ghazi mehmed iv and candia 155
honored him with a benediction. The grand vizier took the standard upon his
shoulder and exited the palace grounds. As he set off for the front, the sul-
tan gave him an imperial writ emphasizing the imperial gaze, stating that he
would see how well laid were his plans and follow from afar how intelligently
he would proceed (99b).
Vani Mehmed Efendi and Grand Vizier Fazıl Ahmed Pasha exchanged fe-verish letters during the renewed siege efforts in 1 667 that illustrated their
desire to defeat the Venetians in the name of Islam.^51 Vani Mehmed Efendi
praised the grand vizier for battling in the cause of God and leading the Mus-
lims to (the not yet achieved) victory over infi dels. Because of his frequent
leading of military campaigns, Fazıl Ahmed Pasha is explicitly referred to as
a ghazi, “the one who raises the banner of jihad, repels infi dels and obstinate
deniers, is the ruler of the victorious and the rightly guided, and the combat-
ant on the path of God.”^52 The grand vizier had not merely a military mission,
but a religious one as well. Throughout the letters the two men referred to the
Venetians as “accursed,” whereas the Ottomans were “warriors of Islam,” com-
bining the geopolitical with a religious contest.
This fi rst renewed siege effort was unsuccessful. Vani Mehmed Efendicomforted the grand vizier by writing that no one has ever heard of such a well-
fortifi ed citadel falling in only one battle. He wrote that God always supports
and protects His servants, and prayed for conquest “which would gladden all
of mankind—save infi dels and sinners—who will face the tip of the sword of
victory.” He assured him that “God destroys what is false,” and signed the letter,
“the sincere friend who calls others to religion, Mehmed al-Vani.”^53
Fazıl Ahmed Pasha was also instrumental in bringing others to Islam, tes-tifying to Vani Mehmed Efendi’s claim that he was “true-hearted in proclaim-
ing the true religion to unbelievers, faithfully resolved to reinvigorate the way
of the messenger of God.”^54 In the spring of 1 667, the grand vizier left Chania
to besiege the citadel of Candia. Along with the entire army he paraded before
it. Suffering from lack of water, hunger, and fear, perhaps terrifi ed by the Mus-
lim battle cry, some fl ed the citadel and converted to Islam before Fazıl Ahmed
Pasha.^55
The commentator Hasan Agha continues to depict the sultan as a con-cerned sovereign dedicated to matters of state. He boasts, “Giving his com-
plete attention to the matter of the conquest of the islands, and ordering the
necessary troops and equipment to be sent to the front, the sultan decided
to journey to Eğriboz.”^56 Evliya Çelebi also assigns Mehmed IV a key role in
the fi nal effort in the conquest of Candia. He writes that the Muslim soldiers
before the citadel of Candia, learning that the sultan was traveling in person
to Eğriboz and intended to then pass over to Crete, “became frightened” and