Habsburgovci a Osmani. Prvé vzájomné stretnutia – vzťah k Benátkam a uhorské mierové sprostredkovanie (1495 – 1519)
The Habsburgs and the Ottomans. The First Mutual Contacts – Relation to Venice and the Hungarian Peace Mediation (1495 – 1519)

Summary/Abstract: Historiography of the Habsburg - Ottoman relations puts emphasis mainly on the period after the Battle of Mohacs (1526 – 1699). Although the emphasis is justified, sometimes it gives the impression that the Ottomans came to the awareness of a European-wide politics only in the first half of the 16th century. Contrary to it, this contribution shows the Ottomans became an integral part of the "big" European politics already during the second half of the 14th century. Similarly, the mutual relations of the Habsburgs and Ottomans can be traced to the turn of the 14th and 15th century. Although the Ottoman Empire did not border directly on the Habsburg hereditary Austrian territories, the Ottoman raiders exceeding the Hungarian territory were plundering not only Croatia and Hungary but also Carniola, Carinthia and Styria at least since 1408. In specific situations the Ottoman raiders collaborated with local nobles in Bosnia or Hungary, but also in Carniola. Moreover, the Hungarian and Polish kings too did not hesitate to cooperate with the Ottomans to achieve their own goals. These facts created pressure on the Emperor Frederick III and later on his son Maximilian I to ensure efficient protection of the Austrian lands against the Ottomans. In addition to the military measures, Habsburgs began to work on diplomatic field too. Frederick III established unofficial contacts with the grand vizier in Constantinople. He managed to bribe him, and thus achieved the cessation of predatory raids for some time. Maximilian I moved diplomacy towards the Ottomans to a higher level. He established official diplomatic relations with Sultan Beyazid II and Selim I. Also, through his own and Hungarian diplomacy he succeeded to incorporate his territories to the Ottoman - Hungarian peace treaties and thus protect them. In the course of the Great Wars of Italy Maximilian tried in vain to get military support from the sultans against Venice. Although he was not always succesful he set the corner stone for the future pattern of the permanent Habsburg – Ottoman diplomacy.

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