Khotin 1621, or how the Poles changed the course of Ottoman history

This article underlines the close connection between the disappointing performance of the Ottoman central army during the siege of Khotin, which was defended by the forces of the Polish — Lithuanian Commonwealth in the fall of 1621, and the regicide of the Ottoman sultan Osman II in the spring of 1622. Interpreting the regicide of Osman II within the larger context of the Ottoman military rebellions of the late 16th century and the later depositions of the 17th century, this study suggests looking at the history of the Ottoman Empire in 17th and 18th centuries from a fresh perspective that would emphasise the transformation of the Ottoman political structures in this period to create — what the author calls — the “Second Empire”