218 honored by the glory of islam
in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement and torment of the fi re”
(Qur’an 2:20 1 ) is written in large cursive calligraphic letters of gold leaf on a
black marble background above the main door. The entrance door is one of
the most beautiful examples of mother-of-pearl and ivory work. “Oh my Lord,
the opener of doors, open auspicious doors for us” is written in large cursive
calligraphic letters in mother-of-pearl relief style on the leaves of the door (half
the verse written on each leaf ). In the mausoleum, decorated with the period’s
most beautiful tile panels up to the level of the upper windows, one sees the
best examples of masterful stained-glass work. As in the Valide Sultan Mosque,
the fi rst thirty verses of the Sovereignty (Al-Mulk) sura of the Qur’an are written
as a tile band in large white cursive calligraphic letters on a blue background
above the lower windows within the tomb. These verses warn of the horri-
ble consequences for heedless unbelievers in the hereafter and the reward for
those who shun heedlessness and think of the many admonitions about the
blazing fi re of Hell.
The capital of the Habsburgs was supposed to be suffering such a fi eryfate. The Ottomans made a major attack on Vienna, but the city would not
fall. By the last week of August, some soldiers began speaking ill of the grand
vizier. Although it was Ramadan, others were caught drinking wine, receiving
as punishment two hundred lashes of the whip before the assembled troops.
Kara Mustafa Pasha had to bring his commanders together to urge them to
exert all effort to bring the campaign to a successful fi nish. In the fi nal days of
August, the defenders of the besieged city fi red one hundred rockets from the
tallest and most central cathedral in the city, Saint Stephan, which the author
interpreted not as a sign of their strength, but as a sign of their weariness and
depressed state. He implored God to completely remove these infi dels from
the face of the earth. Yet, though the author gloats when he learns that the de-
fenders of the citadel were suffering from hunger, he also has to acknowledge
the serious problems of feeding Ottoman animals and troops, the infl ation of
prices, and diffi culties getting needed supplies.^30
Conditions were worsening, and an end to the siege was nowhere in sight.To raise the morale of the troops, on the fi rst of September the sultan’s preacher
exhorted them to fi ght in the path of God. As The Events of Vienna relates in
language similar to that of Abdi Pasha, repeating his important role played
at Çehrin fi ve years previously, Vani Mehmed Efendi preached to the army of
Islam while making his frequent rounds in the trenches. He gave them such
wonderful admonition and incited them in such an effective way that everyone
who had knowledge of the art of speech was greatly astonished. But the preach-
er’s words did not stay in people’s minds for long. Within a couple of days of his
impressive oration, an offi cial refused to accept an appointment. The angered