Many things caused the Ottoman decline. The first thing that showed the weakness of the Ottoman Empire was the fact that they needed communication, they sent ambassadors over to Europe and Europe sent ambassadors to the empire. Also military defeats caused the rulers to go into new war styles and hire new people to modernize the military. Throughout the 18th century the Ottomans fought with the Europeans and the new military leaders in Persia. The government was entangled, in alliances and competing interests, with Britain, France, Austria, and Russia, all of which had designs on certain segments of Ottoman territory. The empire already lost Hungary and Transylvania to Austria by the Peace of Carolowitz. Also wars with Russia took their toll on the Empire forcing another treaty in which the OE gave up Crimea, allowed Russia to interfere in the affairs of Orthodox Christians in the empire, and...