Honored by the Glory of Islam. Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe

214 honored by the glory of islam

as a ghaza and those involved as ghazis and raiders (akıncı). Although he uses

the latter term, it is clear from other statements that he viewed the campaign

as war on the path of God. He hoped the siege would be successful and never

lost faith in the grand vizier, viewing him favorably until his execution. What

is most noticeable about the text is its physical state: it is poorly written and

full of crossed-out words; it is water-damaged, the top lines of many pages are

blurred, and red ink bleeds across many pages. It is symptomatic of the fate of

the campaign. In fact, it is in such fragile condition that researchers at Topkapı

Palace Museum Library are no longer permitted to read the original. Unlike the

endowment deed of the Valide Sultan Mosque from 1 663, or the presentation

copy of Kurdish Preacher Mustafa’s treatise of 1 675, which appear fl awless and

are embellished with gold, the condition of this narrative mimics the hasty,

chaotic fl ight of the grand vizier and the deteriorating state of Mehmed IV’s

reign following the siege.

The campaign began with a bad omen and ceremony. The sultan, referred

to still as a ghazi, his sons Mustafa and Ahmed, his favorite concubine, his com-

mander in chief the grand vizier, and Vani Mehmed Efendi left Edirne in April

and led the army through portentous rain and a sea of mud to Belgrade. The

sultan remained in a tent outside the city, the favorite and princes were sent to

a palace within, and Kara Mustafa Pasha and the preacher continued on after

a massive military procession and ceremony. During the ceremony, the sultan

sat on his throne in the head tent, his legs stretched out, his knees covered with

a red shawl.^15 The princes stood on his right, their shoulders leaning against

the throne. The sheikhulislam and Vani Mehmed Efendi were present when

the palace treasurer and turban bearer, after being given the sign by the sultan,

each pinned a jeweled round aigrette on the turban of the grand vizier, who also

received a jeweled sword and quiver and was cloaked in a sable fur. That year

nearly 1 0 percent of the Ottoman budget would be spent on nearly 2,500 robes

of honor.^16 The sultan then took Muhammad’s black wool banner in his hands,

kissed it, and handed it to the grand vizier, telling him he entrusted the noble

banner to him, and he entrusted the vizier to God.^17 Kara Mustafa Pasha kissed

the ground and the sultan’s preacher prayed.

Despite the bad omen of overcast weather, within two months more than

one hundred citadels and redoubts had been captured by the army of Islam.

When they captured the enemy’s positions, the Ottoman forces killed those

who had fought against them, offering no quarter, and rolled their heads on the

ground before the grand vizier. In the second week of July, with an insuffi cient

force, the grand vizier and his armies arrived before the well-defended gates of

the Habsburg capital to wait for its surrender. The fi rst skirmishes in the envi-

rons of Vienna went well as the Muslim ghazis captured heads, prisoners, and