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

54 honored by the glory of islam

repeatedly battled the Venetians, losing their commanders. Unfortunately for

the Ottoman military, the Venetians had reinforced Candia for years, “making

it a fortress inspiring the greatest level of confi dence,” adding mines and tun-

nels, thousands of cannons, and tens of thousands of soldiers. Men sent to take

the fortress complained they could not draw the besieged out of the fortress to

fi ght. The leaders of the military petitioned the sultan for assistance, claiming

that they needed long-range artillery pieces because they lacked suitable fi re-

power for attacking the massive citadel.^79

Ottoman forces were able to take complete possession of the land side

of the well-fortifi ed citadel, but because necessary men and matériel did not

arrive, they waited to enter the trenches until the navy arrived with more provi-

sions, more miners, and more artillerymen. Yet the desperate soldiers waited

in vain. The Ottoman navy would not arrive because it could not leave the

blockaded Dardanelles. According to Katip Çelebi, not even a rowboat could

pass.^80 Several times their commanders promised falsely that the navy was

on the way, and the men entered the trenches only to soon fi nd out the truth.

At the same time, the frustrated soldiers not only had to demand aid to fi ght,

but had to fi ght for their grain, provisions, clothing, and pay, which also did

not arrive. The depressed troops turned to collecting plants, roots, grass, and

herbs to eat.^81 Accordingly, they sent the Janissary commander to Istanbul to

demand men, matériel, and money, but he had no luck. The Janissary com-

manders in Istanbul did not want to send their men to the island.

The dejected Ottoman army and navy were in mourning. Already early in

the Candia campaign, Janissaries in Crete, unable to bear the constant siege

and battle, suffering constant pain and carnage, unable to endure the lack of

men, matériel, and provisions any longer, started an uprising on Crete and at-

tacked the commander’s palace in a pitched battle; numerous Janissaries and

sipahis were killed. The palace was looted, the slave boys and slave girls found

within were sexually assaulted and abducted, and the palace was burned to the

ground. As Naima notes, “The honor of the dynasty [and by extension the sul-

tan], and not only that of the commander, was violated.”^82

Their commanders complained that the men of state neglected the effort,

did not consider it important, and that no one strove with heart and soul.^83

The Ottoman ships containing grain, provisions, troops, or ammunition found

when they arrived at the Dardanelles that the galleons of their enemy “were

anchored there and formed a wall at the passage” and also blockaded the cita-

del of Candia. Even if its ships did manage to break out of the Dardanelles, the

navy could not discharge its load at Candia, but had to do so at the other coastal

areas already conquered, from which the supplies would be sent by land.^84 As

a result, written in the mournful tone of Naima, the Muslim soldiers became