The Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774: Catherine II and the Ottoman Empire

ISBN-13: 9781472508010 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 344 str.

Brian L. Davies

Opis

The Russo-Turkish War was one of the most decisive conflicts of the 18th century. In this book, Brian Davies offers a thorough survey of the war and explains why it was crucial to the political triumph of Catherine the Great, the southward expansion of the Russian Empire, and the rollback of Ottoman power from southeastern Europe. The war completed the incorporation of Ukraine into the Russian Empire, ended the independence of the great Cossack hosts, removed once and for all the military threat from the Crimean Khanate, began the partitions of Poland, and encouraged Catherine II to plan projects to complete the "liberation" of the lower Danubian and Balkan Slavs and Greeks. The war legitimated and secured the power of Catherine II, finally made the Pontic steppe safe for agricultural colonization, and won ports enabling Russia to control the Black Sea and become a leading grain exporter. Traditionally historians (Sorel, for example) have treated this war as the beginning of the "Eastern Question," the question of how the European powers should manage the decline of the Ottoman Empire. A thorough grasp of the Russo-Turkish War is essential to understanding the complexity and volatility of diplomacy in 18th-century Europe. This book will be an invaluable resource for all scholars and students on European military history and the history of Eastern Europe.

Recenzje

Brian L. Davies's new monograph is much to be welcomed . The reader comes away with a strong sense of the complexities and interconnections of East European and Black Sea affairs in the mid-eighteenth century and again in the aftermath of the war. Journal of Modern History

Spis treści

Preface1. Russia at a Strategic Crossroads, 1762-1768 2. The Ottoman Empire and its frontier in Pontic Europe 3. The Russian Empire and its Black Sea Steppe Frontier 4. The Russian Army at Midcentury 5. The Khotin Campaign, 1769 6. The Year of Victories, 1770 7. Stalemate and Breakthrough, 1771-1774 8. Peace, Reforms, and Provocations, 1774-1787 Conclusions NotesBibliographyIndex

O autorze

Brian L. Davies is Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio, USA