The Ottoman Empire ceded some land to Russia directly (red-green stripe) and indirectly via the independence of Crimean Khanate (yellow-green stripe) which the Russians would annex in 1783.
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (also spelled Kuchuk Kainarji) was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kaynardzha, Bulgaria) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Following the recent Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Kozludzha, the document ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and marked a defeat of the Ottomans in their struggle against Russia.[1] The Russians were represented by Field-Marshal Rumyantsev while the Ottoman side was represented by Musul Zade Mehmed Pasha.[1]
Ahmed Resmî Efendi was the chief Ottoman negotiator of the Kucuk-Kaynarca peace treaty.[2]
Russia returned Wallachia and Moldavia to the Ottoman Empire, but was given the right to protect Christians in the Ottoman Empire[citation needed], and to intervene in Wallachia and Moldavia in case of Ottoman misrule. Bukovina was ceded to Austria in 1775.[3] The Crimea was declared independent, but the sultan remained the religious leader of the Tatars as the Muslim caliph. This was the first time the powers of the Ottoman caliph were exercised outside of Ottoman borders and ratified by a European power. Russia gained Kabardia in the Caucasus, unlimited sovereignty over the port of Azov, the ports of Kerch and Enikale in the Kerch peninsula in the Crimea, and part of the Yedisan region between the Bug and Dnieper rivers at the mouth of the Dnieper.[3] This latter territory included the port of Kherson. Russia thus gained two outlets to the Black Sea, which was no longer an Ottoman lake. Restrictions imposed by the 1739 Treaty of Niš over Russian access to the Azov Sea and fortifying the area were removed. Russian merchant vessels were to be allowed passage of the Dardanelles. The treaty also granted Eastern Orthodox Christians the right to sail under the Russian flag and provided for the building of a Russian Orthodox Church in Constantinople (which was never built).
The treaty was a most humiliating blow to the once-mighty Ottoman realm.
"Here at 10–21 July 1774 was signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca between the representative of Catherine the Great, Count Peter Rumyantsev and the representative of Sultan Abdul Hamid I, the Grand Vizier Musul Zade Mehmed Pasha. Clause 7 of this treaty reads as follows: The Sublime Porte promises permanent protection of the Christian religion and its churches."
The Crimean Khanate, while nominally independent, was dependent on Russia and was formally annexed into the Russian Empire in 1783. Russia interpreted the treaty as giving them the right to protect Orthodox Christians in the Empire, notably using this prerogative in the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) to intervene during the last Phanariote rules and after the Greek War of Independence. In 1787, faced with increased Russian hostility, the Abdulhamid I declared war on Russia again.[3]
See also[]
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- History of the Russo-Turkish Wars
- List of treaties
- Internationalization of the Danube River
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (Turkish) Ömer Lütfi Barkan (1985). Ord. Prof. Ömer Lütfi Barkan'a armağan. Istanbul University. p. 48.
- ↑ Uyar, Mesut; Erickson, Edward J. (2009). A military history of the Ottomans: from Osman to Atatürk. ABC-CLIO. p. 116. ISBN 9780275988760. "Ahmed Resmi Efendi (1700–1783) was an early example of this new generation. After classical scribal training Ahmed Resmi served as ambassador to Vienna (1757–1758) and Berlin (1763–1764). Additionally, he performed important administrative duties at the front during the disastrous Ottoman-Russian was of 1768–1774, and he was the chief Ottoman negotiator of the Kucuk-Kaynarca peace treaty. Thanks to this unique combination of experiences he witnessed the direct results of the empire’s structural problems and was familiar with its military deficiencies."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hoiberg, Dale H., ed (2010). "Abdulhamid I". Encyclopedia Britannica. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.. pp. 22. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
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The original article can be found at Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and the edit history here.