Part 5

The Moslem army commenced their offensive operations by first attacking those of the enemy on the outside, and seized a number of prisoners. On the 18th of Dhu’l Kada, after the siege was regularly formed, skirmishing became general. The division of the Spáhís under the command of the Salihdár watched the trenches, and two other divisions were appointed to guard the camp and money-chest. A thousand men were employed in carrying earth from two different quarters, who daily threw a thousand _bedalooshkas_ into the fosse. On the opposite side of the Danube, the enemy erected their tabúr or fortifications, directly opposite the fortress, and constructed also a bridge which communicated with the tabúr and the fortress, but which was not allowed to remain open for either man or beast. Twenty days thus passed away in mutual hostilities and skirmishing, when, behold, Duke Mathias, the brother of the Emperor of Austria, encamped in the vicinity of Komran with an army of 100,000 German, Hungarian, and similar infidels. A man of high rank, a Count, son-in-law to the King (of Hungary), was governor of the city and fortress. On one of the first ten days of the lunar month (_i.e._ on the 10th of Dhu’l hijjah), ten thousand of these execrated wretches rushed out and slew three thousand Moslems, whilst engaged in performing the duties and ceremonies of their religion on that solemn day, and committed, besides, some other injuries. They were, however, soon obliged to retrace their steps and hide themselves within their strong-holds, but it was found impossible to get them to shut the gate and prevent annoyance from that quarter.

It appeared to have become necessary, from some reason or other, to effect some changes. Accordingly we find, that the offices held by the son of the grand vezír and Hasan Páshá were exchanged, the one for the other. The government of Romeili was, therefore, transferred to Hasan Páshá, and that of Buda to the vezír’s son. Hasan Páshá, in consequence of this exchange, entered the trenches opposite the gate, and by a well-directed fire of ten field-pieces, forced the besieged to close their gate. In short, Hasan manifested to every unprejudiced person what force, properly directed, might effect.

_The Moslem Warriors begin an assault._

The appearance of the Duke Mathias with his many thousand infidels encouraged the besieged, and supported them in their obstinacy, and therefore it was evidently seen that, unless the Moslems crossed to the other side of the river and defeated this host, they would never be able to reduce the place. Accordingly, and in conformity to this view of the matter, materials which had been ordered from Buda and Osterghún for the purpose of erecting three bridges, were immediately put in requisition, and every effort made to get them ready for immediate use.

A party of Tátárs who had swam on their horses across to the enemy’s side, were no sooner discovered than they were checked by a body of horse and foot, which so frightened them that they turned about and swam back again. Several of them, however, perished. In order to prevent occurrences of this nature, the enemy made themselves trenches along the bank of the river: but their trenches were of no use to them. Two thousand men volunteered their services, and crossed over in boats; and before the enemy had time to look about them, they made themselves masters of these trenches, and completely routed their occupiers. The Moslems now commenced with all speed to erect their bridges; and to prevent their being annoyed in this work, and in order to scare the enemy, they placed some of their largest cannon on an eminence on the brink of the river, and commenced firing. The enemy, blind to their preparations, again endeavoured to gain possession of the brink of the river: but were repulsed with immense slaughter, when they were obliged to fall back on their fortifications. The Moslems, in consequence of this victory, succeeded in finishing their bridges, and, under covert of the night, accompanied by a body of Tátárs, crossed to the other side, approached the enemy’s fortifications, put the infidels to flight, who, it must be observed, destroyed the bridges which they themselves had erected in the vicinity of the fortress. The victorious Moslems returned with immense booty: such as cannons, powder, arms, waggons, and other heavy articles, besides a great number of loaded waggons full of valuable stores. Three hundred boats, and four hundred cannon, were taken possession of in the river, besides powder, ball, and three thousand tents: all which became the property of the Ottomans. The Archduke Mathias himself was wounded; and the brother of the Duke, who commanded the French troops, was shot dead by a cannon-ball, and ten thousand other infidels perished on this occasion. Many captives were also taken. After obtaining this singular and splendid victory over Mathias, the Moslems returned to the siege, and continued their operations against the city and fortress till the following year, when they took it; but of this more afterwards, when we have said a few things with regard to the notorious rebel Michael, Waiwode of Valachia.

The Waiwodas of Valachia were in the habit of providing horses and oxen for the purpose of conveying cannon and other apparatus of war when they were required to do so. But when messengers from Belgrade, in the name of the grand vezír, required them to supply the army before Besperim with three hundred of those animals, for the purpose of conveying provisions and money, they manifested no small degree of tardiness in complying, for which they were severely reprimanded. And again, when they were required to send four hundred waggons with food and money to the troops before Yanuk, they played the same trick, for which neglect the drivers were ordered to be executed; but by the intervention and intercession of the grand vezír’s son, Mohammed Páshá, their lives were spared, but the presents which they carried along with them were rejected with disdain. It was inconsistent, it was said, that a country like Valachia should be controlled by one or two indolent infidels, and therefore they might expect that next spring the war would be carried thither. The men who had their lives spared to them were kept prisoners, but were afterwards set at liberty. But the prevaricator Michael, and this is the chief point to be observed, became so enraged at the disgrace and dishonour thus manifested, that the incorrigible wretch raised the standard of defiance, and became the ostensible instigator of the rebellion which afterwards broke out in Valachia in the following year, and to which, when we relate the events of that year, we shall advert.

The arrival of Ghází Gheráí Khán from a country in which never infidel stepped, and whose splendid achievements in war it is impossible fully to delineate, relates chiefly to the same period.

About the middle of Rabia II., Fatima, daughter of the august and noble monarch of the world, was united by marriage to the vezír Khalíl Páshá in the old palace. At the commencement of the same month ambassadors from Abdullah Khán, sultán of Transoxania, arrived in Constantinople. About the same time, also, the admiral, Jeghala Zádeh, sailed with a fleet to Messina, put the inhabitants into great fear, carried off several galleys, and returned. The Jews and Christians hitherto wore blue and yellow turbans; but it having been determined to humble and disgrace them, they were ordered, in future, to wear fillets made of black and scarlet cloth.

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1003 H.

_The conquest of Yanuk._

The siege of Yanuk, at the commencement of this year, 1003 of the Hijrah, had continued a month. By the batterings of the cannon and the springing of mines, both the outside and inside of Yanuk were completely damaged. On the 17th of Moharrem (the first month of the year), and after an immense quantity of earth had been thrown into the fosse, and when a breach had been effected in the walls or ramparts, a general assault was announced. This news fearfully alarmed the besieged. They considered the defeat of the archduke’s army, and thought of the vast numbers that had already perished in the siege. Their fears increased; their condition, they saw, was perilous. To try to escape by means of planks would be both difficult and dangerous. Their courage altogether failed them; and many, for fear of the cannons of the Osmánlís, hid themselves within the inner works in ditches. In short, all resistance ceased.

Towards evening, two thousand of the most celebrated of these hateful infidels came forth and importuned the commander-in-chief to spare their lives. Their request was granted. Next morning their commander, the malignant count, came out with ten thousand men, all covered with steel, and said; “This German army, who have crept into holes in the earth, have been influenced by fear more than any thing else. Otherwise,” continued he, “so many thousands of muskets ought to have been adequate to prevent you from even looking at the place.” Thus saying, he wept and fell down dead before the conquerors. The remains of this royal count were afterwards put into a tomb and covered over with stone, when several rounds were fired over it. The rest of the prisoners were all shipped off in boats to their own country, and Senja Osmán Páshá and two thousand soldiers were appointed to garrison Yanuk for three years, at a stipulated rate of pay. A thousand Janissaries from Wáj, three hundred cannoneers, and a thousand armourers were also added to the above number; and every thing else necessary for defence was fully attended to.

After the defeat of the archduke, Ghází Gheráí Khán marched against the fortress of Papa. The infidels on the approach of the Tátárs fled, and left the place for them to take possession of it.

_Komran laid siege to._

Information from Komran apprised the commander-in-chief that, in the event of Yanuk being taken, Komran would yield without resistance. This turned out, however, to be a false report; for when Yanuk did fall, they manifested no disposition to do as they had said.

The weather was awfully cold, and the Serdár determined that if he should be obliged to lay siege to it, it should not be said that it was taken at an easy rate. He did lay siege to it; but his troops, from what they had endured at the taking of Yanuk, were a good deal dispirited. The enemy made several sorties, went as far as the Moslem trenches, and slew a considerable number of the most heroic soldiers of the Serdár, who now began to be convinced of the difficulty of his undertaking, and resolved, as the day of Kásim was near at hand, to relinquish his object for the present. Accordingly on the 7th of Sefer, after having transported his provisions and heavy baggage to some of the nearest fortresses belonging to the Osmánlís, he raised the siege and returned to Buda.

It is related in the histories of Hasan Beg Zádeh, Alí, and Abdulkádír, secretary to the ordnance, that the governor of Komran cried out from the battlement, “Send us Hasan Páshá, Beglerbeg of Romeili, and we shall deliver up the fortress.” The son of the grand vezír, however, paid no regard to him, and merely remarked, “Let him fire his cannons if he will;” but the Janissaries on his saying this immediately relinquished their trenches and retired. Kátib Chelebí[2] in his Fezlikeh denies this story altogether, and declares it to be a foul calumny invented by men who had been neither members of the diván of that day, nor present where the event is said to have taken place.

On the 5th of Sefer, two days before the siege was raised, permission was granted to Ghází Gheráí Khán to return home with his Tátár army, first giving him the robe of honour which in the spring of that year had been sent to him, and showing him the honours due to his rank. He left, however, one of his mirzás with a thousand Tátárs in winter quarters in the vicinity of Alba Julia, or Weissenburg in Siebenbürgen.

The grand vezír himself made his way to Buda, and after the lapse of a week he appointed his son, Mohammed Páshá, to remain in Buda with the Janissaries and the army of Romeili. Lála Mohammed Páshá was sent with the army of Anatolia into winter quarters in Weissenburg. The Beglerbeg of Bosnia was sent with his troops to Usk. The troops of Sivás, of Diárbeker, of Werka, of Haleb, and of Shám, were allowed to return to their respective homes. The artillery and other stores were all deposited in Buda, and after distribution of provision, &c. had been made to the troops, the grand vezír returned to Belgrade.

Before leaving Buda, however, he sent off Rezván Aghá to carry tidings to Constantinople of the fall of Yanuk, which he reached after fourteen days’ travelling. The news of the fall of Yanuk was the cause of great rejoicings in the metropolis, which were demonstrated by the roar of cannon and the firing of musketry. To the Serdár and to the Khán a robe of honour, a sword, and richly ornamented plumes, accompanied by royal letters, were sent to each of these personages; also robes of honour for each of the Beglerbegs and other dignitaries were sent off at the same time.

_Concerning the bad management of the Commander-in-chief; his error and failure in some other matters._

There is no evidence from the records of the intendant of the finances what was the actual number of the troops employed in the war in Hungary; he merely states that thirty thousand household troops were sent thither. The army of Romeili was immense. After the death of Soleimán Khán, and before the war commenced in Hungary, the people thirsted for spoil. An army equal to that of Romeili, but destitute of the means of subsistence, was collected in that quarter. A swift, active body of troops, competent for every sort of depredation, and equal to a whole province in number, assembled. The Tátárs alone amounted to more than forty thousand. Such was the vast army the commander-in-chief had under his command: such also was their fitness for contending with the enemy, if properly and wisely directed.

When, however, the pensioned Janissaries entered their trenches, the rest needlessly wasted their time in idleness: when the Khán and other chiefs proposed to commit depredations in the enemy’s territories, they were checked by being asked what advantage would accrue by treading down one province? and yet it is a certain fact, that no power whatever could have stopped the army, especially after the victory gained at Yanuk, from reaching Vienna, had they been properly commanded. When a deputation came from the country about Buda, begging protection against rapine and plunder, they were told, that unless one province fell another could not rise. To this very evident defect and mismanagement in the government of the commander-in-chief is to be attributed chiefly every misfortune which happened to the Moslems. The peasants were made slaves, and villages were ruined. Some of the most powerful of these peasants were roused to seek revenge: five or six hundred of them seized on a palanka, and refused giving it up so long as one of them remained alive. When their villages and hamlets were robbed and plundered, they set fire to them and left them. The mills near Belgrade were taxed. No apology was offered to the Waivodas of Moldavia and Valachia for the heavy injuries done to them, but they were still more oppressed; and when they sent their usual presents they were rejected with disdain, and the bearers of them threatened with death; and this wicked and unreasonable conduct awakened the spirit of rebellion and revolt which afterwards manifested itself in these two provinces, as we shall see.

_The Waivoda of Moldavia rebels._

At the time the war broke out in Hungary the Emperor of Austria sent letters to all the Christian chiefs, and even to the Pope, to come and aid him in attacking the followers of Mohammed. The Transylvanians, Valachians, and Moldavians entered with one consent into this confederacy, and commenced hostilities by making inroads on the Mohammedan population dwelling on the banks of the Danube. At this time the Waivoda of Moldavia was one who had been raised to that dignity by Sinán Páshá, but who, when Ferhád was deposed, was also deposed. His office was conferred on a young Moldavian prince who had been educated at Sinán’s expense, and who it was supposed had embraced Mohammedanism. When this young man went to take possession of his new government he was accompanied, according to custom, by a kapújí báshí, whilst a messenger was sent forward to announce his approach. Notwithstanding all this, however, his predecessor inspired him with such terror, that he found himself necessitated to apply for aid to the grand vezír, his patron. This aid was accordingly granted. One Mustafa Páshá, who had been governor of Merœsh, in Asia, was appointed to conduct a body of troops to his assistance: and some military ághás, of whom the grand vezír wished to get rid, were appointed to join this expedition, with two thousand Janissaries also. When this expedition reached the Danube they found it completely frozen, and therefore halted at Rusjuk in order to transport their field-pieces and heavy baggage to Yerkok on the opposite side. Whilst thus employed, and suspecting no danger, they were suddenly fallen upon by an army of infidels, headed by the deposed Waivoda, who slew their leader, a great number of his men, and carried off a number of others prisoners. From this time the rebellion in Moldavia increased day after day.

_Concerning the insurrection occasioned by Michael, Waivoda of Valachia._

As the country of Valachia abounded with sheep, cattle, honey, and salt, the merchants and rich men of Constantinople were in the habit of advancing sums of money to every new waivoda on the condition of collecting from the peasantry articles of the above description in return. This practice occasioned frequently great contention. It happened sometimes, when the waivodas did not fulfil their engagements, that those who had advanced them money in the way above described, went and abused and harassed the begs, and created much disturbance. Michael, mentioned at the head of this article, was one of these waivodas who failed to fulfil his promises, and who was therefore one day visited by more than four thousand of this sort of creditors, chiefly Janissaries and principal servants of great men, who profited by this rapacity. They assaulted the waivoda in his own palace, seized upon every thing which fell into their hands, and beat and abused as many of his domestics as chanced to come in their way. This circumstance of violence and mode of assault completely wrought on the mind of the hateful infidel, and led him to the following method of settling with his creditors. He called them together, and by way of giving them his advice, at the same time appearing very polite, said: “If you kill me, you will of course lose all the property that is due to you: that is evident. Come, then, follow my advice, and go along with persons duly appointed into the province, collect what property you can, and pay yourselves out of it.” Manifesting for some time, however, some degree of hesitation and unwillingness, they at last agreed; but it turned out that the quantity they had collected was not sufficient to liquidate the whole of his debt, and they therefore pressed him to furnish the remainder. “Let the cazí of Yerkok,” said they, “be called, and let him examine the accounts. If he is unwell, his deputy, Alí Ján Effendí, may come in his stead;” for it was customary when any law-suit happened between any of the Mussulmans living in Valachia, that an appeal was made to the cazí of the above place. The cazí, or rather his deputy, Alí Ján, arrived and decided in favour of the appellants, whose receipts amounted to sixty thousand dollars. The contention was long, and a thousand obstacles presented themselves in settling this affair; but at last the sum of the debt was reduced to six thousand akchas.

The above Alí Ján relates the following story about himself: “On retiring from the tribunal, and when I was outside of the city,” he says, “I was met by an old acquaintance, an infidel, who accosted me thus: ‘Alí Ján, you have been my friend for twenty years: do not let the evening overtake you, nor remain at Yerkok; but hasten as fast as you are able to Rusjuk, for all hope of accommodation is at an end,’ and immediately went away.” The deputy, perceiving some strange commotion and troops hastening towards the city, mounted his waggon, and made the best of his way to Yerkok; but had scarcely time to give the cazí an account of the affair in which he had been employed, before these raggamuffian soldiery murdered every one of the Waivoda’s creditors and every Mussulman in the place, and thence marched to Yerkok, which they also attacked. “Seeing no alternative left me but either to fall into the hands of these infidels, or make my escape,” says Alí Ján in continuation of his story, “and being a good swimmer, I immediately swam across the Danube. Another person swam across at the same time, and we were the only persons of the inhabitants of Yerkok, amounting to four thousand men, women, and children, that escaped being either murdered or made prisoners. The city they afterwards burned to the ground.”

These events, now recorded, took place in Jemadi 1. of 1002. Those Musselmans that lived in Moldavia removed to Kili, to Ak-kermán, or to Korsú, as they found most convenient. Some of the people of Rusjuk who were present, and saw when these movements took place, sent an account of the whole state of matters to the court of Constantinople, but the Rusjukians themselves afterwards removed and dispersed themselves among the Balkan mountains.

It being the winter season when these accounts reached the metropolis, the operations of war were deferred till the spring of the year.

_Death of Sultán Murád III._

In Jemadi I. of 1003 of the Hijrah, the constitution of the deceased emperor, now removed from this vain world to the distant light of God, became so shattered and altered, as to receive no benefit whatever from the skill and penetration of the medical faculty.

At the commencement of his disease, the grand vezír, Sinán Páshá went in to see him into the palace at the very time when the singers or chanters, and the females of the palace, were all collected in the royal apartment; and though it was an exceedingly rare thing to read or chant verses on such an occasion, yet, contrary to usual custom, the Emperor ordered the following distich to be chanted:

I am afflicted, O Fate! This night me watch, and me sustain.—[3]

At the time the Emperor departed this life, two vessels from Egypt arrived before the royal fortress, and, according to ancient custom, commenced firing their guns in token of rejoicing. But such was the tremendous effect once and again which the concussion of the air, put in motion by the explosions, had upon the mirrors in the apartment next to the royal saloon, that they fell down from their places and were shattered to pieces. When these mariners, however, were made aware of what had taken place, and perceived the emblems of grief and affliction, their joy was turned into sorrow, and tears began to trickle down on their beards.

On the night of the 5th of Jemadi II., the remains of the Emperor were carried from the bed of state to the table or board on which the dead bodies are washed, and were afterwards consigned to a coffin and put into a vault.