216 honored by the glory of islam
Let us listen again to his secretary of protocol. He describes the war be-tween the “enemies of religion,” “accursed and miserable infi dels,” and “herd
of rabid pigs,” the most ritually unclean of animals, destined to “burn in the
eternal fl ames of Hell” on one side, and on the other the soldiers or “army of
Islam” or “ghazis of Islam” fi ghting on the path of God, who were attentive to
their prayers and led by a commander “brave as a lion.”^24 He continued to be
in high hopes during the early stage of the siege, thanking God that it could
not be any other than a sign of victory that the infi dels found themselves cut
off in every direction and besieged, giving such a blow to Islam’s enemies that
it cannot be described. For him, the reason for the impending victory was un-
doubtedly the piety of the commander leading the Ottoman forces. He wrote
that if God willed it, the citadel of Vienna, the object of the grand vizier’s desire,
would certainly be conquered and added to the domains of Islam thanks to this
illustrious man’s sincere religious zeal and obedience to God’s decrees.^25
To prepare for battle and victory, the Ottoman forces engaged in customaryritual practices. The grand vizier and all commanders and offi cials listened to
the Ottoman military band play until late at night, and again fi rst thing in the
morning. The drums, reed pipes, trumpets, and cymbals played at the same
time, making a great noise, startling the inhabitants of Vienna, and combined
with the booming sound of cannons and guns seemed to make the heavens
fall. When the sumptuous cloaks, jeweled sword, dagger, and imperial decree
sent by the sultan arrived, a great ceremony began before the tent of the grand
vizier, the representative of the sovereign whose presence was felt. The tent
was opened and the grand vizier was seen sitting in his tent wearing a tall
turban and fur cloak. The Janissary commander was on his right arm and the
imperial treasurer on his left. Ali Agha held the imperial writ with both hands.
He passed it to the grand vizier and kissed his hem. The grand vizier took it
respectfully with both hands, kissed it, and while the heralds shouted “May it
be auspicious!” and cheered, he took it to his breast. This time Ali Agha pre-
sented a cloak embroidered with gold and covered in ermine fur. The heralds
again shouted “May it be auspicious!” and cheered. The grand vizier took the
cloak. He took and kissed the sword. The sword bearer came and girded him
with the sword. Then he took and kissed the dagger. The sword bearer girded
him with that as well. As he took each gift the halberdiers cheered. Radiant and
glowing with proud joy, the grand vizier stood bolt upright and took out the
imperial writ. He kissed it. He took it from its pouch and gave it to the imperial
secretary. He took a few steps to the middle of the tent and read each word of
the writ one at a time with a loud voice so that all present would understand
it well. Finally, he read the monogram of “his eminence the world-ruling em-
peror” that he had affi xed “with his own blessed hands” to the top of the writ.