Treaty of Karlowitz

26 January 1699: three instruments, not one treaty

On 26 January 1699, at the congress at Karlowitz in Sirmium, Ottoman representatives concluded separate peace instruments with representatives of Emperor Leopold I, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Venice.

The familiar singular name is shorthand for a set of bilateral settlements rather than one multilateral treaty signed by the coalition as a unit. Russia did not conclude a permanent peace at Karlowitz that day.

What each party kept

The imperial–Ottoman instrument recognized Transylvania and Bačka as remaining under Leopold I, while the province of Temesvár and territory toward Belgrade remained Ottoman.

The Polish settlement restored Podolia and Kamianets-Podilskyi to the Commonwealth and ended its tribute obligation. Venice retained the Morea and territories in Dalmatia, Albania and the Ionian sphere, and relinquished Athens.

Twenty articles, twenty days to tell the frontier

The imperial–Ottoman instrument ran to 20 articles and set the peace at a nominal 25 years. Wolfgang, Count of Oettingen, and Leopold Schlick signed and sealed the surviving Latin text, with William Paget and Jacob Colyer mediating between the imperial and Ottoman delegations.

The treaty declared peace effective from the day of signature, allowed 30 days for the exchange of ratifications, and 20 days for news to reach remote frontier officers.

Many clauses simply confirmed current possession and ordered later boundary surveys, so the territories did not all change hands on 26 January.