On June 17, 1882, under the cover of the Austrian Navy, the Anti-Turkish Alliance launched simultaneous attacks across five major war zones.
From the Caucasus to the Black Sea, from the Mediterranean to the Middle East, over twenty thousand miles of continuous battlefield set the record for the longest battlefront in human history.
If Franz hadn't set his sights on the Iraqi region, perhaps Persia would have also joined the Anti-Turkish Alliance.
A case of one's downfall leading to another's demise?
Nonexistent!
The two are old adversaries, and without delving into ancient history, just the refugee crisis following the last Near Eastern war was enough to set the two countries at each other's throats.
After the outbreak of the Third Near Eastern War, the Persian people were equally eager to try, but Austria didn't include them in the game.