A Polish–Ottoman alliance, based on several treaties, occurred during the 16th century between the kingdom of Poland-Lithuania 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 ...

, as the Ottomans were expanding into

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Background

Poland and the Ottoman Empire had been at war since the end of the 15th century following

Jagiellonian The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...

attempts to take control over

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. The Jagiellon king

Vladislas II of Hungary Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław or Wladislas (; 1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and King of Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, he wa ...

was occupying the throne of Hungary and Bohemia. The Jagiellons also allied with

Stephen III of Moldavia Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 in a conspiracy organized by his brother an ...

in 1484-87 to recover territories from the Ottomans, and later invaded Moldavia in 1497. In 1498, an Ottoman army of 40,000-60,000 under Bali Pasha invaded Poland in the areas of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

and

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

. Also under pressure from the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

under

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II be ...

in Lithuania, the Polish king and the Grand Duke of Lithuania,

Alexander I Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...

, sought a rapprochement with the Ottomans.

Polish-Ottoman treaties

Letter of Roxelane to Sigismond Auguste complementing him for his accession to the throne 1549

In 1503,

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

signed a five-year treaty with the Ottoman Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

. Alexander's successor king

Sigismund the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV and younger brother of Kings ...

(1506–1548) also signed a treaty with

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

in 1519 after he had lost

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

to the Russians.''Warfare, state and society on the Black Sea steppe, 1500–1700'' by Brian L. Davies p.2

/ref> After the Ottomans invaded Hungary after the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

in 1526, Poland refrained from interfering with the Ottomans in the southwest.''Warfare, state and society on the Black Sea steppe, 1500–1700'' by Brian L. Davies p.2

/ref> Poland was in fact busy enough countering the Russian threat in Lithuania and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

, where it was able to concentrate its forces. Under

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

, two treaties were signed in 1525 and 1528, and a treaty of "perpetual" peace was signed in 1533. The 1533 treaty is thought to have been motivated by the huge progress of the Ottomans in the

Siege of Vienna (1529) The siege of Vienna, in 1529, was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire to capture the city of Vienna in the Archduchy of Austria, part of the Holy Roman Empire. Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottomans, attacked the city with over ...

.''The Slavs in European History and Civilization'' by

Francis Dvornik Francis Dvornik (; 14 August 1893 – 4 November 1975) was a Czech academic medievalist, byzantinist, slavist and Catholic priest. He was one of the leading 20th century authorities on Slavic and Byzantine history and matters related to the church ...

p.24

/ref> The treaty was again renewed in 1547. The treaty was again renewed in 1551 with

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

, the last Jagiellonian king. As Suleiman was reaching his last years, a treaty was signed in 1564 between Poland and the future

Selim II Selim II (; ; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond () or Selim the Drunkard (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sul ...

, then still Imperial Prince in charge of the government of Kutahya. After the death of Sigismund in 1572, Poland elected the French prince,

Henry of Valois Henry of Valois may refer to: *Henry II of France (1519–1559), King of France *Henry III of France (1551–1589), King of France and Poland See also *Henri Valois Henri Valois (; September 10, 1603, in Paris – May 7, 1676, in Paris) or ...

, rather than Habsburg candidates, partly in order to be more agreeable to the Ottoman Empire. When Henri left to return to France in 1575, he was succeeded by

Stephen Báthory of Poland Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

, who also had been supported by the Ottomans in obtaining the

Transylvanian 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 ...

throne in 1571.

Unraveling

The "perpetual" peace between Poland and the Ottoman Empire started to crumble in the 1590s. Difficulties arose when

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, statesman and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown f ...

took advantage of the Ottoman–Habsburg war in Hungary to invade

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

in 1595, in the

Moldavian Magnate Wars The Moldavian Magnate Wars, or Moldavian Ventures, refer to the period at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century when the magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, clashing ...

. The Treaty of Jaruga was signed in 1617, restraining Polish interventions in the Danubian principalities, but open conflict later erupted with the Polish–Ottoman War (1620–1621).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish-Ottoman alliance Ottoman Empire–Poland relations Polish–Lithuanian union Treaties of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Treaties of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)