1644

China's decaying Ming dynasty swept away by Manchurian Qing dynasty.

1644

Execution of Charles I of England.

1645-1669

Siege of Venetian Candia, capital of Crete.

1648

The great earthquake of Istanbul.

1661

Another great fire in Istanbul.

1678

For the first time in decades, a sultan, Mehmed V the Huntsman, personelly leads an Austrian expedition as far as Belgrade.

1683

The second siege of Vienna, led by the ambitious Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasa. He overestimates his strength and commits the inwardly fragile Empire to an impossible project of conquest. With defeat, everything begins to crumble.

1686

The Ottomans are forced to evacuate Hungary.

1693

Istanbul is ravaged by yet another great fire.

1699

Peace of Karlowitz : loss of Pelopponese, Hungary, Podolia, Azov to Christian enemies.