1790

February - Austrian Emperor Joseph dies and is replaced by his brother, Leopold. Alarmed at the depressing state of the Hapsburg Empire, which was in open revolt in the Netherlands and near revolt in Hungary, Leopold is eager for peace. He offers peace, but only on the condition that Austria gets to keep its conquered lands in the Balkans. To enforce these demands he assembles a large army in Bohemia.

Spring - Under the leadership of former Grand Admiral Gazi Hasan the Ottomans revive their army, organize a new supply system and go on the offensive forcing back the allies. But on

March 29 Gazi Hasan dies of fever and Ottoman resistance again collapses.

Prince Peter of Montenegro attacks Kara Mahmud Pasha at Lake Scutari. In a three-day battle, which includes a naval battle on the lake, the Ottomans are defeated. The Montenegrins then turn north, attacking Bosnia and Herzegovina, undermining Ottoman efforts against the Austrians along the Save River.

Ali Pasha of Janina sends a force against the Suliotes who withdraw into their mountain retreats. Ali's forces ravage several of the Suliotes' subject villages before being forced to return to Janina by repeated Suliote raids and sorties.

In Arabia Wahhabi forces under Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud defeat the Beni Halid princes of al-Hasa and now rule supreme in central Arabia. Sherif Galib ibn Musaid, Ottoman Sherif of Mecca, raises a 10,000-man army to oppose the growing power of the Wahhabi, an ultraconservative Muslim reform movement. After he fails to capture the fortif'ed town of Kasr Bassam the army disperses.

The Russians send a large force against the fortified port of Anapa on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea.

March - A 5,000-man relief force under Battal Huseyin Pasha arrives by sea at Anapa and drives off the Russlan army.

The Russians begin the siege of the fortress of Ismail which controls the mouth of the Danube.

April - The Suliotes and the Greek Islands ask to join the Russian Empire. A plan is set for them to rebel to cooperate with a Russian attack on Edirne. A fleet of 12 Greek privateers, equipped at Russian expense, begins raiding into the Archipelago. The fleet raids mainland towns and villages and conquers the island of Zeal To meet this threat, several Ottoman ships are withdrawn from the Black Sea and joined with Corsairs from Algiers. On May 18 the Ottomans located and destroyed the entire Greek squadron.

May - Marshal Coburg, commanding the large new Austrian army of Bohemia, begins attacking south with the intention of taking Ruschuk but gets no further than Giurgiu were the garrison resists f~ercely.

June - The Ottomans counterattack at Giurgiu, routing the Austrians and their Russian allies in a night battle. The Austrians flee, losing all their equipment.

July - At the Gulf of Yenikale a Russian and an Ottoman fleet fight a fiercely contested battle, but eventually draw off without a decisive result.

August - The Ottomans cross the Danube in force, driving the Austrians from Bucharest.

September - Near Tendra, the Russian and Ottoman fleets fight another indecisive battle. Following a brief action the Ottomans break off the engagement and escape thanks to their superior speed.

The Swedes, distracted by a rising of the Danes and the outbreak of the French Revolution, sign a peace treaty with the Russians and become allies against revolutionary France.

September 17 - Austrian Emperor Leopold signs an armistice with the Ottoman Empire, effectively ending Austrian participation in the war.

October - In exchange for a large bribe from the Russians, Battal Huseyin Pasha, commanding the Ottoman forces in the Caucasus, refuses to join with a force of 30,000 Tartars. Instead he orders them to return to their villages, divides his army in the face of the Russians so it can be defeated piecemeal, and then deserts and joins the Russians. Left without leadership, the rest of the Ottoman army flees.

December - The Russians capture the key fortress of Ismail, but suffer more than 15,000 casualties in bitter house-to-house fighting. The Russian troops once again massacre everyone found within the city, killing 60,000 civilians. They then move on to complete the conquest of Bessarabia and attack Bulgaria.

Urged on by Russian agents, the Greeks revolt against Ottoman rule. While ultimately unsuccessful, the revolt does seriously interfere with Ottoman operations against the Russians.

1791

January - Gen. Kutusov, commanding the Russian forces around Ismail, defeats an Ottoman force near Babadag.

Spring - Sultan Selim reappoints Koja Yusuf as Grand Vezir hoping he can repeat his successes of 1789. Unfortunately the army is in a shambles. While Yusuf is able to bring together an 80,000-man force, it lacks discipline, morale and training.

In the Epirus Ali Pasha moves against the Suliotcs and Shimariotes with a force of more than 8,000 troops. He meets with early success, capturing numerous villages and Suliote outposts.

On the northeastern side of the Black Sea the Ottoman fortress of Anapa fmally falls to the Russians after a long siege.

April - Prince Repnin, in a surprise move, crosses the Danube and defeats the Ottoman garrison at Machin.

July - Koja Yusuf moves to oppose the Russians at Machin. The Ottomans fight a determined battle but a brilliant bayonet charge by Gen. Kutusov finally drives the Ottomans back with heavy losses.

In an attempt to end its long war, the Venetians send almost their entire fleet against Tunis.

June - August - In a move to dominate the Black Sea, the Ottomans assemble a fleet drawn from throughout the empire, but in August, Russian Admiral Ushakov scatters the fleet off Cape Kaliakria.

August - A formal peace treaty is signed with Austria restoring all conquered lands.

Following peace with Austria, the Janissaries and Yamaks in Serbia are recalled because of their cowardice in battle and abuses of power against the Rayas, the local Christian peasants. Instead most flee to Pasvanoglu, a powerful bandit chieftain operating around Vidin. HaiJi Mustapha is sent to rule the province. He does away with much graft and corruption and begins arming the Rayas to defend against the rebellious Janissaries and Yamaks.

1792

January - Russia, concerned with European affairs and under threat from both England and Prussia, signs the Treaty of Jassy with the Ottomans, which recognizes the Dnieper River as the new border with Russia, annexing all the lands between the Dnieper and the Bug rivers including the port of Oczakov. This and other newly created or captured ports assure Russia of domination of the Black Sea. In return for Ottoman acceptance of the conquest of the Crimea, Russia evacuates all other occupied provinces. Following its defeats at Anapa, the Ottoman Empire is unable to exercise any effective control over Georgia and the native princes now look to Russia as their protector.

April - Finally free of war with Russia, Grand Admiral Kuchuk Huseyin leads the Ottoman fleet in a campaign against the pirates infesting the Aegean, achieving spectacular success and freeing the sea lanes by August.

May - Even though they sent their entire fleet against Tunis, the Venetians cannot defeat the shore fortresses. Unwilling to commit a land army, the Venetians agree to pay protection money again, ending their war on the same terms they could have had in 1784.

July - In a 10-hour battle at Suli, Ali Pasha's forces, led by Ali's son Muhtar, are heavily defeated by the Suliotes. Ali is force to pay them a large ransom to win the release of his captured men.

Wahhabi forces conquer the al Hasa, the largest and most important oasis south of Baghdad. From this base they begin increasingly significant raids into Ottoman territory in Mesopotamia.

Spain surrenders the presidio (enclave) of Oran on the North African coast to the Dey of Algiers.

1793

Bandit chieftain Pasvanoglu captures the fortress of Vidin and sets it up as a bandit capital. He attracts to his service thousands of bandits driven out of Bulgaria and rebellious Janissaries and Yamaks from Serbia. He becomes one of the chief opponents of Sultan Selim's Nizam-i Jedid reforms. This wins him the support of many high government officials in Istanbul who oppose the reforms.

Yusuf Agah Efendi arrives at the Court of St. James in England opening the first-ever Ottoman foreign embassy. Over the next two years permanent embassies are set up in Prussia, France and Austria.

Kara Mahmud Pasha, governor of Scutari, rises against the Sultan. An Ottoman army sent to punish him is surprised and defeated.

Trabluslu Ali Pasha, an Ottoman officer, briefly overthrows Karamanli rule in Tripoli and reestablishes direct Ottoman control.

1794

The Sultan authorizes Ali Pasha of Janina to punish Kara Mahmud Pasha. After his defeat by Ali Pasha's troops, Mahmud swears loyalty to the Sultan, pays his back taxes and agrees to conduct a campaign against the Montenegrins.

The Wahhabi capture the heavily fortified town of Hofuf in al-Hasa and use it as a base to build up a regular army and administration, creating a formal Wahhabi state which will dominate Arabia and the Holy Cities for the next two decades.

1795

Pasvanoglu, with a force of 50,000 dissident Janissaries, Yamaks and bandits, declares his province independent and himself king. An Ottoman force sent from Belgrade to subdue him is defeated and he is able to expand his power rapidly over much of western Bulgaria.

Persian forces underAgha Mohammed invade Georgia and burn Tiflis, the capital of King Heraclius, Russia's puppet ruler. The Russians invade to restore Heraclius.

Yusuf ibn Ali Karamanli, with the aid of Tunis, defeats the Ottoman governor of Tripoli and makes himself Pasha. While outwardly recognizing the rule of the Sultan, he acts as an independent monarch.

The Wahhabi attack the independent Sheikdom of Kuwait which allies itself with the British to beat back this first major Wahhabi attack.

1796

January - Hakki Pasha is appointed governor of Rumelia with instructions to suppress the growing bandit problem and bring the dissident notables under control. He makes great headway against Pasvanoglu's bandits but political pressure in the capital prevents him from having any effect on the notables.

Spring - In fulfillment of his pledge Kara Mahmud Pasha leads two campaigns against Montenegro. He is defeated and he and 3,000 of his men are captured and beheaded. Ali Pasha of Janina uses this defeat of his old rival to take control over all of Albania.

April - In the Kraina Pasvanoglu defeats a Bosnian army sent to suppress his bandit activities.

Summer - Raids and counter-raids erupt along the Austro-Ottoman border, but as neither side wants war, the raids remain a local matter.

The French send the Sultan artillery and munitions, plus engineers and artillerymen to teach the Ottomans to build and use modern artillery.

November - Catherine the Great dies and her son Paul becomes Czar. Fearing growing French power in Europe, Paul attempts to repair relationships with the Ottomans in an effort to use them against the French. Russian attempts to conquer Georgia end when Paul withdraws Russian forces, and the province is ruled by native princes who now look to Persia for their protection.

In Arabia the Wahhabi army becomes the most powerful force in the region, regularly raiding Damascus, Iraq, Kuwait and the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. In response the governor of Baghdad sends a combined Ottoman-Bedouin army under the command of Hamid al-Thamir against the Wahhabi power base of al Hasa. The army drives the Wahhabi south, but when Thamir is assassinated by a fanatical Wahhabi the loose Bedouin-Ottoman alliance collapses. Saud, the son of Wahhabi leader Abd al-Aziz and the main Wahhabi general, now advances against the disorganized Ottoman army which flees at his approach.

1797

Spring - Saud's Wahhabi army conquers Kuwait.

Fall - Acting under orders from the Sultan, the troops of Ismail Agha, governor of Ruschuk, defeat Pasvanoglu's attempts to conquer the Danube valley. With the help of Ismail's troops the governors of Belgrade and Nish also defeat Pasvanoglu's attempt to extend his control into Serbia.

Winter - As a result of continued secret French contacts with Pasvanoglu in Vidin and Ali Pasha in Janina, Selim becomes convinced the French force assembling in Toulon is intended to attack his empire. Believing the blow will fall in the Morea or perhaps Crete or Cyprus, he orders all French technicians and military advisers to leave the empire and requires all French citizens to register with local authorities.

1798

January - Ali Pasha of Janina, now governor of Rumelia, reorganizes Ottoman forces in the Danube area and defeats Pasvanoglu's bandit allies in eastern Bulgaria. He then defeats Pasvanoglu's own troops in battles at Sofia and Nicopolis.

Spring - The French, now in the Ionian Islands, aid Ali Pasha of Janina against the Shimariotes and Suliotes, allowing him to take the Shimariotes by surprise and massacre the entire tribe.

March - Sherif Galib of Mecca leads his army and Bedouin allies against the Wahhabi at Khurmah where his is totally defeated.

April - A 1 00,000-man Ottoman army attacks Pasvanoglu, driving him from all his lands and besieging him in Vidin.

Summer- Baghdad dispatches a 12,000-man army to conquer the Nejd and break Wahhabi power. Numerous villages and towns fall to the advancing army.

July /

August - Napoleon invades Egypt, capturing Alexandria on

July 2. The Mamluks under Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey are routed by Napoleon at the Battle of the Pyramids on July 21. The next day Napoleon's forces capture Cairo.

On Aug. 1 the British fleet surprises the French fleet at Abukir Bay. In a night battle the British crush the French, cutting off Napoleon's army in Egypt.

On Aug. 11 Napoleon defeats Ibrahim Bey at Salalieh and Ibrahim retreats to Syria. Murad Bey retreats up the Nile and, aided by the Bedouin tribes in the area, organizes resistance to the French.

On Aug. 25 General Desaix leaves Cairo to begin a nine-month campaign in pursuit of Murad Bey.

August - September - An anti-French alliance is formed among the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Great Britain and on Sept. 9 Selim declares war on France. To block the Ottomans from intervening in Egypt, French foreign minister Talleyrand plans to put Pasvanoglu on the throne of a French-dominated Ottoman Empire. To support this move Talleyrand prepares a French invasion of the Morea and Macedonia. But the Sultan moves first. In exchange for a pledge of loyalty, Pasvanoglu is officially appointed governor of Vidin. The Ottoman army besieging Vidin is withdrawn to fight the French.

September - December - Three Ottoman armies are assembled to resist the French. One under Achmed Pasha gathers in Syria. A second assembles at Rhodes to invade Egypt by sea and a third, under the leadership of Grand Vezir Yusuf Ziya Pacha, begins marching overland from Istanbul.

October - On Oct. 1, for the first time in history, a Russian fleet passes from the Black Sea through the Dardanelles. It joins with an Ottoman fleet to attack the French in the Ionian Islands.

On Oct. 7 Desaix defeats a Mamluk force under Murad Bey at Sedymann in Upper Egypt.

Ali Pasha of Janina defeats General Chabot at the mainland Ionian city of Burtrinto and in late October wipes out the 700-man French garrison at Preveza. He then conscripts his French prisoners into his army. With their help he builds forts and batteries, expands and trains his infantry, artillery and naval forces and establishes a lavish European-style court at Janina.

November - The Russo-Ottoman fleet begins driving the French from the Ionian Islands and establishes a joint protectorate over the islands, with the Russians garrisoning the islands, while the Ottomans garrison the former Venetian mainland cities of Preveza, Vonitza, Butrinto and Parga. The cities had been taken by Ali Pasha, but he is forced to surrender them to Ottoman regulars. In compensation Ali Pasha is made governor of Rumelia, leaving him in a position to expand his power in other directions.

December - The Sultan and the Pope join forces to resist French advances in Italy.

1799

January /

March - Napoleon invades Syria with 13,000 men, hoping dissident Arabs will flock to his banner. He captures Gaza (February) and Jaffa (March 3-7), and lays siege to Acre (March 17). The British and Ottomans land reinforcements by sea, including Selim's New Order troops and British sailors and Marines, to stiffen Acre's defenses.

Concerned for the security of their Indian trade, the British land troops at Permin, a volcanic island which controls the mouth of the Red Sea. A lack of water makes this untenable and they then occupy the nearby fortress of Aden in Yemen. While the Ottomans claim Yemen, they have no control over the region. Instead Ahmad ibn Abd al Karim, a pirate captain who styles himself the Sultan of Lahij, signs a treaty of friendship and grants the British special rights in Aden.

Yusuf ibn Ali Karamanli, the Pasha of Tripoli, defies the Porte and sends aid to Napoleon in Egypt.

March - The fortress of Corfu, the last French bastion in the lonian Islands, surrenders to the joint Russo-Ottoman naval force.

April - The offensive against the Wahhabi in the al-Hasa stalls for more than a month before the heavily fortified towns of Hofuf and Mubaraz. The arrival of a large Wahhabi relief army under Saud forces the Ottomans to retire to Baghdad. To avoid further conflict with the Ottomans, the Wahhabi agree to suspend their attacks on Ottoman territory.

April /

May - Napoleon defeats an Ottoman relief army at Mount Tabor (April 15), but fails to capture Acre. The Ottoman defenders repulse 17 French assaults and launch 11 sallies from the town before the French are finally driven off on May 20. Napoleon, his army riddled with plague, begins retreating back to Egypt.

July - 7,000 Janissaries and Albanians land at Abukir in Egypt on

July 15. While the Ottomans defeat the 300-man garrison at Abukir and take Abukir Castle, the operation ends in failure when Napoleon crushes this force at the Battle of Abukir on

July 25. 5,000 Ottomans are captured and most of the rest drown trying to swim to the safety of the British-Ottoman fleet.

August - Hearing news of military reverses and turmoil in France, Napoleon abandons his army to General Kleber and returns to France.

November - On Nov. 1 General Verdier, with a French force of 1,000 men, defeats an Ottoman attempt to land several thousand troops at Damietta in Egypt.

On Nov. 2, following its capture of the Ionian Islands, the joint Russo-Ottoman fleet, joined by units of the Austrian navy, assaults and aids in the capture of the French-held city of Ancona in Italy. Before disbanding it bombards the French-held ports of Fano and Senigallia in northern Italy and Manfredonia, Bari and Naples in southern Italy.

Tensions between the Ottomans and the Russians become heightened when over 8,000 Russian soldiers land at Corfu, ostensibly to help the King of Naples against the French, but in fact to strengthen the Russian position in the islands.

More Ottoman Military History Chronology

1787-1789
1790-1799
1800-1809
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