The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 involved an unsuccessful attempt by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to regain lands lost to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in the course of the previous Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). It took place concomitantly with the

Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) The Austro-Turkish War was fought in 1788–1791 between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) and Theatre War. It is sometimes referred to as the H ...

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. The war was ended by the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790 and took place concomitantly with both the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791 ...

and Theatre War.

Background

In May and June 1787, Catherine II of Russia made a triumphal procession through

New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...

and the annexed

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

in company with her ally,

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

. These events, the rumors about Catherine's

Greek Plan The Greek Plan or Greek Project () was an early solution to the Eastern Question which was advanced by Catherine the Great in the early 1780s. It envisaged the partition of the Ottoman Empire between the Russian and Habsburg Empires followed ...

, and the friction caused by the mutual complaints of infringements of the

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ( tr, Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması; russian: Кючук-Кайнарджийский мир), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kayn ...

, which had ended the previous war, stirred up public opinion in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, while the British and French ambassadors lent their unconditional support to the Ottoman war party.

War

In 1787, the Ottomans demanded that the Russians evacuate the Crimea and give up their holdings near the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, which Russia saw as a '' casus belli''. Russia declared war on 19 August 1787, and the Ottomans imprisoned the Russian ambassador, Yakov Bulgakov. Ottoman preparations were inadequate and the moment was ill-chosen, as Russia and Austria were now in alliance. The Ottomans mustered forces throughout their domain, and Süleyman Bey from Anatolia went himself to the front at the head of 4000 soldiers. The Ottoman Empire opened their offensive with an attack on two fortresses near Kinburn, in southern Ukraine. Russian General Alexander Suvorov held off these two Ottoman sea-borne attacks in September and October 1787, thus securing the Crimea. In Moldavia, Russian troops captured the Ottoman cities of

Chocim Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of the ...

and Jassy.

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the adminis ...

, at the mouth of the Dnieper, fell on 6 December 1788 after a six-month siege by Prince Grigori Potemkin and Suvorov. All civilians in the captured cities were massacred by order of Potemkin. Although suffering a series of defeats against the Russians, the Ottoman Empire found some success against the Austrians, led by Emperor Joseph II, in Serbia and Transylvania. By 1789, the Ottoman Empire was being pressed back in Moldavia by Russian and Austrian forces. To make matters worse, on 1 August the Russians under Suvorov attained a victory against the Ottomans led by Osman Pasha at Focsani, followed by a Russian victory at Rymnik (or ''Rimnik'') on 22 September, and drove them away from near the

Râmnicul Sărat The Râmnicul Sărat or Râmnicu Sărat is a right tributary of the river Siret in Romania. It discharges into the Siret in Belciugele.Ottoman invasion of Croatia, while an Austrian counterattack took

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. A Greek revolt, which further drained the Ottoman war effort, brought about a truce between the Ottoman Empire and Austria. Meanwhile, the Russians continued their advance when Suvorov captured the reportedly "impenetrable" Ottoman fortress of

Ismail Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

at the entrance of the Danube, in December 1790. A final Ottoman defeat at Machin (9 July 1791), coupled with Russian concerns about Prussia entering the war, led to a truce agreed upon on 31 July 1791. After the capture of the fortress, Suvorov marched upon

(present-day

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

), where the Russians hoped they could establish a Christian empire. However, as Prof. Timothy C. Dowling states, the slaughters that were committed in the ensuing period somewhat defiled Suvorov's reputation in many eyes, and there were allegations at the time that he was drunk at the siege of Ochakov. Persistent rumors about his actions were spread and circulated, and in 1791 he was relocated to Finland.

Aftermath

Accordingly, the

Treaty of Jassy The Treaty of Jassy, signed at Jassy (''Iași'') in Moldavia (presently in Romania), was a pact between the Russian and Ottoman Empires ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92 and confirming Russia's increasing dominance in the Black Sea. ...

was signed on 9 January 1792, recognizing Russia's 1783 annexation of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

Yedisan Yedisan (also ''Jedisan'' or ''Edisan''; tr, Yedisan; uk, Єдисан; ro, Edisan; russian: Едисан) was a conditional name for Özi așaSancağı (Ochakiv Sanjak) of Silistra Eyalet, a territory located in today's Southern Ukraine b ...

(

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and Ochakov) was also ceded to Russia, and the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

was made the Russian frontier in Europe, while the Russian Asiatic frontier—the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Cauca ...

—remained unchanged. The Ottoman war goal to reclaim the Crimea had failed, and if not for the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the Ottoman Empire's situation could have been much worse.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo-Turkish War (1787-92) 1780s conflicts 1790s conflicts Military operations involving the Crimean Khanate 18th century in Ukraine 18th-century military history of the Russian Empire 1780s in the Ottoman Empire 1780s in the Russian Empire 1790s in the Ottoman Empire 1790s in the Russian Empire Wars involving Chechnya Military history of Ukraine Catherine the Great