July 21: Signing of the Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire based in Austria, and the Republic of Venice, July 21, 1718.

Map of the Banat of Temeswar, Kingdom of Serbia and Military Frontier in 1718. The central Balkans in 1718. Territories passed from the Turks to Austria were: Banat of Tameswar, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia, Northern Bosnia, and Lesser Wallachia.

The Ottoman Turks began to invade Greek Aegean islands, continued with the Balkan Peninsula and, then Venice. But the Austrians defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Petrovaradin, during the called Austro-Turkish war, between 1716 and 1718, known as the Third Turkish War, out of the four who had the Turks against the Habsburgs, looking forward to invade the whole Europe.

It seems that there has been controversy about the origin of the name "Balkans". The Turks say it means "Mountains" in Turkish.

The Slavs say it means "war" (Valka) that, in fact, has been the life of the Balkan people from the time of Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great.

 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Neptune offers the wealth of the sea to Venice, 1748-1750. This painting is an allegory of the power of the Republic of Venice, as the wealth and power of theSerenissima was based on the control of the sea.

Ahmed III

The result of the Treaty of Passarowitz (in German) is summarized in the loss of Banat, the central part of present Serbia, a strip of Bosnia and Wallachia, by the defeated Turks. The Republic of Venice gave up the Peloponnese and retained only the Ionian Islands.

A Turkish hunting party with Ahmed III. Painting by Jean-Baptiste van Mour.