Ottoman imperial decadence is finally halted by a notable family of imperial bureaucrats, the Koprulu family, which for more than forty years (1656-1703) provides the empire with grand viziers, combining ambition and ruthlessness with genuine talent.

Mehmet, followed by his son Ahmet, overhaul the bureaucracy and institute military reforms.

Crete and Lemnos are taken from Venice, and large provinces in Ukraine are wrested temporarily from Poland and Russia.

The Koprulu family also resumes the offensive against Austria, pushing the Ottoman frontier to within one hundred and twenty kilometers of Vienna.

An attempt in 1664 to capture the Habsburg capital is beaten back, but Ahmet Koprulu extorts a huge tribute as the price of a nineteen-year truce.

When it expires in 1683, the Ottoman army again invades Austria, laying siege to Vienna for two months, only to be routed ultimately by a relief force led by the king of Poland, Jan Sobieski.