Peace of Žitava

(Redirected from Treaty of Zsitva-Torok)

The Peace of Zsitvatorok or Peace of Žitava (Hungarian and Slovak name, respectively), established on November 11 1606, ended the Long War or Fifteen Years War between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy.

It was signed at the former mouth of the Žitava River (Hungarian: Zsitva) into the Danube in Royal Hungary (today Slovakia), in what was later the mini-settlement Žitavská Tôňa (Zsitvatorok in Hungarian) in (? or near? or identical with?) today's Žitava, a part of the village Radvaň nad Dunajom (Dunaradvány).

The peace was signed for 20 years. Under the terms of the treaty, the Ottomans received 200,000 guldens (instead of annual tributes of 30,000 guldens which they had received before the war) and both side kept the territories occupied by them. The Ottomans recognized the Habsburgs as equal partners for the first time in history - they recognized that they were Roman Emperors (Holy Roman Emperors), not only "Kings of Vienna" (as they called them before). The treaty also prohibited Ottoman looting campaigns to the territory of Royal Hungary and stipulated that Hungarian settlements under Turkish rule can collect taxes themselves by means of the village judges and Ottomans acknowledge the tax-free privilege of nobles. These later terms were never really complied by the Turks. The treaty was also part of the system of peace-treaties which put an end to the anti-Habsburg uprising of Stephen Bocskay (1604-1606).

The treaty was signed between Sultan Ahmed I and Archduke Matthias of Habsburg despite strong opposition on the part of Emperor Rudolf II, Matthias's brother.

The Ottomans' inability to penetrate further into Habsburg territory (Royal Hungary) during the Long War was one of their first geopolitical defeats. It forced the Ottomans to acknowledge the equality of their opponents and end further aggression for decades. However, warfare between the two powers continued in further Ottoman wars in Europe.

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