The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of 1 August 1664 (near Mogersdorf, Burgenland), and concluded the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64). It held for about 20 years, until 1683, during which border skirmishing escalated to a full-scale war. At the time of signing, the military of the Habsburgs was in a better position than that of the Ottomans. Instead of maintaining initiative and momentum, negotiations began and fighting stopped. In fact,

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

wanted peace to be signed so that he could be better prepared against France. However, factions within the monarchy insisted on further operations, particularly

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and Hungarians, mainly because most of their territory was in Ottoman hands, and they wanted to use the opportunity to reclaim their land. Noble Croatian families, the Zrinski and the

Frankopan The House of Frankopan (, , , ) was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary. The Frankopans, along with the Zrinskis, are among the mos ...

, viewed the treaty as particularly supplicating to the Ottomans, as they actually had to give up territories that had just been liberated back to the Ottomans as terms of the treaty. Some of the territories had belonged to them before the occupation. The treaty caused internal strife and instability in the monarchy, which would eventually culminate with the rebellion of the two Croatian noble families and Hungarian nobles led by Ferenc Rákóczi I against the king of Hungary (also Emperor to the German states in the monarchy). With the treaty, Ottoman control of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and Uyvar (administered as the Uyvar Eyalet of the Empire) was recognized, as well as both empires paying a financial tribute (presented as a "gift") to the other. That was the only time the French king, a traditional ally of the Ottomans since Francis I, fought against them. It was also one of the major factors in the Habsburgs' decision, as the much more valuable estates in the Holy Roman Empire and Italy were threatened by France. The concessions were very minor for the Austrians, as their emperor could now turn to western affairs. The Habsburgs also received some economic rights in the Ottoman realm and they agreed to pay an annual 200,000 florins to the Ottoman Empire.

References

Treaties of the Habsburg monarchy Ottoman period in the history of Croatia Vasvar Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) 1664 treaties 17th century in Hungary 1664 in the Habsburg monarchy 1664 in the Ottoman Empire Habsburg monarchy–Ottoman Empire relations Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor {{Ottoman-stub

See also

References