Військо Кримського ханства у військових кампаніях  Османської імперії проти Угорщини та Австрії У XVI–XVII ст.

Serhii Kozlovskyi

doi:10.31861/hj2025.62.159-172

Authors

Serhii Kozlovskyi Lviv University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4590-2433

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31861/hj2025.62.159-172

Keywords:

Crimean Khanate, Kirymly, army, military art, siege, battles, losses, campaigns, artillery, Hungary, Austria

Abstract

During the 16th–17th centuries, Europe was in conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition of European powers, led by Austria. The Ottomans sought to gain control over all of Hungary, conquer other territories, and force European monarchs to recognize their dependence on the Porte and pay tribute. The Europeans, in turn, tried to oust the Ottomans from Europe and stop the latter’s expansion. In order to wage a long-term confrontation with virtually an entire bloc of states, the Porte needed a huge army, so the sultans involved their vassals and allies in the fighting, including the Crimeans. The light cavalry of the Crimeans provided the Ottomans with enormous support, striking at enemy convoys and rears, devastating enemy territories, and conducting tactical reconnaissance. As a rule, military campaigns involved detachments of Crimean Tatars numbering several thousand soldiers led by a kalga or nurreddin, and in some cases, several tens of thousands, who could be personally led by the khan. The prominent role of the Crimeans in the military campaigns of the Porte is noted by researchers B. Williams and M. Ivanich, who emphasize the effective tactics of the Crimean Tatar light cavalry. At the same time, researcher W. MacNeil points out that in Europe, the mobility of the Crimeans was limited by stone fortifications and features of the relief, in particular, forested or mountainous terrain. Researcher K. Schimmer emphasizes the large losses of the civilian population of European states as a result of the plundering raids of the Crimeans. The Crimeans distinguished themselves in the campaign of 1532 when they devastated Styria and Carinthia, in 1543 they helped the Ottomans storm Székesfehérvár, saved the Ottomans from defeat in the battle on the Mezékeresztés plain in 1596, conducted a large-scale plundering raid on Hungarian lands in 1658, etc. The Crimean contribution to the supply system of the Ottoman army is underestimated, because thanks to their rapid movement over long distances, the Tatars could deliver food and other things, both from territories controlled by the Porte and from enemy lands, by means of banal robberies. It has been established that the Ottoman rulers often involved lightly armed Crimean Tatars as tactical and field reconnaissance units. It is noted that in the above-mentioned military campaigns, the Crimeans practically did not use field artillery, since it slowed down the movement of the troops, the Tatars did not have their own armories, but used samples brought from the Porte, and the loud sound of cannon shots frightened the Tatar horses. The Austrians, having no experience in fighting the Crimeans, like, for example, the Poles or Muscovites, could not counteract the effective tactics of the nomads for a long time. At the same time, unlike the campaigns against the nomadic peoples — the Nogais, Circassians or Safavids, in Europe the Crimean Tatars faced quite powerful stone fortresses, the enemy army, which was armed with a sufficient number of firearms and artillery, and were forced to operate in forest-steppe and mountainous areas, which significantly limited their maneuvering and tactics.

Author Biography

Serhii Kozlovskyi, Lviv University

PhD in History, Associate Professor, Department of History of Middle Ages and Byzantine Studies, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.

References

1. Andrusyak Ya., Tovtin Ya., Bitva pri Mohache 1526 g. i ee vliyanie na geopoliticheskuyu situaciyu v v Centralno-Vostochnoj Evrope [The Battle of Mohács in 1526 and its impact on the geopolitical situation in Central and Eastern Europe], in «Oblicza Wojny» Lodz, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 2023, s. 161–176.

2. Bánlaky J., A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme [The military history of the Hungarian nation], URL: https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/

3. Barker T., Double Eagle and Crescent, Albany, State University of New York Press, 1967, 447 p.

4. Bates B., The Beginning of the End: The Failure of the Siege of Vienna of 1683, 2003, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20060822060754/http://writing.byu.edu/content/honors/contest/2003/batesbrandon.pdf

5. Brekhunenko V., Bytva pid Vidnem: za vse ta z kavovym hepi-endom [Battle of Vienna: for everything and with a coffee happy ending], 12 veresnia 2022, URL: https://localhistory.org.ua/media/images/1920_e1WwIBQ.max-1920x600. format-webp.webp

6. Brodie B., From the Crossbow to the H-Bomb, New York, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1962, 288 p.

7. Broucek P, Leitsch W., Vocelka K., Wójcik Z., Zwycięstwo pod Wiedniem 1683 [Victory at Vienna 1683], Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne,1983, 180 s.

8. Buchmann B. M., Österreich und das Osmanische Reich. Eine bilaterale Geschichte [Austria and the Ottoman Empire: A bilateral history], Wien, WUV Universitätsverlag, 1999, 286 s.

9. Cacavelas J., The Siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, London, Cambridge University Press, 1925, 210 p.

10. Čechura J., České země v letech 1437–1526 [Bohemian lands in the years 1437–1526], Dil. 2. Jagellonci na českém trůně 1471–1526, Praha, Libri, 2012, 296 s.

11. Cook M.A., A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730, London, Cambridge University Press, 1976, 256 p.

12. Die Geschichte des Silâhdar Ağa, Kara Mustafa vor Wien. Das türkische Tagebuch der Belagerung Wiens 1683, verfasst vom Zeremonienmeister der Hohen Pforte [The story of Silâhdar Ağa, Kara Mustafa before Vienna. The Turkish diary of the Siege of Vienna in 1683, written by the Master of Ceremonies of the Sublime Porte], b. 1., in «R. F. Kreutel, Osmanische Geschichtsschreiber», Graz, Wien, Köln, Verlag Styria, 1955, 194 o.

13. Duffy C., Siege Warfare: Fortresses in the Early Modern World 1494–1660, London, Routledge, 1996, 289 p.

14. Fairfax D., The Grande Turke, London, Stanley Paul and Co., 1982, 320 p.

15. Finkel C., The Administration of Warfare. The Ottoman Military Campaigns in Hungary, 1593–1606, Wien, VWGÖ, 1988, 362 p.

16. Fisher A., The Crimean Tatars, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1978, 264 p.

17. Fisher A., The Russian Annexation of Crimea 1772–1783, London, Cambridge University Press, 1970, 180 p.

18. Fodor V., Angol tudósítás Eger ostromáról és a mezőkeresztesi csatáról [English coverage of the Siege of Eger and the Battle of Mezőkeresztes], in «Hadtörténelmi Közlemények», 1988, 101, évf. 3. sz., o. 551–561.

19. Gawęda M., Wojskowość tatarska w XVII wieku — wymiar taktyczny [Tatar military in the 17th century — tactical dimension], in «Rocznik Przemyski», 2009, t. 45, z. 1. Historia wojskowości. s. 121–144.

20. Haivoronskyi O., Hromenko S., Krymske khanstvo. V uhorskykh stepakh [Crimean Khanate. In the Hungarian Steppes], 2 hrudnia 2020, URL: https://ua.krymr.com/a/kryms%CA%B9ke-khanstvo-v-uhors%CA%B9kykh-stepakh/2914 1546.html

21. Henrik szász herczeg és brandenburgi lovas ezredei naplója Buda 1686ki ostromáról [Diary of Prince Henry of Saxony and the Brandenburg cavalry regiments about the siege of Buda in 1686], Közzé teszi: A. Károlyi, in «Történelmi Tár» 9, 1886, o. 430–452.

22. Hochedlinger M., Austria’s Wars of Emergence: War, State and Society in the Habsburg Monarchy, 1683–1797, London, Pearson Education, 2003, 466 p.

23. Horvath L., Krími tatár kán választás Magyarországon 1683-ban [Crimean Tatar Khan election in Hungary in 1683], in «EGYÜTT», 2014/3, o. 69–79.

24. Howorth H., History of the Mongols, Part II, London, Longman, Green and Co., 1880, 664 p.

25. İpçioğlu M., Kanuni Süleyman’ın Estergon (Esztergom) Seferi 1543 [Suleiman the Magnificent’s Expedition to Esztergom 1543], in «Osmanlı Araştırmaları», 1990, № 10, s. 136–161.

26. Istvánfi M., Magyarország története. 1490–1606 [History of Hungary. 1490 –1606], Debrecen, 1867–1868, 880 o.

27. Ivanics M., A Krími Kánság a tizenöt éves háborúban, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, 235 o.

28. Ivanics M., Krimtatarische Spionage im Osmanisch-Habsburgischen Grenzgebiet während des Feldzuges im Jahre 1663 [Crimean Tatar espionage in the Ottoman-Habsburg border region during the campaign of 1663], in «Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae», 2008, № 61 (1–2), s. 119–133.

29. Ivanics M., The Military Co-operation of the Crimean Khanate with the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, in «The European Tributary States of the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries», Brill, 2013, р. 275–299.

30. Kara Mustafa pod Wiedniem: źródła muzułmańs kie do dziejów wyprawy wiedeńskiej 1683 roku [Kara Mustafa at Vienna: Muslim sources on the history of the Vienna Expedition of 1683], Kraków, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1973, 411 s.

31. Kocowski B., Wyprawa Tatarów na Węgry przez Polskę w 1594 r.[The Tatar expedition to Hungary through Poland in 1594], Lublin, 1948, 70 s.

32. Kortepeter C., Ottoman Imperialism During the Reformation: Europe and the Caucasus, NewYork, NewYork University Press, 1972, 278 p.

33. Kozlovskyi S.O., Artyleriia yak taktychna komponenta viiskovoho mystetstva Krymskoho khanstva (XV–XVI st.) [Artillery as a tactical component of the military art of the Crimean Khanate (15th–16th centuries)], in «Naukovi zapysky Vinnytskoho derzhavnoho pedahohichnoho universytetu imeni Mykhaila Kotsiubynskoho. Seriia: Istoriia», vyp. 53. Zbirnyk naukovykh prats. Za zah. red. O. A. Melnychuka. Vinnytsia, VDPU, 2025, s. 123–133.

34. Kozlovskyi S.O., Taktychna skladova viiskovoho mystetstva Krymskoho khanstva (XV–XVI st.) [Tactical component of the military art of the Crimean Khanate (15th–16th centuries)], in « Etnichna istoriia narodiv Yevropy: Zbirnyk naukovykh prats», Kyiv, KNU im. T. Shevchenka, 2025, № 77, s. 50–63.

35. Kozlovskyi S.O., Viisko Krymskoho khanstva u seredyni XV–XVI st.: chyselnist, liudskyi ta resursnyi potentsialy [The army of the Crimean Khanate in the mid-15th–16th centuries: numbers, human and resource potential], in «Vcheni zapysky Tavriiskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Istorychni nauky», 2025, t. 36 (75), №2, s. 84–91.

36. Kraus G., Erdélyi krónika [Transylvanian Chronicle], Fordította, bevezetéssel és jegyzetekkel ellátta S. Vogel, Budapest, OKTK, 1994, 800 o.

37. Lamb H., Suleiman the Magnificent, Garden City NY, Double Day, 1951, 370 p.

38. McNeill W., Europe’s Steppe Frontier 1500–1800, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1964, 252 p.

39. Massa I., Massa’s Short History of the Muscovite Wars, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1982, 272 p.

40. Naima M., Hiuseinovi horody u vytiahu istorii iz zakhodu ta skhodu. (Povidomlennia pro Ukrainu) [Naima Mustafa. Hussein’s Cities in the Excerpt of Histories From the West and the East. (Reports About Ukraine)], Kyiv, Vyd-vo Zhupanskoho, 2016, 288 s.

41. Nagy L., A török világ végnapjai Magyarországon [The last days of the Turkish world in Hungary], Budapest, Zrínyi Katonai Könyv- és Lapkiadó, 1986, 412 o.

42. Orhoniu C., Osmanh Tarihine Aid Belgeler, Telhisler (1597–1607) [ Documents and Narratives of Ottoman History (1597–1607)], Istanbul, Edebiyat Fakültesi Basımevi, 1970, 150 s.

43. Palmer A., The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, New York, Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1994, 306 p.

44. Parry V.J., War, Technology and Society in the Middle East, London, Oxford University Press, 1975, 332 p.

45. Pitcher D., An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1972, 171 p.

46. Podhorodecki L., Chanat Krymski [Crimean Khanate]. Warszawa, Książka i Wiedza, 1987, 358 s.

47. Podhorodecki L., Wiedeń 1683 [Vienna 1683], Warszawa, Bellona, 2001, 198 s.

48. Reddaway W.F., The Cambridge History of Poland, London, Cambridge University Press, 1941, 658 p.

49. Şakul K., Viyana Kuşatması: Yedi Ejderin Fendi [The Siege of Vienna: The Battle of the Seven Dragons], İstanbul, Timaş Yayınları, 2021, 560 s.

50. Schimmer K.A., The sieges of Vienna by the Turks, London, J. Murray. Contributor University of California Libraries, 1879, 172 p.

51. Schimmer K.A., Wien’s Belagerungen durch die Türken und ihre Einfälle in Ungarn und Österreich [Vienna’s sieges by the Turks and their invasions of Hungary and Austria], Wien, J. G. Heubner, 1845, 446 s.

52. Simonyi E., Magyar történelmi okmánytár londoni könyv- és levéltá rakból, 1521–1717 [Hungarian historical document archive from the London book and letter archives, 1521–1717], Pest, MTA, 1859, 318 o.

53. Stencinger N., Csata a Duna mellet [Battle of the Danube], URL: https://www2.uni-nke.hu/mhtt_csata/ cikk/stenci/erd.htm#_edn8

54. Storozhenko I., Voienna doktryna Krymskoho khanstva kintsia XV — seredyny XVII st. [Military doctrine of the Crimean Khanate of the late 15th — mid-17th centuries], in «Ukraina–Turechchyna: mynule, suchasne ta maibutnie: zb. nauk. pr.», Kyiv, Deneb, 2004, s. 99–103.

55. Szabo J., Erdély katasztrófája 1658-ban [The Transylvanian disaster of 1658], in «Aetas», 21. évf., 2006, 2–3. szám, o. 204–218.

56. Tört E., Gábor B., Erdély a tizenöt éves háborúban [Transylvania in the Fifteen Years’ War], in «Erdély története I. kötet: A kezdetektől 1606-ig.», Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó,1986, 640 о.

57. Tóth H., A «tatár kán» és Batthyány II. Ádám. A Krími Kánság hadereje Buda alatt. 1686-ban [The «Tatar Khan» and Adam II Batthyány. The army of the Crimean Khanate under Buda. In 1686], in «Fons», 2009, cz. 3, o. 373–386.

58. Tóth S.L., A mezőkeresztesi csata és a tizenöt éves háború [The Battle of Mezőkeresztes and the Fifteen Years’ War], Szeged, Belvedere Meridionale, 2000, 479 o.

59. Turnbull S., The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699, London, Osprey, 2003, 96 p.

60. Várkonyi A., Megújulások kora [Age of renewals], Budapest, Helikon, 2007, 104 o.

61. Veress C., A győri vár [The Győr Castle], Budapest, Zrínyi Katonai Könyv- és Lapkiadó, 1993, 195 o.

62. Williams B. G., The Sultan raiders. The Military role of Crimean Tatars in Ottoman Empire, Washington D.C., The Jamestown Foundation, 2013, 53 p.

63. Wimmer J., Wiedeń 1683 [Vienna 1683], Warszawa, MON, 1983, 480 s.

64. Woodead C., A history of the Ottoman campaign into Hungary 1593–94, Berlin, K. Schwartz, 1983, 421 p.

65. Young W., International Politics and Warfare in the Age of Louis XIV and Peter the Great: A Guide to the Historical Literature, Bloomington, iUniverse, 2004, 544 p.