Battle of Zenta

Battle of Zenta
Part of the Great Turkish War and the Ottoman–Habsburg wars
Battle of Zenta, 11 September 1697 by Franz Eisenhut
Date 11 September 1697 Location Near Zenta, Kingdom of Hungary, occupied by the Ottoman Empire Present-day Senta, Vojvodina, Serbia 45°55′34″N 20°05′53″E / 45.92611°N 20.09806°E / 45.92611; 20.09806 Result Holy League victory Treaty of Karlowitz End of the Great Turkish War
Belligerents
Habsburg Monarchy Kingdom of Hungary Serbian Militia	Ottoman Empire Crimean Tatars Kuruc rebels
Commanders and leaders
Eugene of Savoy Guido Starhemberg Sigbert Heister Charles-Thomas de Vaudémont Jovan Popović Tekelija	Mustafa II Mehmed Pasha † Emeric Thököly
Strength
50,000 men[1][a] 34,000 infantry 16,000 cavalry 60 guns[2]	75,000–100,000 men[3][b] 200 guns[2]
Casualties and losses
429 killed[c] 1,598 wounded[5]	30,000 killed, wounded, or drowned[3][6][7][1][d]

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. Exploiting the Ottomans’ vulnerable position mid-crossing, the Habsburg army inflicted heavy casualties, including the death of the Grand Vizier, while dispersing the remaining Ottoman troops. The victors also captured the Ottoman treasury and symbolic regalia, including the Seal of the Empire, an unprecedented event in Ottoman military history. In contrast, the Holy League sustained minimal losses.

The immediate aftermath of the battle saw the Ottoman Empire lose control of the Banat, while Eugene of Savoy advanced further by conducting raids into Ottoman Bosnia. The defeat at Zenta was among the most severe suffered by the Ottoman Empire, contributing directly to the conclusion of the Great Turkish War. The conflict formally ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, which forced the Ottomans to cede significant territories, including Croatia, Hungary, Transylvania, and Slavonia to the Habsburgs. The treaty marked the end of Ottoman dominance in Central Europe and established Habsburg hegemony in the region.^[9]

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