Prusso-Ottoman alliance
| Type | Alliance |
|---|---|
| Signed | 1790 |
The Prusso-Ottoman alliance was an alliance established in 1790 between Sultan Selim III of the Ottoman Empire and King Frederick William II of Prussia. The main aim of the alliance was to combat Austrian and Russian expansion.
Alliance
[edit]Background
[edit]Austrian Emperor Leopold II wanted to regain control over Belgium, which was in a state of chaos due to the Brabant Revolution that took place in parallel with the French Revolution. The British Empire and the Dutch Republic immediately declared that they supported Austria in order to protect their interests due to Belgium's strategic location. In return, Prussia aimed to take advantage of Austria's difficult situation. At that time, Prussian diplomacy was under the management of Hertzberg, who had been foreign minister since 1763. Prussia's other aim was to seize the Polish cities of Gdańsk and Toruń. With Herzberg's idea, Prussia accepted the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire's proposal for an alliance against Austria and Russia. The Ottomans hoped to regain the lands they had lost to Austria in this way.[1]
Significance
[edit]The Prusso-Ottoman alliance of 1790 was the first alliance signed between the Ottoman Empire and a Christian state in a long time (the Franco-Ottoman and Polish–Ottoman alliances came before). Therefore, it was discussed at length whether the alliance had any religious risks.[2]
Citations
[edit]- ^ Potyemkin, Vlademir (2009). Uluslararası İlişkiler Tarihi (Diplomasi Tarihi) 1.Kitap. Evrensel Basım Yayın. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ Beydilli, Kemal (1984). 1790 Osmanlı-Prusya ittifakı. İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü Yakın Çağ Tarihi. p. 67. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.