What was lost at Mohács? An Ottoman-Turkish Casualty List from the 1526 Campaign

A szentgotthárdi csata és a vasvári béke: Oszmán Terjeszkedés-Európai Összefogás - La bataille de Saint Gotthard et la paix de Vasvár: Expansion Ottomane-Coopération Européenne, ed. Tóth Ference and Zágorhidi Czigány Balázs, Budapest: MTA Történettudományi Intézet, 2017, p. 73-92.

Revista de istorie militară /Review of Military History, 2023

In 1578, the Battle of Iași took place between the Ottoman forces and the Cossacks as a result of the invasion of Iași, the major city of Bogdan (Moldavia), by Alexandru and the Cos- sacks that he gathered. The composition of Ottoman military forces during this engagement indicates the absence of direct involvement by the imperial army; instead, the regional san- caks and volunteer warriors from the vicinity areas actively participated in the campaign. In this regard, the Battle of Iași has significance in exemplifying the organizational capacity of the Ottoman Empire to mobilize additional forces when needed. This research is grounded on the yoldaşlık defteri (comradeship register) which was prepared by Davud Bey, the Sancakbey of Silistre and the commander of the Ottoman army. The study aims to reveal the issues re- garding the sancak soldiers and volunteer warriors in the Ottoman army. In this respect, their identities, military roles in the battles and the dirliks that was granted to them as a recognition for their services will be analysed. In addition, the original information about the battle in the commandership register will be subjected to a comparative analysis alongside other relevant archival documents and literature, with the aim of presenting these findings to the attention of scholars.

This study examines the sieges of Győr and Eger by the Ottoman Empire during the Long Turkish War (1591-1606). Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha (1520-1596) led the Győr campaign and achieved a major victory over European coalition forces in 1594. The Ottoman army was able to coordinate a large army, artillery, and supplies. Mehmed III (r.1595-1603) ostensibly commanded the Eger operation, but his weak leadership made him defer to advisers. This campaign was also a success for many of the same reasons as the 1594 siege. The sultan was not a gifted military commander, but his presence did restore confidence to the army. Ottoman Turkish writers and traditional historiography often viewed this period as the beginning of general decline for the empire after the expansion under Sultan Suleiman I (r. 1520-1566). This paper demonstrates that the imperial military was still an effective fighting force and that the Habsburgs, the Vatican, and other European states viewed them as a major military power. The Ottomans also confronted internal crises of court factionalism, food shortages, and bandit insurgency in the empire, yet were still able to prosecute successful campaigns. Analysis of Ottoman operations during this period shows that the army retained institutional integrity and adapted to changing circumstances.

Dimensions of Transformation in the Ottoman Empire from the Late Medieval Age to Modernity, 2021

In this chapter, N. Zeynep Yelçe decontextualizes the Ottoman campaigns of 1529 and 1683 to reveal the basic features of two large military operations. The strategic decision-making underlying the two sieges of Vienna by the Ottomans are explored through the contemporary writings of Ottoman authors and then current European sources. Ottoman claims to universal kingship are traced through the two campaigns, both seemingly vindictive and punitive in their discursive justifications. While each siege has been widely studied by historians, an overall comparative view remains incomplete. This void largely stems from the conventional periodization of Ottoman history, which confines the expertise and/or interest of the historian to either the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. Such confinement, while allowing for comprehensive treatment of a particular event, isolates the subject of study as a unique instance in time. To overcome this obstacle, Zeynep Yelçe cross-examines the strategic elements and discursive justifications involved in these sieges. She aims to to understand why one siege is hailed a victory and the other a defeat when both ended in retreat.

This paper presents a new Arabic text dealing with the siege of Malta by the Moors in 1429. The author is Al-Maqrizi. He recounts how an Arabic force attacked and destroyed the Sicilian city of Mazara and then proceeded to attack Mdina and completely destroyed its suburb. The narrative of this siege is an eye opener to explain why the Ottoman Siege entered into the Maltese memory as the Great Siege of Malta. It was defined Great not only in terms of the magnitude of the Ottoman force but as in public memory, the only other siege that continued to have an impact on the population was that of 1429. But to differentiate between the two, the one of 1565 had the appellative great added to the word siege.

Öz 1560'lardaki Cezâ'ir-i Arab isyanı yöresel ama geniş çaplı bir sefer sayesinde bastırıldı. Seferin hikâyesini Feridun Bey Szigetvar seferi üzerine yazdığı kitabın sonuna yaptığı bir eklemede anlatmaktadır. 1565-1568 yıllarını kapsayan Mühimme defterleri de önemli ayrıntılar içermektedir. Feridun Bey, kapıkulundan 2.000 yeniçeri ve birkaç yüz topçu da yöresel güçlere ek olarak yollandığı için olacak, dikkatle hazırlanan bu seferberliği "Sefer-i hümâyûn" diye adlandırmaktadır. Kalkışmanın bastırılması geçmişteki suçlar için katı cezalar kadar ilerdeki sadakat için mükâfatlar da içeriyordu. Bunun da ötesinde hem Şah Tahmasb ile hem Basra körfezindeki Portekizlilerle ilişkiler de dikkatle izleniyordu.

2017

in Osmanlı İstanbulu IV, ed. Feridun M. Emecen, Ali Akyıldız, and Emrah Safa Gürkan (Istanbul: 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi, 2017), 313-38.

History if full of fascinating stories that are not well told today. The siege and fall of Rhodes in 1522 is one of those stories. I share with you my 90 page story that spans the time from the election of Philippe Villiers to Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller on January 22, 1521, to the departure of the Knights from Rhodes on January 1, 1523. I hope that you enjoy what I have put together. Comment on telling this story: This story is grand enough to be told over 200 pages, but I do not have the skill to do it the justice it deserves. Old stories from the 16th and 17th centuries hold a wealth of details that can make to story quite dramatic but translating from old Latin, French, German, and Turkish is difficult. While the Sultân’s campaign diary provides a daily account of events, details are sparse. European accounts provide details, but few dates, and often the details from differing perspectives of story-tellers do not align well. I have done what I can and if anyone finds errors, please let me know.