JAN SOBIESKI: The King Who Saved Europe by Miltiades Varvounis

Author:Miltiades Varvounis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xlibris
Published: 2012-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

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Siege and Agony

It was almost evening, on 14 July, when in front of Vienna an Ottoman city of tents was raised: on a height on the west side the residential tents of the Grand Vizier were pitched, the place of command and the treasury of the expedition. His park, that is to say, the space enclosed by his tents, near the Ravelin Palace, was as extensive as the city he besieged. The lustre of the richest materials of gold and jewels seemed to contend with the highly polished glare of arms. It was furnished with baths, fountains, gardens and even curious animals for his amusement. He shut himself up with his concubines and the Imam, or minister of religion, threatened him with the divine indignation, but Kara Mustafa laughed at his menaces and plunged himself deeper in debauchery. He, in the intoxication of his pride, believed no obstacle possible. He measured the world, while his thoughts created new empires. Thanks to him, the children of Allah were about to take possession of the entire inheritance promised them by the Prophet Muhammad. His name, great and glorious, would go down to posterity beside, or rather above, that of Mehmed IV—his master through the caprice of fortune, but his slave in point of glory. Glory! The world was his; the destinies of Europe hung upon the point of his cimeter; and the entrance, the gateway to such vast conquests and so many wonders was in front of his eyes!

The excitement of Kara Mustafa could be understood from the vast size of his army. In total, around 30,000 troops were allocated to the siege; the remaining 90,000 or so were required to seal off the fortress, provide protection for the siege itself, act as reserves and carry raids to the surrounding countryside. The rest of the Ottoman troops were stationed in Gyor and other minor Habsburg-held Hungarian cities to besiege them or support Thokoly’s campaign near Pressburg. The Viennese observed with dreadful anxiety their opponents’ swarm of tents placed in an irregular crescent, which gave an appalling, frightening idea of the total force of effective men encamped around them. Never was before a besieged city in a more desperate situation.

Kara Mustafa sent in a summons to surrender, according with the customary Ottoman demand on such occasion. Trumpets sounded and an Ottoman janissary officer with a small escort rode up to the walls and gave a document to a Croat soldier, waiting for a reply. The summons read: ‘Accept Islam and live in peace under the Sultan! Or deliver up the fortress and live in peace under the Sultan as Christians; and if any man prefer, let him depart peaceably, taking his goods with him! But if you resist the Will of Allah, then death or spoliation or slavery shall be the fate of you all! Fight and you die! Surrender and you live!’

Von Starhemberg turned down Kara Mustafa’s demand for capitulation: ‘We will all die here, in defense of a city we love.’

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