NEOREALIST INTERPRETATION OF OTTOMAN WARS IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE: THE CASE OF KÖPRÜLÜ MEHMED PASHA (1656–1661)

• Authors: Cevrìoğlu Mahmut Halef
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Ottoman Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha has been often portrayed as the key Ottoman figure epitomising the revival of the Ottoman political and military strength in the middle of the seventeenth century. A number of successful military campaigns undertaken during his incumbency on various European frontiers of the Ottoman Empire have contributed much to this image. Accordingly, his foreign policy toward Europe has been subjected to various explanations by historians; yet, a theoretical analysis is lacking. Using offensive realism as an explanatory tool, the present study argues that Köprülü Mehmed’s military expansionism at the expense of Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania stemmed from his concern to preserve the status quo in eastern and central Europe. In 1657, he ordered Ottoman troops to intercept the Transylvanian Prince’s intervention in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in order to prevent the partition of Polish-Lithuanian territories among a number of eastern European powers, the most powerful of which was Russia. This was, in a way, the Ottoman shift from “buck-passing” to “balancing” in Poland-Lithuania with regard to the increasing Russian threat. Köprülü Mehmed’s direct involvement in Transylvania and occupation of the north-western Transylvanian territories between 1658 and 1660, on the other hand, was more than a punishment of the rebellious prince. The pasha’s aim was to isolate the principality from the Viennese court and undermine any possible aggrandisement of the Habsburgs in central Europe. Hence, the pasha’s annexation of Transylvanian territories in line with the “calculated aggression” tenet helped check the Habsburgs.

Keywords

EN

EASTERN EUROPE; CENTRAL EUROPE; OTTOMAN EMPIRE; GRAND VIZIER; KÖPRÜLÜ MEHMED PASHA; POLAND; LITHUANIA; RUSSIA

• Publisher: Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Historický časopis (Historical Journal)
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 72
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 849 - 874

Contributors

author

Cevrìoğlu Mahmut Halef

• Izmir Katip Celebi University, History Department, Balatcik Campus, Central Offices 2, Room 106, Cigli, 35620, Izmir, Turkey

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0079-8134

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/histcaso.2024.72.5.1