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Soon after his accession in 1564, Maximilian II had a problem on his Hungarian frontier. Troops loyal to the voivode of Transylvania conquered the fortress-town of Szatmár (Satu Mare),1 the anchor of Habsburg territory east of the river Tisza.2 By his own account, the emperor reacted cautiously, lest he seem to violate the Habsburg-Ottoman peace treaty of 1562. He sent no troops until Ottoman regulars supported a further attack from Transylvania.3 His forces retook Szatmár and some towns hitherto held by Transylvania, but their success helped provoke a reaction. On 18 November 1565, the Sublime Porte announced that Sultan Suleyman would march to Hungary in the spring.4 In 1566, the Habsburgs suffered their worst defeat in the long history of the Ottoman wars. In Hungary, Szigetvár was lost and so was Gyula. Maximilian's army, assembled at great cost, accomplished little and broke up in disarray.5
For the rest of his reign, Maximilian II's policy toward the Porte was guided by a recognition of Ottoman military superiority. Reversal of the recent losses was not possible; even before the catastrophic campaign of 1566, no one thought the Habsburg monarchy capable of a full-scale invasion of Ottoman territory.6 Some advisers recommended a coalition with other Christian princes, but there were always obstacles to an alliance.7 In 1571, Maximilian's adherence to the Hispano-Venetian Holy League would have required lengthy consultation with the Imperial Diet.8 When Poland-Lithuania was to elect a new king in 1572, Maximilian approved the organization of a candidacy on behalf of one of his sons, Archduke Ernst, but support in the Polish Sejm for the Ottoman candidate, Henri of Valois, was too strong. Two years later, when the French prince returned to a vacant throne in Paris, Maximilian advanced his own candidacy and was elected by the Polish Senate; but the lower house of the Sejm blocked the Senate's wishes, securing the election of another Ottoman candidate, Voivode István Báthory of Transylvania.9 The alternative to an anti-Ottoman military coalition was negotiation with the Porte. As this essay shows, Maximilian's Ottoman diplomacy addressed one key problem: How to prevent Ottoman conquerors from dictating a settlement to Habsburg subjects along the border, as prescribed in a Turkish document,...