Decline of Ottoman Military Power

As the discussion came up in the Templar thread http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=175& PN=1 - I wanted to throw some questions out here:

When did the military power of the Ottomans begin to decline?

What were the causes of their decline?

When did the Ottomans cease to be a threat to western Europe?

During the 16th century, which was also, paradoxically, the time of their military height.

Early signs of problems included Sulleyman's failure to take a poorly-fortified Vienna in 1529, as well as his failure to engage Charles V's field army in 1532 (and his Akincis cavalry were massacered in the Vienna Woods by Austrian troops).   These were considerable setbacks, after the triumph over the Hungarians at Mohacs in 1526.

The next big problem was Sulleyman's failure to take Malta in 1565. 

The biggest blow, however, came after Sulleyman's death, when the Turkish Navy was wiped out at Lepanto, in 1571.  More than any other single action, this battle broke the myth of Ottoman invinciblity for good.  Much has been made over the fact that the Turks were able to get another fleet in action the following year, but it was built of green wood, and the crews were inexperienced (John F. Guilmartin, author of the classic Gunpowder and Galleys, pointed out that the Ottomans never fully recovered from the loss of skilled manpower--captains, pilots, sailors, free oarsmen, naval janissaries, etc.--suffered at Lepanto).  During the following campaigning season, Ulich Ali was markedly reluctant to engage even the reduced Holy League Fleet, for he knew that the quality of his ships and men was lower at that point.

IMO it was primarily a matter of being spread too thin, and having to fight on several fronts (against the Hapsburgs in the West; against the Spanish, Venetians, Knights of Malta, and Uskoks at sea, and against the Persians in the East).  The Spanish had similar problems during the same century--they had to maintain their valuable overseas possessions in the New World and the Pacific against incursions by the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, and others; and they had to deal with the Moors, the Ottomans, and the Dutch and English in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Northern Europe.  Being a superpower can be a bitch (as we all know by now).

18th century.

Peace,

David

The first signs of decline of Ottoman empire started after Mehmed-pasha Sokollu's death in 1579. That continued untill Mehmed pasha Koprullu became grand vizier in 1656, who after seven decades again increased stability in the empire.....

But the real decline came after 1683 and that went worser in the 18th century, where Ottoman empire stopped to be one of major powers. In the 19th centuryit became a "sick man on bosphorus"...

Why it declined, answer is: Jealosy, corruption, bribery, intrigue, sexualism, favouritism and etc...

100,000? Definitially not! The numbers must have varied between 10,000 and 40,000.

The event you described happened in 1595 when the Wallachians (not Austrians) opened fire to the bridge from which the Ottoman Ak�nc� raiders were withdrawing. This event signalled the end of the Ak�nc� unit in the Ottoman army but the Delils and Crimean Tatars were continued to be used with the same purpose.

I thought and decided to ask;can't it be?

Mohacz was a short battle and the main event was the death of Hungarian Knights' because of the fire of Ottoman Cannons.After,they started to run and lots of them died in swamps as you know.

They could not make a big assault.

Battle Of Zenta was a disaster for Ottoman Military.(1697)

Sultan II.Mustafa attacks on Austrians two times before the battle.At the thirth the battle happens.Ottoman Forces were in defence first,but when Austrians fired their artillery instead of attacking to Ottomans the Ottoman soldiers began to retreat.But Austrians had had closed the escape routes.There was a big massacre....

After the Battle Otoomans lost 30.000 men while Ausrians lost only 500 men.

Also Ottoman supplies and the signet of the grand vizier took by Austrians.They took all the battle-tents includes the sultan's tent.

ChristCrusader;

I wanted an exemption for you;be careful.We stopped talkin about Turko-Greek,Armenian wars;they give nothing to us.

Here we are all neutral about historical events.

But if you behave like this again,you would be banned.

Be careful and neutral.I will not act like this again.

I am sorry it is not 500,it is 1500(still very low)