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| 1877, March 19 |
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| Opening of the Ottoman Parliament in Istanbul. It met until June 19, reconvened on Dec. 13, and was dissolved by the sultan on Feb. 14, 1878. During its brief existence the assembly handled some legislation and budgetary matters, but the deputies were preoccupied mostly with the disastrous war with Russia and used the new forum for attacking the government's handling of the war. | 1 |
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| April–1878, March |
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| War with Russia. Failing to win support for a concerted European action following the unsuccessful conference in Istanbul, Russia declared war on the Ottomans (April 24, 1877) (See 1875–78). The Russians quickly overran some of the Ottoman defenses in Europe and eastern Anatolia (May–June 1877), but their hopes for a speedy advance on Istanbul and the Straits were frustrated by Ottoman resistance in Anatolia and Bulgaria. In the fall the Ottoman defenses finally collapsed, the Russians taking Sofia, Adrianople, and Kars. With Russian troops pressing ahead toward Istanbul, the sultan asked for an armistice (concluded, Jan. 31, 1878). | 2 |
| The Treaty of San Stefano (March 3, 1878) (See March 3) imposed harsh terms on the Ottomans. Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania were to become fully independent, with some additions of territory; a large autonomous Bulgaria stretching from the Black Sea to the Aegean was to be created; the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina was to be reformed; Russia was to gain substantial territories, including Kars, Ardahan, Bayezid, and Batum in eastern Anatolia and Bessarabia in Europe; reforms would be introduced in the areas of Anatolia inhabited by the Armenians; and the Ottomans were to paya huge indemnity. European pressure forced a revision of these terms in the Treaty of Berlin (See June 13–July 13). | 3 |
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