Ottoman-Druse War (1631–1635)

Ottoman-Druse War (1631–1635)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Ottoman Empire vs. the Druse

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Lebanon

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Suppression of the Druse

OUTCOME: The Druse were defeated, and their leader,

Fakhr ad-Din, executed.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:

Ottoman forces, 80,000; Druse, 25,000

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

Exiled to Tuscany after the OTTOMAN-DRUSE WAR

(1611–1613), Fakhr ad-Din II (1572–1635) returned to

Lebanon in 1618, then continued a program of territorial

expansion and opposition to the Sublime Porte (the government

of the Ottoman Empire). Armed exchanges were

taking place by 1631, and, in 1633, Sultan Murad IV

(1609–40) sent a major amphibious expedition against

the Druse. While Murad’s fleet blockaded the coast of

Lebanon, an 80,000-man army (made up of Syrians and

Egyptians) defeated a Druse army numbering 25,000 men

(and consisting of Maronites and mercenary troops in

addition to the Druse). Fakhr fled the field and took

refuge in the mountains. One of his sons was immediately

captured and executed, and Fakhr was captured in 1634

and executed the following year, as were two more of his

sons. This brought an end to the war, but not to the Druse

presence and influence in the region. As a ruling dynasty

(called the Ma’n), the line of Fakhr ad-Din ended in 1697.

See also TURKO-PERSIAN WAR (1623–1638).

Further reading: M. A. Cook, ed., A History of the

Ottoman Empire to 1730 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge

University Press, 1976); Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Hori-

zon: A History of the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador,

2003); Colin Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London:

Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

Otto the Great, Conquests of (942–972)

Otto the Great, Conquests of (942–972)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Otto I vs. various rebels within
Germany; Otto vs. the Slavs of middle Europe; Otto vs.
the Magyars; Germany vs. France; Germany vs. Italy

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Central Europe and northern Italy

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Otto I sought to centralize
German-speaking Europe and expand his kingdom.

OUTCOME: Otto consolidated the German Reich and
gained hegemony over much of Europe.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS: At
Lechfeld, Otto led an army of 10,000.

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

The son of Germany’s Henry I (c. 876–936), Otto I (the
Great; 912–73) consolidated the German Reich by suppressing
rebellious vassals (led by Thanknar, his half
brother, and Henry, his younger brother) in the GERMAN
CIVIL WARS (938–941) and ultimately by winning a decisive
victory against the Hungarians at the battle of
Lechfeld in 955 (see MAGYAR RAID, GREAT). But Otto’s
ambition stretched beyond Germany, and even as he
was quelling the early rebellions against his reign, he
took the time to strengthen and expand his kingdom’s
frontiers.
In the East, he attacked and defeated the Slavs, consolidating
his gains by founding a monastery in Magdeburg in
941 and establishing two bishoprics in 948. In the North,
he extended Christendom into Denmark, establishing four
bishoprics there by 968. However, an early campaign in
Bohemia failed, and it took Otto till 950 to force its prince,
Boleslav I (d. 967), to submit and pay tribute.
Otto was then in a position to deny any French claims
to Lorraine, which he had taken when be put down the
French-backed rebellion of 939 to 941. He also assumed
the role of mediator in France’s internal struggles. He held
a similar sway over Burgundy. In fact, when Burgundian
princess Adelaide, the widowed queen of Italy, appealed to
him after being taken prisoner by the Lombard prince
Berengar (c. 900–966), Otto marched into Italy in 951,
declared himself king of the Lombards, and married Adelaide
(his first wife having died). Berengar became his vassal
for the kingdom of Italy.
Otto was forced to cut his first Italian campaign
short when a revolt broke out in Germany in 953. Led by
his son Liudolf (930–957), and backed by Conrad (d.
955), duke of Lorraine, and Frederick, bishop of Mainz,
the rebellion at first succeeded, forcing Otto to withdraw
to Saxony. But the rebellion began to fail when the Magyar
invasion allowed Otto to paint the rebels as traitors
and enemies of the Reich in league with the invaders. In
955, not only did Otto defeat the Magyars so decisively at
Lechfeld that they never invaded again, he also captured
the rebel stronghold at Regensburg, ending the rebellion.
That year, too, Otto also won another major victory over
the Slavs, which he followed with a series of campaigns
that, by 960, had forced the utter subjugation of all the
Slavs between the middle Elbe and the middle Oder
rivers. By 968, even Mieszko (Mieczyslaw I) (c.
930–992), prince of Poland, was paying tribute to the
German king.
Meanwhile, Otto’s old enemy and former vassal Berengar,
free of German interference, was now threatening
Rome. Pope John XII (d. 964) appealed to the German
king for help. Otto’s price was the Holy Roman Empire.
When Otto arrived in Rome on February 2, 962, he was
crowned emperor, and 11 days later, he and the pope
reached an agreement called the Privilegium Ottoianum,
which regulated relations between emperor and pope and
gave the emperor the right to ratify papal elections. Some
say this provision was added later by Otto after he
deposed John XII in December for treating with Berengar.
In any case, Otto replaced John with Leo VIII (d. 965) as
pope, then captured Berengar and dragged him back to
Germany. In 966, Otto was back in Italy for a third campaign,
this time to suppress a revolt by the Romans against
his puppet pontiff, Leo VIII. Since Leo had been deposed
by Benedict V (d. 966), and had since died, in 972 Otto
appointed a new pope, John XIII (d. 972).
Otto consolidated the German Reich and gave it peace
and security from foreign attack. Enjoying something
approaching hegemony over Europe, Germany under his
rule experienced a cultural flowering that some scholars
call the “Ottonian renaissance.”

See also MAGYAR RAIDS IN FRANCE; MAGYAR RAIDS IN
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE; MAGYAR RAID INTO EUROPE,
FIRST.

Further reading: G. Barraclough, The Origins of Modern
Germany (Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1947); K. J. Leyser,
Rule and Conflict in Early Medieval Society: Ottonian Saxony
(Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1984).

Ottoman-Druse War (1611–1613)

Ottoman-Druse War (1611–1613)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Ottoman Empire (through the
pasha of Damascus) vs. Fakhr ad-Din II and the Druse of
Lebanon

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Lebanon

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: The Ottoman sultan
wanted to punish the Druse for an unauthorized alliance
with Tuscany (Holy Roman Empire).

OUTCOME: Fakhr ad-Din was driven into exile.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Druse army, 40,000; pasha’s forces were larger

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

Fakhr ad-Din II (1572–1635), emir of the Druse in
Lebanon, made the Druse dominant in the region. In
1608, when he struck an alliance with Tuscany—effectively
an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire—Ottoman
sultan Ahmed (1589–1617) ordered the pasha of Damascus
to conduct a punitive expedition against the Druse.
Fakhr commanded an army of 40,000, a formidable force
that readily countered the Ottoman action. The pasha
mounted a larger assault in 1613, which defeated the
Druse and sent Fakhr fleeing into Tuscan exile. (He
returned in 1618 at the invitation of a new sultan, Osman
II [1604–22].)

See also AUSTRO-TURKISH WAR (1591–1606); TURKOPERSIAN
WAR (1603–1612).

Further reading: M. A. Cook, ed., A History of the
Ottoman Empire to 1730 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 1976); Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizon:
A History of the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador,
2003); Colin Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

Ottoman-Druse War (1585)

Ottoman-Druse War (1585)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Ottoman Turks vs. Lebanese Druse

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Lebanon

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: The Ottomans sought to
suppress rebellion among the Druse.

OUTCOME: The Druse rebellion was suppressed, but, in
Lebanon, the Druse remained an important political force.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Unknown

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

The Islamic sect known as the Druse was small but important
during the 16th century. The Ottoman sultan Selim I
(1467–1520) sought to placate Druse interests by naming
Lebanon’s Fakhr ad-Din (d. 1544) emir of the Ottoman
Empire’s Druse. However, in 1585, the Shi’ite ruler of
Tripoli, Yusuf Sayfa (fl. 1580s), led an insurrection against
the Ottoman sultan. The rebel forces encompassed a number
of religious groups, including Druse led by Korkmaz
(1544–85), the son of Fakhr ad-Din. The Ottomans put
down the rebellion and executed Korkmaz. He was succeeded
first by his uncle and then by Fakhr ad-Din II
(1572–1635), grandson of Fakhr ad-Din. Although nominally
under Ottoman control, the Druse came to dominate
Lebanese politics.

See also MAMLUK-PERSIAN-OTTOMAN WAR (1516–
1517).

Further reading: Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizon:
A History of the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador, 2003);
Colin Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003); Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The
Classical Age, 1300–1600 (London: Phoenix Press, 2001).

Ottoman Conquest of Bulgaria (1369–1372)

Ottoman Conquest of Bulgaria (1369–1372)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Ottoman Turks (principally the
Janissary corps) vs. the Bulgarians and Serbs

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Bulgaria and Macedonia

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Conquest of eastern
Europe

OUTCOME: The Ottomans seized control of Bulgaria and
much of Macedonia.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Unknown

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

Under Murad I (1319–89), the Ottoman Empire pressed a
program of invasion and expansion into eastern Europe.
The conquest of Bulgaria was accomplished chiefly by the
elite corps of troops Murad created. The Janissaries were
former Christians who had been captured in childhood
and raised as violently fanatic Muslims. Murad harnessed
their fanaticism by shaping them into a disciplined body
of infantry archers. The Janissary victory at the Battle of
Cernomen in 1371 neutralized Serb resistance in the
region of the Maritza River and led to the conquest not
only of Bulgaria, but Macedonia as well.
Over the next half millennium, the Janissaries would
figure as an extremely powerful—and ultimately self-serving—
force in Ottoman history.

Further reading: Godfrey Goodwin, The Janissaries
(London: Saqi Books, 1997); Colin Imber, Ottoman
Empire: 1300–1650 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003);
Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age,
1300–1600 (London: Phoenix Press, 2001).

Ottoman Civil War (1559)

Ottoman Civil War (1559)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Son of Süleyman I the
Magnificent, Selim vs. his brother, Bayazid

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Ottoman Empire

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Succession to the
Ottoman sultanate

OUTCOME: Selim prevailed against Bayazid, who was
executed.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Unknown

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

Süleyman I (the Magnificent; 1496–1566), was warned by
his favorite wife, Roxelana (d. 1559), that his eldest son,
Mustafa (d. 1553), was plotting against him. This was
untrue, but the sultan did not pause to investigate;
instead, he had Mustafa arrested and beheaded in 1553.
This left the sons Süleyman had had by Roxelana in position
to inherit the throne; however, upon Roxelana’s
death, the two young men, Selim (c. 1524–74), and Bayazid
(d. 1561), fell to disputing their inheritance. Bayazid
raised an army to oppose Selim, Süleyman’s favorite. Selim
defeated Bayazid at the Battle of Konya in 1559, whereupon
Bayazid fled to Persia. Süleyman subsequently
authorized Selim to dispatch executioners to Persia and
paid Shahtahmasp I (r. 1524–76) to deliver Bayazid into
their hands. Bayazid was killed in 1561.

Further reading: Andre Clot: Suleiman the Magnificent:
The Man, His Life, His Epoch (London: Saqi Books,
1992); Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizon: A History of
the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador, 2003); Colin
Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003); Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: the
Classical Age, 1300–1600 (London: Phoenix Press, 2001).

Ottoman Civil War (1509–1513)

Ottoman Civil War (1509–1513)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Bayazid II vs. his sons

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Ottoman Empire

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Succession to the
Ottoman sultanate

OUTCOME: Selim prevailed over his father and brothers
and assumed the throne as Selim I.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Unknown

CASUALTIES: Casualties included 40,000 Anatolian Shi’ites
slain.

TREATIES: None

Although Bayazid II (1447–1513) had inherited a considerable
empire from his father, Muhammad, or Mehmet, II
(1429–81), he was never able to undertake the new conquests
in Europe that the expansion-minded old sultan
might have imagined to be the Ottoman legacy. For one
thing, Bayazid had to turn much of his attention in the
later years of his life to internal rebellion, especially in
eastern Anatolia, where Turkoman nomads resisted not
just the extension of the Ottoman administrative bureaucracy
but also the empire’s Sunni orthodoxy. They developed
a fanatical attachment to the Sufi and Shi’ite mystic
orders, the most successful of which, the Safavids, used a
combined religious and military appeal to conquer most of
Persia. They then spread a message of religious heresy and
political revolt, not only among the tribesmen but also to
farmers and some city dwellers, Ottoman citizens who
were beginning to imagine in this movement the answers
to their own problems.
At the same time, Bayazid was having trouble with the
Janissaries who had been so instrumental in his own rise to
power (see OTTOMAN CIVIL WAR [1481–1482]). Whereas
Bayazid wished to name his son Ahmed (d. 1513) as his
successor, the Janissaries much preferred his brother, Selim
(1467–1520), governor of Trebizond. Bayazid, who had
been put on the throne by the Janissaries despite his peaceloving
nature, had throughout his reign only carried out
military activities with reluctance, and Ahmed seemed to
share his father’s personality. Selim, on the other hand, like
the mercenary Janissaries, longed to return to Muhammad
II’s aggressive style of conquest. When Bayazid seemed to be
prepared to abdicate in Ahmed’s favor, Selim, governor of
Trebizond, led an army to Adrianople, demanding that he
be given a European province to govern. He wanted to
ensure that he had sufficient power to topple Ahmed.
Bayazid refused to accede to Selim’s demand, and Selim was
defeated in battle. He returned to Trebizond in 1509.
Then, in 1511, all the grievances disturbing the empire
coalesced into a fundamentally religious uprising against
the central government. The Shi’ite Turkoman nomads
rebelled and took Bursa, the old Ottoman capital, about 150
miles from Adrianople. Bayazid dispatched his grand vizier
Ali Posa (fl. 1512) with a force to put down the Turkoman
rebellion, an action that left him vulnerable to Ahmed’s
pressure for abdication. The Janissaries threatened to revolt
if Ahmed ascended the throne, so Bayazid decided not to
abdicate. This prompted Ahmed to join with another
brother, Kortud (d. 1513), in a rebellion in Anatolia. However,
in 1512, Selim, backed by Persian allies, defeated
Ahmed, then advanced to Adrianople. With the aid of the
Janissaries, he at last compelled Bayazid’s abdication. Both
Bayazid and Kortud were soon dead—poisoned. Selim pursued
Ahmed, who was defeated in battle in 1513. Captured,
he was put to death by strangulation. To ensure that he
would now rule unopposed, Selim—now Selim I—ordered
the deaths of all seven of his nephews, and four of his five
sons. He then massacred 40,000 Anatolian Shi’ites to prevent
another Turkoman rebellion. With his sultanate
secure, Selim could then turn to new conquests.

See also PERSIAN CIVIL WAR (1500–1503); TURKOPERSIAN
WAR (1514–1516).

Further reading: Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizon:
A History of the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador,
2003); Colin Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2003); Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman
Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600 (London: Phoenix
Press, 2001).