January 9 is the anniversary of the end of World War I's very extended Gallipoli campaign, which lasted eight and a half months starting from late April 1915. In full disclosure, the date is a bit misleading--while "January 9" is the date upon which the last British (Canadian, if you want to be particular about … Continue reading Today in European history: the Gallipoli campaign ends (1916)
Tag: ottoman empire
Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)
The feud between the Knights Hospitaller (aka the Knights of Rhodes and, later, the Knights of Malta) and the Ottoman Empire follows the standard big budget movie trilogy playbook, assuming you’re OK with casting the Knights as the protagonists. The saga begins with the Ottoman siege of Rhodes in 1480, from which the heavily outnumbered … Continue reading Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Konya (1832)
The Battle of Konya, fought on December 21, 1832, was the decisive battle in the 1831-1833 Ottoman-Egyptian War, and in that sense it serv—I’m sorry, you had a question? Yes, the Ottoman-Egyptian War of 18—yes? Oh, right. We’re skipping over a very important detail. The Ottomans conquered Egypt and ended the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, and in … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Konya (1832)
Today in Middle Eastern history: General Allenby comes to Jerusalem (1917)
In a sense, if you’re into this sort of thing, there are some parallels you could draw between the British army’s capture of Jerusalem and the Crusades. I mean, Edmund Allenby was technically a European Christian, and there he was, on December 11, 1917, marching into having successfully conquered the city that had been the … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: General Allenby comes to Jerusalem (1917)
Today in European History: the Russians capture Plevna (1877)
Although they’ve settled into a kind of love-hate rut nowadays, historically relations between the precursors of modern Russia and modern Turkey have tended not to be so great. Consider that the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, two of those precursors, fought a whopping 12 wars against one another between the second half of the … Continue reading Today in European History: the Russians capture Plevna (1877)
Today in European history: the Battle of Sinop (1853)
Apart from the Charge of the Light Brigade (the actual charge, but also the poem), the Crimean War (1853-1856) is best known as the first “modern” war, in that it was during the Crimean War when later military staples like rail, telegraphs, trenches, and rifled firearms and artillery first got tested in a major engagement. Oh, … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Sinop (1853)
Today in European history: the Battle of Varna (1444)
The Battle of Varna in 1444 was arguably the most important Ottoman victory in Europe prior to their conquest of Constantinople, especially if you consider its effects alongside those of the (second) Battle of Kosovo in 1448. The Ottoman success at Varna shattered a Hungarian-Polish alliance that had been formed to counter the Turkish threat. That alliance … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Varna (1444)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the last Ottoman Sultan is deposed (1922)
The removal of the last Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI Vahideddin (d. 1926), is among history's greatest anti-climaxes. The Ottomans had (obviously) lost World War I, which resulted in the dismantling of their empire under the terms of their 1918 armistice and the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. Sèvres not only put the empire's Arab dominions under … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the last Ottoman Sultan is deposed (1922)
Today in European history: the Second Battle of Kosovo ends (1448)
When you mention the names of some famous battles, everybody knows which engagement you're talking about. There's only one “Battle of Actium,” for example, and the 1815 “Battle of Waterloo” is unlikely to be confused with any other “Battle of Waterloo” that may have taken place. That’s not always the case, though. If you want … Continue reading Today in European history: the Second Battle of Kosovo ends (1448)
Today in European history: the Siege of Vienna ends (1529)
The city of Vienna has kind of an odd but prominent place in Ottoman history. It was never part of the empire, but two Ottoman attempts to conquer it bookend the period of the empire’s greatest territorial reach and military power. The second of those attempts, the 1683 Battle of Vienna, serves as the empire’s high water … Continue reading Today in European history: the Siege of Vienna ends (1529)
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