TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Battle · 1697
The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, took place on 11 September 1697 near Zenta, in the Kingdom of Hungary, then under Ottoman occupation (present-day Serbia). It was a decisive engagement of the Great Turkish War, fought between the forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League. The battle resulted in a significant Ottoman defeat against a numerically inferior Habsburg force acting on behalf of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1697, the Ottoman Empire launched a renewed campaign to reclaim Hungary, with Sultan Mustafa II personally leading the invasion force. While the Ottoman army was in the process of crossing the Tisza River near Zenta, it was engaged in a surprise attack by Habsburg Imperial forces commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy.
| Date | 11 September 1697 |
|---|---|
| Location | Near Zenta, Kingdom of Hungary, occupied by the Ottoman Empire, Present-day Senta, Vojvodina, Serbia, |
| Result | Holy League victory |
| Belligerents | Habsburg Monarchy Kingdom of Hungary Serbian Militia | Ottoman Empire Crimean Tatars Kuruc rebels |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Eugene of Savoy Guido Starhemberg Sigbert Heister Charles-Thomas de Vaudémont Jovan Popović Tekelija | Mustafa II Mehmed Pasha † Emeric Thököly |
| Strength | 50,000 men 34,000 infantry 16,000 cavalry 60 guns | 50,000–100,000 men 200 guns |
| Casualties | 429 killed and 1,598 wounded (according to Holy League reports) | ≈ as high as 30,000 killed, wounded, or drowned (according to some modern historians); 7,000–8,000 losses (according to some Ottoman chronicles). |
The battle resulted in a spectacular victory for Austria. The main Ottoman army was scattered and the Austrians gained complete freedom of action in Ottoman Bosnia. On 22 October after Eugene mounted a raid with six thousand cavalry including Serbian Militia of the Sava, Sarajevo was captured; after the Ottomans killed the messengers sent to ask them to surrender, the city was plundered and burned to the ground. After fourteen years of war, the battle at Zenta proved to be the catalyst for peace; within months mediators of both sides started peace negotiations in Sremski Karlovci under the supervision of English ambassador to Constantinople, William Paget.
Took place during the reign of Mustafa II (1695–1703). Mustafa II
Open the reign of Mustafa II on the mapText: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.