ZENTA, BATTLE OF

(Sept. 11, 1697), decisive military victory of Austrian forces over an Ottoman army at Zenta (now Senta, Yugos.) on the Tisa River during a war (168399) between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (AustriaPolandVeniceRussia), a victory that made Austria the foremost power in central Europe. In September 1697 the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Mustafa II, was overtaken by the Austrians under Prince Eugene of Savoy as it was crossing the river at Zenta. The Ottomans were panic stricken, and the grand vizier was killed on the battlefield by mutinous Janissaries; the Ottomans lost all their artillery as well as the sultan's treasure box to the Austrians. Mustafa II, who faced desertion by his ally France and had lost Azov to Russia (1696), was compelled to sue for peace (Treaty of Carlowitz, 1699).