The collapse of the Ottoman army following its failure to take Vienna opened a new era in Ottoman relations with Europe. Aware of how weak the Ottoman Empire had become, Europe took the offensive. In a century and a half of nearly continuous warfare the Ottomans lost major territories in spite of continued efforts at traditional reform and attempts to modernize elements of the Ottoman army.

The War of the Holy League and the Peace of Karlowitz, 1683–1699

Louis XIV used the Ottoman attack on Vienna to invade the Spanish Netherlands, so that the Habsburgs were unable to follow up the Ottoman rout of 1683. If the French had continued their attack, the Ottomans might have been able to recover from the defeat. But as was to happen many times in their dealings with Europe, as soon as their ally achieved what it wanted in the West it made a separate peace, abandoning the Ottomans. Within a short time the Imperials were reinforced by contingents from Venice, Poland, Malta, Tuscany, and the papacy, with Russia joining soon afterward in return for Polish promises of concessions in the Ukraine. In the next two decades what armies the Porte could pull together fought on several fronts simultaneously: against the Habsburgs in Hungary, in Bosnia, and Serbia; against Poland in the Ukraine; against Venice in Dalmatia, Albania, and the Morea; and, finally, against the Russians in the Crimea and the Principalities.

The Austrian Front

Austrian advances into Hungary, the great landmark of Ottoman penetration of Europe, shattered Ottoman morale and organization.