Raid on Bucharest

The raid on Bucharest took place between 24–25 November 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718). A Habsburg force consisting of 1,200 men led by Feldherr Tige and Oberst Stephan Dettin stormed Bucharest, the capital of Wallachia, and imprisoned Ottoman vassal Nicholas Mavrocordatos with the help of boyars loyal to the Austrians. Sultan Ahmed III replaced him with his younger brother John Mavrocordatos, who reigned until 1719. Nicholas’ release from Habsburg captivity coincided with the death of his brother in February 1719. A pogrom was launched on the Turkish population of the city during the raid; most were massacred, their houses and markets destroyed.

Raid on Bucharest
Part of the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)
Date 24–25 November 1716 Location Bucharest, Wallachia (Ottoman vassal) 44°24′48.1″N 26°5′52.0″E Result Habsburg victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Wallachia Tatars	Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Nicholas Mavrocordatos (POW)	Feldherr Tige Stephan Dettin
Strength
Hundreds of Ottomans 400 Tatars	1,200
Casualties and losses
Hundreds killed	Unknown
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe Raid on Bucharest (Romania)

Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18

200km
125miles

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Background

From June to September 1715, the Ottoman Empire, led by Grand Vizier Silahdar Damat Ali Pasha, easily reclaimed the Peloponnese, which they had ceded to the Republic of Venice with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Thus, the Venetian Kingdom of the Morea was no more and had been absorbed into Ottoman territory. Having formed an alliance with Venice in April 1716 and as the guarantor of the Karlowitz treaty, Austria demanded the full withdrawal of Ottoman troops from the region, as well as financial compensation to Venice for the continued violation of the stipulations of the Karlowitz treaty. Confident that they could defeat the Habsburgs and possibly reconquer Hungary due to successive victories in the Pruth River Campaign and the war with Venice, the Ottomans responded to Austria's ultimatum by waging war on 15 May 1716.

Prelude

Before November 1716

Although the war with the Habsburgs began favourably for the Ottomans at Karlowitz, they had suffered two major defeats before the raid on Bucharest; first at Petrovaradin and then at Temeşvar. Seeking to capitalise on the situation, the Habsburgs launched a campaign into Wallachia, a region under Ottoman suzerainty. The previous Prince of Wallachia, Ștefan Cantacuzino, was informing Habsburg Field marshal Stephan Graf Stainville – commander of Austrian troops in Transylvania – of the Porte's war preparations. A kapucu was sent to depose Prince Ștefan in January 1716, and arrested him together with his father and uncle (the spătar Mihai Cantacuzino). The three of them were executed in Istanbul on 7 June 1716 for treason. Ștefan was replaced with Nicholas Mavrocordatos, who was loyal to the Ottoman state and known for his anti-Habsburg sentiments.

Habsburg entry into Wallachia

The Habsburgs gained ground in Wallachia mostly thanks to boyars who collaborated with them (Radu Golescu, Grigore Băleanu, Bojoreanu, and Barbu among others). These boyars sent letters to Stephan Stainville that they were willing to surrender the country to Austria if they received military aid to fight against the Ottomans. The Habsburgs progressed until Craiova in autumn 1716, and from there they proceeded to Bucharest which they raided for the first time. In the meantime, the Ottoman vassal and Prince of Wallachia Nicholas Mavrocordatos had escaped the city with Anthim the Iberian. After making it to Călugăreni, he waited for news about the situation at the capital. Hearing that it was full of enemies, he moved on to Giurgiu from where he intended to flee to Istanbul. However, he was stopped by Ottoman commanders who granted him a few thousand soldiers to return to Bucharest and retake the city.

Mavrocordatos advanced to Bucharest with the Ottoman soldiers. The Habsburg soldiers withdrew immediately, and devised a plan with the conspiratorial boyars; they would lie to Nicholas that the Austrians had permanently left the region and that he no longer needed Ottoman soldiers. Nicholas believed them and sent the soldiers back to Giurgiu. Mavrocordatos’ decision to do this was a mistake as a second and larger raid was conducted on Bucharest shortly after the departure of the Ottoman force from Giurgu.

Raid

Masterminded by Feldherr Tige, on the night of 24 November 1716, a Habsburg force numbering 1,200 led by Oberst Stephan Dettin initiated a second raid into Bucharest. Confronted by 400 Tatars in the outskirts of the city, a brief engagement followed where 28 Tatars were killed while others fled. Due to most inhabitants of the city supporting the Austrian incursion into Wallachia, Dettin was able to enter the city with little to no resistance in the morning of 25 November 1716. After securing the fortifications and other important parts of the city such as the court, he massacred most of the Turkish population in the city, destroying their houses and markets. In the ensuing conflict, a hundreds-strong force of the kapıcıbaşı clashed with the Habsburg force which consisted of many Serbians. Hundreds were killed in this engagement. Meanwhile, Nicholas Mavrocordatos sought refuge in a church from which he was taken captive by the Austrians shortly after, and was to remain in Habsburg captivity until 1719.

Aftermath

Fleeing of the population of Bucharest

Fearing a joint Ottoman–Tatar reprisal, most of the population of Bucharest fled to Transylvania over a period of two weeks. On 7 December 1716, Stephan Dettin followed suit and traveled to Brașov with Nicholas Mavrocordatos and his four sons. They were greeted there by Field marshal Stephan Graf Stainville. Mavrocordatos was to remain in captivity there and in Sibiu until his release was secured in February 1719 (which coincided with the death of his younger brother). When he was in captivity, Nicholas was replaced as Prince of Wallachia by his younger brother, John Mavrocordatos, by Sultan Ahmed III. Dettin was awarded 5,000 guilder from Vienna for his role in the raid.

Challenges to John Mavrocordatos’s reign

One of the first things John Mavrocordatos did when he ascended the throne was to invite the population of Bucharest back to the city. Most of them agreed and returned from Transylvania. Wallachia was ravaged by Habsburg and Serbian hajduk attacks on the north of the region whilst the Tatars who were supposed to protect the south was causing problems – it was hard for Mavrocordatos to keep them in line.

Stainville’s campaign into Moldavia

After their incursions into Wallachia, the Habsburgs launched a campaign into Moldavia led by Field marshal Stephan Graf Stainville. They gained ground due to boyars who collaborated with them, once again. They progressed until Iași and captured the city very briefly in January 1717 following fierce resistance from the Ottoman garrison. However, an Ottoman-led attack was launched on the city shortly after Ottoman vassal Prince of Moldavia Mihai Racoviță asked for assistance from the Nogai Tatars in Yedisan, a territory of the Ottoman Empire in modern-day Ukraine. After this disastrous battle, the Habsburgs withdrew completely from Moldavia, resulting in an Ottoman victory on the Moldavian front of the war. The Habsburgs would also soon be kicked out of Wallachia by the end of 1716.

References

• Zinkeisen, Johann W. [in German] (2011) [1857]. Afyoncu, Erhan (ed.). Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Tarihi [History of the Ottoman Empire] (PDF) (in Turkish). Vol. 5. Translated by Epçeli, Nilüfer. Istanbul: Yeditepe Yayınevi. ISBN 9786054052691.