Polish–Ottoman War (1485–1503)

Polish-Ottoman War (1485–1503)
Cherubin Gniewosz in the battle of Suceava in 1497 (original by J. Kossak, c. 1890)
Date 1485–1503 Location Wild Fields, Moldavia, south of Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania Result Ottoman-led victory Moldavia gets Pokuttia
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate Moldavia	Kingdom of Poland Duchy of Masovia Teutonic Order Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Commanders and leaders
Bayezid II Meñli I Giray Stephen the Great	Casimir IV Jagiellon John I Albert Johann von Tiefen Semyon Olshanski

The Polish–Turkish War of 1485–1503 was a prolonged conflict, rather a series of conflicts, between the

For most of the 15th century, Moldavia was a vassal of Poland, but other states, notably the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate, meanwhile tried to subdue Moldavia. After the Fall of Constantinople (1453), the Ottomans directed their expansion northwards towards the lower Danube and behind the mighty river and also threatened Poland.

Outbreak of war

In 1485, the Ottomans captured the Moldavian

On March 23, 1489, a two-year truce was signed between Poland and Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. In it, Casimir IV recognized the Ottomans' possession of Kilia and Akkerman, a violation of his suzerainty over Moldovia, which led Stephen III of Moldovia to renounce Poland and seek Ottoman suzerainty.^[1] On January 25, 1491 the Battle of Zasław in Volhynia took place, in which Polish forces destroyed a Tatar raid.

In 1494, King John began military preparations for a new raid, despite a three-year truce that was signed on April 6 of that year. Stephen III refused to join the Polish effort, fearing that Moldavia would become the battleground between the Ottomans and Poles. Instead, he sought Ottoman assurance of support if the Poles invaded Moldavia.^[2] It took Poland three years to complete their preparations. Its army was made of Polish Crown forces, aided by a number of foreign mercenaries, 400 Teutonic Knights under Grand Master Johann von Tieffen and a 600-strong unit from Mazovia. Altogether, the Polish Army was some 40,000 strong, with 200 cannons.

Fearful of an alliance between Moldavia, Muscovy and the Ottomans, the Poles sought to make a pre-emptive strike to capture Moldavia; the Lesser Poland nobles, especially the Polish Ruthenians, in particular demanded war to eliminate the Tatar raiding threat and to seize access to the eastern trade.

On 1497, Poland began its Moldavian Campaign of 1497–1499. On September 24, the Poles began the siege of Suceava, which was a failure, and on October 19, they began to retreat. A week later, on October 26, the Poles were defeated in the Battle of the Cosmin Forest. The campaign ended in 1499 in a Moldovian victory.

The Polish raid provoked Ottomans and Tatars, with the aid of Stephen of Moldavia, to invade the southeastern corner of Poland.^[4] This took place in spring 1498: after crossing the Dniestr, the invaders ransacked Red Ruthenia, capturing thousands of people and reaching as far as Przeworsk. In the summer of that year, the Tatars again invaded Poland, mainly Podolia and Volhynia.

Truce

On July 13, 1498, John Albert signed a treaty with the

See also

• Polish–Ottoman Wars

References