Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570)
| Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570) | |||||||||
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| Part of the Russo-Turkish Wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Tsardom of Russia |
.svg){kind=small} Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Ivan IV of Russia Prince Serebianov |
Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Devlet I Giray Kasim Paşa |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 15,000 men | 2000 spakh, 1,500 Janissaries, 5,000 Tatar cavalrymen, few thousand Irregular soldiers | ||||||||
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The Russo–Turkish War (1568–1570) (which is referred to in the Ottoman sources as the Astrakhan Expedition) is a war between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The casus belli was the Astrakhan Khanate.
In 1556, the khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible, who had a new fortress built on a steep hill overlooking the Volga. In 1568 the Grand Vezier Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, who was the real power in the administration of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim, initiated the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival. The results presaged the many disasters to come. A plan to unite the Volga and Don by a canal was detailed in Constantinople and in the summer of 1569 a large force under Kasim Paşa of 1,500 Janissaries, 2000 Spakhs, and few thousand Azaps, and Akıncıs, were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov.
But a sortie of the garrison under Knyaz Serebianov, the military governor of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers; a Russian relief army of 15,000 attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force (5,000 men) sent for their protection; and finally, the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm.
Early in 1570, the ambassadors of Ivan IV of Russia concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the Tsar.
