War and peace in the frontier : Ottoman rule in the Uyvar province, 1663-1685

Abstract

Not only the provocative activities of the Transylvanian Prince György II Rákóczi but also the centuries-long Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry became the reason of an Ottoman campaign in Hungary in 1663. The war ended with the peace treaty of Vasvár signed on August 10, 1664. It was after this treaty that Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Paşa, the Ottoman Grand vizier, gave an order to establish a province around the Uyvar fortress, the most significant acquisition of the Ottomans at the end of the war. Thus, the Ottoman rule started in the Uyvar province that formed the OttomanHabsburg frontier for 22 years. Based mainly on the Ottoman chronicles, archival documents, and the secondary sources this thesis first describes and analyses the Ottoman campaign in 1663. Then, it pays close attention to the Ottoman administration in the Uyvar province. Finally, it gives us an opportunity to see the tendencies in Ottoman governmental mentality in the Habsburg frontier of the empire.