Editing Prince Eugene of Savoy (section)

==== Battle of Zenta ====
{{Main|Battle of Zenta}}
The distractions of the war against Louis XIV had enabled the Turks to [[Siege of Belgrade (1690)|recapture Belgrade in 1690]]. In August 1691, the Austrians, under Louis of Baden, regained the advantage by heavily defeating the Turks at the [[Battle of Slankamen]] on the Danube, securing Habsburg possession of Hungary and Transylvania.{{sfn | Setton | American Philosophical Society | 1991 | p=390}} When Baden was transferred west to fight the French in 1692, his successors, first Caprara, then from 1696, [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus the Strong]], the Elector of Saxony, proved incapable of delivering the final blow. On the advice of the President of the [[Imperial War Council]], [[Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg]], thirty-four-year old Eugene was offered supreme command of Imperial forces in April 1697.{{sfn | Spielman | 1977 | p=165|ps=: Augustus II left for [[Kraków]] to contest the election for the Polish throne, vacant since the death of John III Sobieski the previous year.}} This was Eugene's first truly independent command—no longer need he suffer under the excessively cautious generalship of Caprara and Carafa, or be thwarted by the deviations of Victor Amadeus. But on joining his army, he found it in a state of 'indescribable misery'.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=43}} Confident and self-assured, the Prince of Savoy (ably assisted by Commercy and [[Guido Starhemberg]]) set about restoring order and discipline.{{sfn | Spielman | 1977 | p=166}}

[[File:Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736).png|thumb|left|194x194px|''Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736)'' c. 1700. Flemish School.]] 
[[File:Battle of Zenta.png|thumb|upright|''Battle of Zenta'' by Jacques-Ignace Parrocel.]]

Leopold I had warned Eugene that "he should act with extreme caution, forgo all risks and avoid engaging the enemy unless he has overwhelming strength and is practically certain of being completely victorious",<ref name="Wheatcroft 2009 p. 230">{{cite book | last=Wheatcroft | first=A. | title=The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe | publisher=Random House | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4090-8682-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCmwFM8_QCoC&pg=PA230 |page=230}}</ref> but when the Imperial commander learnt of Sultan [[Mustafa II]]'s march on Transylvania, Eugene abandoned all ideas of a defensive campaign and moved to intercept the Turks as they crossed the River [[Tisza]] at [[Battle of Zenta|Zenta]] on 11 September 1697.

It was late in the day before the Imperial army struck. The Ottoman cavalry had already crossed the river so Eugene decided to attack immediately, arranging his men in a half-moon formation.{{sfn | Coxe | 1807 | pp=455–456}} The vigour of the assault wrought terror and confusion among the Turks, and by nightfall, the battle was won. For the loss of some 2,000 dead and wounded, Eugene had inflicted an overwhelming defeat upon the enemy with approximately 25,000 Turks killed—including the Grand Vizier, [[Elmas Mehmed Pasha]], the pashas of Adana, Anatolia, and Bosnia, plus more than thirty aghas of the [[Janissary|Janissaries]], [[sipahi]]s, and silihdars, as well as seven horsetails (symbols of high authority), 100 pieces of heavy artillery, 423 banners, and the revered seal which the sultan always entrusted to the Grand Vizier on an important campaign, Eugene had annihilated the Ottoman army and brought to an end the War of the Holy League.{{sfn | Setton | American Philosophical Society | 1991 | pp=401–402|ps=: Eugene lost 401 men and 28 officers killed, and 133 officers and 1,435 men were wounded.}} Although the Ottomans lacked western organization and training, the Savoyard prince had revealed his tactical skill, his capacity for bold decision, and his ability to inspire his men to excel in battle against a dangerous foe.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=43}}

After a brief terror-raid into [[Bosnia Eyalet|Ottoman Bosnia]], culminating in the [[Sacking of Sarajevo|sack of Sarajevo]], Eugene returned to [[Vienna]] in November to a triumphal reception.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=46}} His victory at Zenta had turned him into a European hero, and with victory came reward. Land in Hungary, given him by the Emperor, yielded a good income, enabling the Prince to cultivate his newly acquired tastes in art and architecture (see below); but for all his new-found wealth and property, he was, nevertheless, without personal ties or family commitments. Of his four brothers, only one was still alive at this time. His fourth brother, Emmanuel, had died aged 14 in 1676; his third, Louis Julius (already mentioned) had died on active service in 1683, and his second brother, Philippe, died of smallpox in 1693. Eugene's remaining brother, [[Louis Thomas, Count of Soissons|Louis Thomas]]—ostracized for incurring the displeasure of Louis XIV—travelled Europe in search of a career, before arriving in Vienna in 1699. With Eugene's help, Louis found employment in the Imperial army, only to be killed in action against the French in 1702. Of Eugene's sisters, the youngest had died in childhood. The other two, Marie Jeanne-Baptiste and Louise Philiberte, led dissolute lives. Expelled from France, Marie joined her mother in Brussels, before eloping with a renegade priest to [[Geneva]], living with him unhappily until her premature death in 1705. Of Louise, little is known after her early salacious life in Paris, but in due course, she lived for a time in a convent in Savoy before her death in 1726.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | pp=50–51}}

The Battle of Zenta proved to be the decisive victory in the long war against the Turks. With Leopold I's interests now focused on Spain and the imminent death of Charles II, the Emperor terminated the conflict with the Sultan; he signed the [[Treaty of Karlowitz]] on 26 January 1699.{{sfn | Coxe | 1807 | p=457}}