The following article provides an overview of the military campaigns of the Ottoman Army in the 18th Century. Although the Empire ceased to be an offensive threat to Europe, following its repulse at the gates of Vienna in 1683, it remained a formidable foe throughout much of the 18th Century, if for no other reason than its ability to field immense armies within its own borders. The Ottomans' principal opponents in the 18th Century were the Persians in the East, the Russians to the North, and to a lesser extent, the Austrians.

War With Persia 1723-1736

The Treaty of Passarovitz in 1718 ended a long series of wars in the Balkans between Austria and the Ottoman Empire. Although it lost the Banat and the territory around Belgrade, the Ottoman Empire was now able to look at opportunities to expand its influence in the east at the expense of Persia, which was a prosperous region lacking a strong ruler. Meanwhile, Russia made peace with Sweden in 1721 and while the Ottomans considered their next course of action, Russia struck first.

In 1723, Russia, under Peter the Great, invaded the northern portion of Persia. This brought the Ottoman Empire to the brink of declaring war. The Porte, or Sultan, of the Empire used religion to stir up the populus. The Porte and his advisors decided that they should try to retake former Ottoman lands currently under Persian control. They wanted to seize these areas before the Russians could take them.

The Ottoman forces occuppied the Persian area of Georgia in the Caucasus. Another offensive was launched from Baghdad into the southern areas of Persia. France did all that it could, diplomatically, to keep the Russians and Turks from getting into a confrontation. France's interest in this theater concerned Austria. The French felt that a strong Ottoman Empire would continue to pose a threat to Austria, thereby diverting Austrian military resources away from France and towards the Turks.

On June 24, 1724 Russia and the Porte came to an agreement dividing up northern and western Persia. The Persian ruler, Shah Tahmasp, did not agree to these terms so the Ottoman forces continued their advance into Persian territory.

Afghan Revolt

During this time the Afghans in the region took advantage of all the internal strife in Persia and expanded into this region. This led them into direct conflict with the Ottomans. By 1730, the Ottomans had disposed of the Afghan threat and now occuppied Georgia, Armenia, Adharbaijan and the areas around Tibriz and Hamadam. At the same time a strong military general, Nadir, began to consolidate Shah Tahmasp's power in Persia. Tahmasp asked the Ottomans to relinquish their hold on Persian territory, but before the Porte could even respond Nadir launched an attack against the Ottoman occuppation forces.

The Ottoman lost Hainadam and Tibriz during the initial assault. In Tibriz and several other cities in the area there were cases where the Ottoman garrisons mutinied. When news of these set backs reached the Porte and the Empire, it caused a great disturbance. The war would have to be continued at all costs. Another army was assembled under the leadership of the Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, but before the army could advance, there was a revolt that swept the Porte (Ahmad III) and the Grand Vizier from office.

In Persia, the Afghans revolted and this drew Nadir's attention away from invading what now constitutes modern-day Iraq. Concurrently, the Ottomans were reorganizing and recovering from the recent overthrow of its government. Finally in January 1731, Shah Thhmasp tried to steal some of Nadir's glory and attacked the Ottomans with a force of his own. Unfortunately for Talunasp, his supply lines were cut and he was forced to fall back.

On March 26, 1731 the Ottoman army brought Tahmasp to battle at Hamadam. At first the Persians fared quite well; their cavalry drove the Ottoman cavalry from the field, however, the Persian infantry was no match for the Ottoman infantry, particularly once the Ottoman Janissaries got involved. Tahmasp was lucky to escape alive and most of his army was destroyed. This enabled the Ottomans to recover all of the territory that they had previously lost to Nadir.

Peace Treaty

On January 10, 1732, a peace treaty was signed between the Grand Vizier and Shah Tahmasp. This treaty gave western Iran and Azerbaijan to the Persians while the Ottomans were to control the Caucasus. The Ottomans were upset with this development since it meant that Shiite Moslems (Persia) were now controlling Sunni Moslem territories (the Ottomans were adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam). The Sultan had not authorized the surrender of Azerbaijan. The Persians were also unhappy with the treaty. The Grand Vizier wanted this agreement before Nadir could return from his campaign against the Afghans.

War Around Baghdad

By August 1732 Nadir was essentially in control of Persia. Both sides prepared for war, knowing that it was unavoidable. Nadir resumed hostilities with the Ottomans on December 10, 1732. His main objective was to capture Baghdad and he defeated two Ottoman armies, numbering about 10,000 each, during his advance on that city.

In January 1733 Nadir surrounded Baghdad and a siege began. The Persian army was sorely deficient in siege equipment, so it had to starve the Ottoman garrison into submission. After six months, the garrison was on the verge of capitulating to the Persians when it heard news of an approaching relief army.

On July 18, 1733 Nadir fought this approaching relief force, which was led by Topal Osman. The ensuing battle of Karkuk was fought thirty miles north of Baghdad along the Tigris River. The Ottomans were fortified along the river with their artillery entrenched. The Ottoman army was close to 80,000 men, slightly outnumbering the Persians. The battle conditions were horrendous: it was extremely hot and there were strong winds blowing sand directly into the faces of the Persians.

Nadir's army got the upper hand early. His Afghan infantry, which was in the center, forced back the Ottoman center. This caused the Kurdish contingent of the Ottoman army to rout. Just as Nadir was getting ready to seize victory, Topal Osman led his 20,000 man reserve in a counter-attack. Nadir was unhorsed at this critical moment and panic swept through the Persian ranks. Nadir and his generals knew that they could not restore any order to the army and they decided to retreat with what they could. Over 30,000 Persians and 20,000 Ottomans were killed in battle. There were no records of any wounded Persians making it back to Nadir's camp. The siege of Baghdad was now over, after 100,000 deaths in the city.

Nadir quickly organized a new army and by September he had assembled a force sufficient to face Topal Osman. He tried to draw Osman out of his defensive position, but without any success. Finally, on November 9, 1733 both armies fought it out again at the Battle of Leilca (near Karkuk). Heavy fighting raged across the battlefield for over two hours. As in the previous encounter, the Persians started to push in the center. Topal Osman tried to organize a counter-attack, but he was killed in the process. This caused the Ottoman army to take flight and it suffered huge casualties (20-40,000). Nadir wanted to try to capture Baghdad, but an ongoing revolt in Persia compelled him to sign a treaty with Ahmad Pasha, the governor of Baghdad.

Ahmad Pasha informed the Porte that his only reason for signing this treaty was to gain time to raise another army to oppose Nadir. The Ottomans were expecting a Persian attack into Iraq, but instead the Persians invaded the Caucasus.

The city of Tiflis was put under siege, with the help of the Georgians. The Russians provided artillery specialists to help the Persians capture Sivan and Digistan. By 1735 the Persians had defeated an Ottoman relief force of 80,000 men at the Battle of Baghavand, and had captured Derne, Kirkuk, Sehrizor and parts of the Cacasus.

The Persians had conquered all the land that they wanted and they were eager to settle with the Ottomans. Nadir Shah, ruler of Persia, knew that his country was militarily exhausted. He felt that his next objective should be India. Overtures were made by Russia to Persia to continue the war with the Ottoman Empire. Nadir advised the Russians that unless they aimed to capture Istanbul, he did not see how a continuation of the war would benefit Persia. Nadir developed some new religious policies that favored the Sunnis and caused the temporary downfall of the Shia religious influence in Persia.

With this, it became acceptable for the Ottomans to accept Persian control over the conquered areas. A treaty was signed on October 17, 1736. Although this treaty was signed by Persian representatives, it was never formally ratified by Nadir. A truce lasted for six years between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, due mainly to Nadir's preoccupation with India during this time.

Map of Nadir's Campaigns

More Ottoman Empire in the 18th Century

War With Persia 1723-1736
War With Austria and Russia 1736-1739
Resumption of the war with Persia 1742-1746
Russian War of 1768-1774