The 7 000 defenders in Vienna were surrounded by the enemy with no hope left. The fear of the German and Austrian population was enormous, even the emperor fled. 14 In 1683 he amassed more than 168 000 men and marched directly towards the heart of Austria. Now it was the time to fulfil the plans of sultan Süleyman Khanune: the conquest of Vienna. After these reforms his successor Kara Mustapha had a new and unknown power in his hands. He rearranged and reformed the government and reorganized the finances. Things changed when Köprülü Mehmet Pascha became grand vizier. Walter Sturminger (dir.), Die Türken vor Wien in Augenzeugenberichten, München, Deutscher Taschen (.)ġ8In contrast to the examples shown, the situation on the Austrian-Ottoman border was relatively peaceful during the 17 th century, as the empire fought in the Thirty Years War and the Ottoman Empire was threatened by the Russian expansion. The background shows the burning fortress of Papa, the foreground shows the imperial camp. The leaflet shows the same cruelties by imperial troops on Turkish men, but legitimizes the deeds in context of revenge: Ottoman war prisoners were broken on the wheels, hanged on hooks, split in two, beheaded etc. The depicted brutality can only be understood in the context of an age-long confrontation in this region. On this day imperial troops attacked the Ottoman garrison and massacred the defeated enemy. The Hogenberg collection of leaflet woodcuts depicts the battles in western Hungary and above all the battle for the fortress of Papa on August 19, 1597. 13 (fig. 4) These Geschichtsblätter were published in different and numerous editions throughout Europe and were very popular. Franz Hogenberg and Abraham Hogenberg (dir.), Geschichtsblätter, Nördlingen, Uhl, 1993.ġ7The Geschichtsblätter of Franz and Abraham Hogenberg published in 1606 can be understood in this spirit, showing revenge for centuries of Turkish terror. This armor representation is intended to show their underdeveloped barbaric status –a contradiction to the reality, as Ottoman soldiers were the first modern troopers, armed with fire weapons and artillery. They are also armed with bows and arrows. Ruffianly they murdered virgins and womenġ1In the center two orientally-dressed and bearded men with scimitars are shown. The main theme is the calling for God against these diabolic enemies:Ĭaused by the ravage of the Turkish tyrant 8ġ0The leaflet consists of a text and images that dramatically illustrate the content of the text itself. Supporting the troops with robberies and the spread of rumour or fear was an instrument of warfare, as the Sacco di Roma shows. The attacks by irregular troops, the Akinci,were not as unusual as they were presented in this leaflet. (fig. 1) It was produced during the Ottoman raids in the woods of Vienna by the famous wood-cutter Hans Guldenmundt. Bilder osmanischer Gefangenschaft in der frühen Neuzeit”, in Bi (.)ĩIn 1530 a leaflet titled Der arme Leute Klag (The Poor Man’s Sorrow) was published. For centuries Christian monarchs were confronted with a completely different and ominous power, based on an Oriental Islamic culture. Through the early Modern Ages this vision was dominated by the Ottoman expansion policy. It was a dramatic mixture of common stereotypes and prejudices, based on the vision of the extra-European Islamic world since the late Middle Ages. He only focused on blind religious fanatism, war-mongering, perfidiousness, sexual excesses, richness, decadence, despotism and brutality. 1ģSome years before, the same author –it was Voltaire by the way– described in his play Mahomet a completely different Orient and a completely different Islam. Christopher Todd (dir.), Les Œuvres complètes de Voltaire, vol. 20 : Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le (.)ĢLes Turcs vivent assez proche de nous, mais nous ne les connaissons cependant pas suffisamment… Presque tout ce qui a été dit sur leur religion et leur législation est faux et les conclusions que l’on tire quotidiennement contre eux, sont sans fondement.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |