3 OF 6

At Constantinople Mahmud I (1730-1754) succeeded Ahmed III. At St Petersburg Catherine I succeeded her husband, Peter the Great (1725-172 7). The Russian government continued the policy of seeking access to the "warm seas" begun by Peter the Great. Allied with Austria, the Empress Anna (1730-1740) went to war against Turkey and, unlike Austria, won splendid victories: in 1737 Ochakov was taken and in 1739 Moldavia was occupied. For the first time the Russians began to entertain the notion of taking Constantinople and re-establishing the ancient Byzantine Empire. This time Mahmud was more successful against Austria.

He recaptured Belgrade and soon (1739) peace was declared there through the intercession of France. It was the most favourable treaty which the Porte had ever managed to obtain. The Turks kept Belgrade, the Russians lost the right of navigation on the Black Sea. They would henceforth be forced to carryon trade there with foreign ships flying the Turkish flag. However they regained the right to keep a permanent ambassador at Constantinople and the Tsarina was acknowledged by the Sultan.

But everything changed when Catherine II (1762-1796) was crowned. Under the sway of her favourite, Gregory Alexandrovich Potemkin, the 'Semiramis of the North' turned her attention to the southern regions of her Empire. By ukase on 15th December 1783, the Tsarina annexed all regions designated as "Ukraine", which means in Russian "border lands". With one stroke of her pen she abolished the office of the Hetman, the
Sultan Mustafa II (1757-1774) did not allow himself to be deceived by their intentions. After a long interval he declared war on Catherine II in 1768. It was a devastating war, lasting for six years and fought on both land and sea. It was all the more devastating because the Tsarina had declared the intention of "doing away with Turkey once and for all" and had refused to accept any foreign intercession.

3 OF 6