ghaza in central and eastern europe 177
irresistible as destiny, of the fortunate sultan became supreme in the
governance of this new dominion.^56Likewise, after Buda was conquered in 1541 , Suleiman I’s Conquest Book de-
clares that the sultan made it into an abode of Islam in part by converting
the large churches into mosques where his soldiers could render their Friday
prayers.^57
Whereas Buda, Constantinople, Uyvar, Varat, Bozca Island, and Kamaniçawere all military conquests, and the treatment of their religious buildings was
a given, the same cannot be said of the churches and synagogues in Istan-
bul. What is new is the linkage made in the late seventeenth century between
lands taken after overcoming resistance and those destroyed by natural disas-
ter. Evliya Çelebi juxtaposes the sultan’s participation in ghaza, the conversion
of churches to mosques within conquered citadels, and the construction of
the Valide Sultan Mosque in Istanbul. Before narrating the construction of the
mosque in the formerly largest Jewish neighborhood of the city in Eminönü, he
concludes the section on “the wars in which the sultan participated in person”
by writing, “Thank God! The aforementioned citadels [Candia, Kamaniça] being
conquered, they were added to the domains of Islam, and all churches within
were converted into Muslim places of worship where Muslims worshipped and
rendered the fi ve daily prayers. Praise the Creator! These conquests occurred
during the just reign of Sultan Mehmed IV Khan. May God grant him a long
life and permit many more ghazas.”^58 Using similar language to legitimize the
conversion of churches, synagogues, and enemy territories contributed to the
production of Mehmed IV’s image, and that of other members of the dynasty,
including his mother, as warriors for the religion or at least its defenders.
Not only spaces were converted during these wars; so were soldiers. Otto-man narratives of the period discuss conversions to Islam during or following
battles. Enemy soldiers converted after defeat, imprisonment, and being sent
before the sultan. According to an archival document, in 1661 –62 the keeper
of the main citadel on the Dardanelles, Mustafa Pasha, sent to the sultan four
men, including a Venetian, who had all deserted the enemy’s battleships and
gone over to the Ottoman side.^59 Although the men’s subsequent fate was not
recorded, one wonders why the pasha did not detain them and enroll them
on the Ottoman side, as did other commanders. Instead, he sent them to the
sultan, where it is most likely they converted to Islam and served in the pal-
ace. At that point, after having deserted the battlefi eld and submitted to a new
leader, nothing less could be expected of them.
Civilians also converted to Islam in the context of war. When women andchildren were found in citadels, they were sold into slavery. Besieged Christians