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Siege of Vidin (1798)

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Siege of Vidin (1798)
DateApril–October 1798
Location
Vidin, Ottoman Empire
Result Ottoman failure
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire Pashalik of Vidin
Commanders and leaders
Ottoman Empire Küçük Hüseyin Pasha
Ottoman Empire Ali Pasha of Ioannina
Ottoman Empire Hadji Mustafa Pasha		 Osman Pazvantoğlu
Strength
Ottoman Empire 40,000–100,000 soldiers
Ottoman Empire 40 artillery pieces
Ottoman Empire 15 gunboats		 10,000–12,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Ottoman Empire Considerable Unknown

The siege of Vidin was a siege by the Ottoman Empire aimed at subduing Osman Pazvantoğlu, a regional governor who had declared de facto independence and rebelled against Ottoman authority.

Background

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In 1795, Osman Pazvantoğlu revolted against the Ottoman Empire. His forces consisted of mercenaries, Albanian irregulars, and Janissaries from Bosnia and Serbia. Initially, he captured much of northwest Bulgaria and conducted raids into central and eastern Rumelia, as well as parts of Wallachia and the Belgrade Pashalik.[1][2]

In response, the Ottoman Empire launched a campaign with 40,000 soldiers and besieged Vidin from 1795 to 1796, but the siege failed.[3][4] Pazvantoğlu's raids continued until 1797, when an Ottoman army led by Ali Pasha of Ioannina defeated his forces and restricted his control to the Vidin region.[5][6][7]

Siege

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After multiple failed campaigns against Osman Pazvantoğlu, Sultan Selim III appointed Küçük Hüseyin Pasha to lead an Ottoman army estimated between 40,000 (low end) and 100,000.[8][9][10] This included 20,000 troops reluctantly sent by Ali Pasha of Ioannina, who hesitated to appear subservient to the Sultan, particularly in front of French observers. Ali even tried to avoid compliance by having Karpenisi residents petition the Patriarch of Constantinople, citing fears of bandits if he left the region, but his efforts were unsuccessful.[11]

On 5 February 1798, Hüseyin’s army marched on Vidin and fully encircled it by mid-April. Hüseyin offered Pazvantoğlu terms of surrender, guaranteeing his life and dignity. Pazvantoğlu refused, reportedly stating he could defeat Hüseyin with 100,000 troops but preferred to do so with only 10,000.[12]

The siege was plagued by setbacks, including repelled assaults, the destruction of the Ottoman gunboat fleet, and outbreaks of disease and desertion. On 1 June, the French invasion of Egypt forced the Ottomans to divert resources south. A final night assault in autumn ended in disaster as Ottoman forces mistakenly fired on each other.[13] By late October 1798, the siege was abandoned, and the army withdrew to focus on the Egyptian crisis.[14][15][16]

To shift blame for the failure of the siege, Hüseyin accused Aljo Pasha of treason, had him beheaded, and sent his head to Constantinople.[17]

Aftermath

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In 1799, Osman Pazvantoğlu was pardoned by the Sultan and officially recognized as the governor of Vidin. He was granted the titles of Pasha and Vizier.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ Glenny, Misha (2012-11-01). The Balkans, 1804–2012: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers. Granta Publications. ISBN 978-1-84708-772-0.
  2. ^ Mccarthy, Justin (2014-06-06). The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-89048-5.
  3. ^ Ágoston, Gábor; Masters, Bruce Alan (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7.
  4. ^ Seton-Watson, Robert William (1966). The Rise of Nationality in the Balkans. Рипол Классик. ISBN 978-5-87799-385-3.
  5. ^ Mccarthy, Justin (2014-06-06). The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-89048-5.
  6. ^ Peacock, A. C. S. (2009-12-03). The Frontiers of the Ottoman World. OUP/British Academy. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-19-726442-3. He routed Pasvanoğlu in 1797, dealing the governor of Vidin a serious blow but one that he survived.
  7. ^ Armour, Ian D. (2012-11-22). A History of Eastern Europe 1740-1918: Empires, Nations and Modernisation. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-84966-661-9.
  8. ^ Kreiser, Klaus (2010-10-01). Der Osmanische Staat 1300-1922 (in German). Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-486-70107-4.
  9. ^ Kanitz (1879). Donau-Bulgarien und der Balkan: historisch-geographisch-ethnographische Reisestudien aus den Jahren 1860-1879 (in German). Fries.
  10. ^ Aksan, Virginia (2021-09-27). The Ottomans 1700-1923: An Empire Besieged. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-44036-2.
  11. ^ Russell, Quentin; Russell, Eugenia (2017-09-30). Ali Pasha, Lion of Ioannina: The Remarkable Life of the Balkan Napoleon. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-7722-1.
  12. ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1876). Geschichte der Bulgaren (in German). Olms. ISBN 978-3-487-06408-6.
  13. ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1876). Geschichte der Bulgaren (in German). Olms. ISBN 978-3-487-06408-6.
  14. ^ Mccarthy, Justin (2014-06-06). The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-89048-5. but Osman was saved by the withdrawal of Ottoman forces to fight a war against Napoleon.
  15. ^ Armour, Ian D. (2012-11-22). A History of Eastern Europe 1740-1918: Empires, Nations and Modernisation. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-84966-661-9.
  16. ^ Gallant, Thomas W. (2015-01-21). Edinburgh History of the Greeks, 1768 to 1913. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-3607-5.
  17. ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1876). Geschichte der Bulgaren (in German). Olms. ISBN 978-3-487-06408-6. Kapudan Pascha brachte dem Sultan weder Pasvan's noch seinen eigenen Kopf, sondern liess, um die Schuld von sich abzuwälzen, den Aljo Pascha als Verräther enthaupten und seinen Kopf nach Stambul bringen.
  18. ^ Fleet, Kate; Faroqhi, Suraiya N.; Kasaba, Reşat (2006-11-02). The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62095-6.
  19. ^ Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü (2010-03-28). A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14617-1.
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