Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War or the War of the Holy League ( , ) refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers , then joined into a Holy League , during the last decades of the 17th century . Background ( 1667 – 1683 ) . After Bohdan Khmelnytsky ' s rebellion , when the Tsardom of Russia acquired parts of Eastern Ukraine from the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , some Cossacks stayed in the southeast of the Commonwealth . Their leader , Petro Doroshenko , wanted to connect the rest of Ukraine with the Ottoman Empire , starting a rebellion against Hetman ( Polish army commander ) John III Sobieski . The Sultan Mehmed IV , who knew that the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth was weakened due to internal conflicts , attacked Kamianets - Podilskyi , a large city on the border . The small Polish force resisted the Siege of Kamenets for two weeks but was then forced to capitulate . The Polish Army was too small to resist the Ottoman invasion and could only score some minor tactical victories . After three months , the Poles were forced to sign the Treaty of Buchach in which they agreed to surrender Kamyanets - Podilsky , Podolia and to pay tribute to the Ottoman Sultan . When the news about the defeat and treaty terms reached Warsaw , the Sejm refused to pay the tribute and organized a large army under Jan Sobieski ; subsequently , the Poles won the battle of Khotyn ( 1673 ) . After King Michael ' s death in 1673 , Jan Sobieski was elected king of Poland ; he subsequently tried to defeat the Ottomans for four years , with no success . The war ended on October 17 , 1676 with the Treaty of Żurawno in which the Turks only retained control over Kamianets - Podilskyi . This Turkish attack also led in 1676 to the beginning of the Russo - Turkish Wars . The War . After a few years of peace , the Ottoman Empire attacked the Habsburg Empire . The Turks almost captured Vienna , but John III Sobieski led a Christian alliance that defeated them in the Battle of Vienna which stalled the Ottoman Empire ' s hegemony in south - eastern Europe . A new Holy League was initiated by Pope Innocent XI and encompassed the Holy Roman Empire ( headed by Habsburg Austria ) , Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Venetian Republic in 1684 , joined by Russia in 1686 . The second Battle of Mohács was a crushing defeat for the Sultan . The Turks were more successful on the Polish front and were able to retain Podolia during their battles with the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth . Russia ' s involvement marked the first time the country formally joined an alliance of European powers . This was the beginning of a series of Russo - Turkish Wars , which continued into the 20th century . As a result of the Crimean campaigns and Azov campaigns , Russia captured the key Ottoman fortress of Azov . Following the decisive Battle of Zenta in 1697 and lesser skirmishes ( such as the Battle of Podhajce in 1698 ) , the League won the war in 1699 and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign the Treaty of Karlowitz . The Ottomans ceded most of Hungary , Transylvania and Slavonia to the Habsburg Empire while Podolia returned to Poland . Most of Dalmatia passed to Venice , along with the Morea ( the Peloponnese peninsula ) , which the Ottomans reconquered in 1715 and regained in the Treaty of Passarowitz of 1718 . References .