10

The Failed Final Jihad

After the conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed the Conqueror made

a glorious entrance into the city at Edirne Gate and rode through

the streets en route to Hagia Sophia. He hoped to crown his reign

with the conquest of Rome. En route to Vienna, Suleiman I pa-

raded through streets decorated in classical triumphal arches in the

manner of Roman triumphs after commissioning Venetian artisans

to produce a marvelous crown similar to a papal tiara, emperor’s

mitre crown, and ceremonial Habsburg helmets, uniting symbols

of Christian imperial regalia.^1 Convert maker Mehmed IV’s exodus

from his imperial capital and journey to Serbia en route to an antici-

pated triumphal horseback ride through Vienna was reminiscent of

the processions of his two illustrious predecessors. What better way

to promote the greatness of the Ottoman dynasty than by defeating

its greatest rival, the empire that controlled lands bordering Ottoman

Europe? What other action could justify the effective move of the

imperial seat to Edirne, the abode of the ghazis? Taking the Habsburg

city would cause Mehmed IV to be remembered among the preemi-

nent ghazis in Ottoman history. And by taking his son out of the cage

and along on campaign with him, to show him to the people, Meh-

med IV, by this point over forty years old, was also breaking with tra-

dition. He was giving his son a lesson in ghazi warfare, as he had on

the Kamaniça campaign, and promoting him as his rightful successor

through his presence on what would be an illustrious campaign lead-

ing to the conversion of people and places in central Europe.^2