege of Vienna lasted from 14 July to 12 September 1683. According to the encyclopedia, making Vienna the target of the campaign was a fait accompli by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, approved by Mehmed IV. The siege ended in great disaster with the intervention of the relief army under the Polish king Sobieski.

The rout turned into a long war, waged by a broad alliance formed under the leadership of Pope Innocent XI, that lasted until the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699). According to the encyclopedia, from then on the Ottoman army increasingly had to meet wars within its own borders.

New Searches: The Nizam-ı Cedid

These defeats gave rise at the end of the 18th century to the search for a reorganization of the army. The new army that Selim III founded under the name Nizam-ı Cedid and the Imperial School of Military Engineering (Mühendishane-i Berri-i Hümayun), opened in 1795, were products of this search. According to the encyclopedia, the Kabakçı Mustafa revolt, which broke out in May 1807, ended within four days with the deposition of Selim III.

We examined the reforms of this period in our article on the sultans and reform movements. You can also watch the video below on the subject.

Frequently Asked Questions

How was the Ottoman army drawn up for a pitched battle?

The sultan, the Janissaries, the gunners and the household cavalry were in the center; the Anatolian troops were on the right wing and the Rumelian troops on the left.

What were the Ottomans’ greatest defeats?

Ankara (1402), Lepanto (1571) and the second siege of Vienna (1683) are the main examples.

Why was the Battle of Chaldiran won?

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the chained cannon, the musket-armed Janissaries and Sinan Pasha’s planned withdrawal were decisive.

Was Hungary conquered with the Battle of Mohács?

The battle in a sense brought the Kingdom of Hungary to an end, but the province of Buda was created only in 1541.

What happened after the defeat at Lepanto?

134 ships were built within five or six months, and in 1572 a fleet of 250 galleys put to sea again.

Conclusion

The victories won by the war strategies of the Ottoman sultans rested on meticulous diplomatic preparation, a battle order that combined firearms with entrenchments, and maneuvers that avoided frontal attack when necessary. Defeats such as Ankara, Lepanto and Vienna, on the other hand, showed the price of disintegration within the army and of battle decisions taken at the wrong time. The fleet built in a single winter after Lepanto was also an example of the state’s power to recover.