Sack of Sarajevo | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Great Turkish War and the Ottoman–Habsburg wars | |||||||
Depiction of Eugene of Savoy in Bosnia | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Habsburg Monarchy | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Prince Eugene of Savoy | Bosnians | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,500 infantry 12 small cannons | Unknown |
The sack of Sarajevo took place on 23 October 1697 and was committed by raiding Austrian troops led by Prince Eugene of Savoy. At this time the Great Turkish War was being fought. Shortly after the Austrian victory at the Battle of Zenta (today: Senta, Serbia), an opportunity arose for the Austrians to launch a surprise attack into Ottoman Bosnia.
The intrusion into Ottoman Bosnia and the subsequent sacking of Sarajevo left the city plague-infected and burned to the ground. After Prince Eugene's men had thoroughly looted the city, they set it on fire and nearly destroyed all of it in one day. Only a few neighbourhoods, some mosques, and an Orthodox church were left standing. [1] As the Austrians were leaving Bosnia, 40,000 Catholics left with them to populate Slavonia that was left deserted after the Ottoman retreat. This exodus of Catholics made them the 3rd religious group in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After a few years of peace between the Ottoman Empire and various Western powers, another attack was launched against the Habsburg monarchy by the Ottomans, almost capturing Vienna. However, the Polish king John III Sobieski, along with his Christian alliance won the Battle of Vienna (1683), forever stalling Ottoman expansion into Europe. After the capture of Buda by the Christian forces in 1686, many Serbs from the Pannonian Plain decided to join the troops of the Habsburg monarchy. [2] On the 11th of September in modern-day Vojvodina, the Battle of Zenta was fought. The battle was the most decisive engagement of the Great Turkish War: it saw the Ottomans suffer an overwhelming defeat by an imperial force half as large sent by Emperor Leopold I. The Turks attempted to cross the river Tisza at Zenta. Their force was personally led by the sultan Mustafa II. In a surprise attack, Habsburg Imperial forces commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy engaged the Turkish army while it was crossing the Tisza river. Prince Eugene's forces inflicted thousands of casualties, including the Grand Vizier Eimas Mehmed Pasha. Prince Eugene's army dispersed the Ottoman forces, capturing the Ottoman treasury, and came away with such emblems of high Ottoman authority as the Seal of the Empire which had never been captured before. Prince Eugene's forces, unlike the Turks, had exceptionally light casualties.
Austria gained complete control over Banat. Because the Ottoman army was scattered, the Austrians had complete freedom of action in Slavonia and Ottoman Bosnia for almost 6 weeks, just as Prince Eugene was planning to raid Ottoman Bosnia. [3]
On 6 October, Prince Eugene left Osijek in Slavonia with 6,500 warriors (4000 spearmen, 2500 infantry with rifles, 12 small cannons and, two mortars). [4] After crossing the river Sava to get into Bosnia, the small town of Brod was plundered, this marked the beginning of his intrusion into Bosnia. Upon his arrival in Bosnia, Prince Eugene and his army followed the river Bosna downwards until they reached Sarajevo. On their way to Sarajevo they encountered the Doboj Fortress. They sent an ultimatum to the people there, but they refused to surrender. After artillery shelling of the fortress, it finally fell on 16 October. After the victory at Doboj, Prince Eugene's army marched to the town of Maglaj where they encountered less resistance and captured it quickly. After the capture of Maglaj, Prince Eugene's army marched on to Žepče. Even though there was resistance at Žepče, local desertion became the reason for it falling as fast as Maglaj. Heavy resistance was encountered at Zenica and Vranduk. The Vranduk Fortress was ultimately bypassed since it proved extremely hard to conquer. The weaker arms and smaller size of the resistance forces in Zenica let Prince Eugen conquer it on 20 October. In the end, it took Prince Eugene and the Austrians 11 days to get to the medieval town of Visoko. Upon their arrival they decided to loot and set the town on fire, completely destroying it.
The army was on the outskirts of Sarajevo the same day and the next day on the 22nd of October. Prince Eugene sent a bugler and flag-bearer to Sarajevo, with a request to surrender the city and avoid casualties. The letter he sent to the Sarajevo authorities stated: [5]
"I, Eugen Prince, Duke of Savoy and Piedmont, General Field Marshal of His Majesty the Emperor of Rome and King of Hungary and Bohemia, Commander-in-Chief of a Dragoon Regiment and Commanding General of His Majesty's main army, which is at war with the Ottoman Porte, do hereby give for the information of the excellent citizens and all the inhabitants, that since by God's grace we with this same army on September 11th of this year defeated the great sultan in the camp near Senta on the Tisza, we are here in the province of Bosnia and that we are near the noble city of Sarajevo, since we with the victorious weapons of His Imperial and Royal Majesty, our most gracious master, have successfully conquered all the positions and fortresses we encountered, and that as a result our further penetration has the less obstacles, as we have already reached the Sarajevo plain. We did not come to this land with the intention of sacrificing more human blood to the righteous imperial weapon, but to take care of those who seek mercy and submit to the Roman emperor with love and kindness, we decided out of special consideration for Sarajevo to send this letter with a note, if you want to save yourself from evil, send us one or more envoys, but immediately, because otherwise we will continue our march without hesitation, and then we will not consider anything, because there will not be time to come to an agreement. This admonition of ours was made in good faith, but we declare, heeded, and if you remain persistent, that our kindness will turn into severity, and we will destroy everything with sword and fire. We will not spare even the child in the mother's womb because heavy artillery is ready. Let no one be fooled by the weak hope of resistance, because we still well remember how much Ottoman blood was spilled in this campaign and how those who resisted our powerful weapons were treated in these past days, so that even the Bosnian Pasha's ćehaja had to flee. We repeat our benevolent admonition and assure you that we will give a safe escort both here and there to those whom you send us."
The letter that Prince Eugen sent wasn't replied to. Instead, both the bugler and flag bearer were attacked and robbed while their letter was read aloud in town. [6] As Prince Eugen found out about this, he ordered an attack on the city. The Prince Eugene's attack and subsequent burning of Sarajevo is documented in his diary:
October 23, 1697: "I opened a front line on the right side of the city and sent one division to loot and plunder: the Turks have brought all their valuables to security, but we could still find enough spoils. In the evening, a fire broke out. The city is large and fully open. It has 120 beautiful mosques."October 24, 1697: "We have completely burned down the city and all outskirts. Our troops, which have chased the enemy, have fetched spoils, women and children too. Many Christians are coming to us and begging for protection. They are coming with all their belongings in our camp because they want to leave the land and join us. I hope that I will be able to take all of them over the Sava river."
By the 25th Prince Eugene and his forces had decided to retreat and return to the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Austrians plundered even more on their way back home, near Maglaj, a detachment of the army deviated from the main route and separated in the direction of Tešanj, bombarding the town there and then rejoining the army near Doboj. Prince Eugene's diary ends with a description of the return of the units via Osijek, through forests and swampy areas to the winter camps in Slavonia, where the bulk Prince Eugene's army was already stationed. [7] Upon arrival home they were awaited as heroes because of their victory at the Battle of Zenta. [5]
The attack forever erased the most beautiful architecture in the city; the center of the town was completely destroyed. Almost all of the inns and workshops were lost. The Sarajevo Bezistan and Gazi Husrev Begs complex were severely damaged by the fire as well. Most mosques were also destroyed by the fires and almost all the imams and muezzins died as well. [7] An unknown Sarajevan poet wrote about the force and cruelty with which the Habsburg forces destroyed the town.
"Rich and poor now sigh and weep, gardens and gardens were left desolate. Those who have never read books about love cannot understand this violence and wrath of heaven. Many who did not know how to price their property now search for crusts of bread. Thousands of months will pass, and we will not rise from this desolation. A sea of unhappiness and hardship flooded in and rose above our heads." [5]
For reference, the city of Sarajevo had 80,000 inhabitants in the 1660s. [1] According to some writers, the city had only 30,000 inhabitants in the early 19th century, [1] mostly those living on the outskirts of what once was the city. The inhabitants of Sarajevo had to rebuild the city not just structurally, but culturally and politically as well. By then, the seat of the Bosnian government had already been transferred to Travnik, meaning that Sarajevo lost its status as the main city of Bosnia. Prince Eugene's sacking of Sarajevo ruined it to the point that it took almost 200 years to recover.
The Latin Quarter (the Catholic part of the city) didn't escape the fire either; it was completely burnt to the ground and was uninhabitable. Catholics came back to Sarajevo in the early 1800s as Dubrovnik merchants helped rebuild the Latin Quarter.
The Catholics of Bosnia, fearing reprisals from the Ottoman authorities and the Bosnian Muslims, left Bosnia along with the Austrians. They settled in Slavonia, which after the Great Turkish War had been left desolate by fighting and the Turkish retreat. Historians estimate that around 40,000 Catholics left Bosnia. At the time, this made them the smallest religious group after the Orthodox Christians. Catholics in Bosnia to this day are the third-largest religious group, still behind the Orthodox Christians at 15% of the population, according to the 2013 census.
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano, better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. Renowned as one of the greatest military commanders of his era, Prince Eugene also rose to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna spending six decades in the service of three emperors.
Senta is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisa river in the geographical region of Bačka. The town has a population of 18,704, whilst the Senta municipality has 23,316 inhabitants.
Sarajevo is a city now in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Great Turkish War, also called the Wars of the Holy League, was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Venice, Russia, and the Kingdom of Hungary. Intensive fighting began in 1683 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The war was a defeat for the Ottoman Empire, which for the first time lost substantial territory, in Hungary and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as in part of the western Balkans. The war was significant also for being the first instance of Russia joining an alliance with Western Europe.
The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, was fought on 11 September 1697, near Zenta, Kingdom of Hungary, between Ottoman and Holy League armies during the Great Turkish War. The battle was the most decisive engagement of the war, and it saw the Ottomans suffer an overwhelming defeat by an Imperial force half as large sent by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The Second Battle of Mohács, also known as the Battle of Harsány Mountain, was fought on 12 August 1687 between the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, commanded by the Grand Vizier Sarı Süleyman Pasha, and the forces of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, commanded by Charles of Lorraine. The result was a decisive victory for the Austrians.
The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburg-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy. The Ottomans attempted to capture Petrovaradin, the so-called Gibraltar on the Danube, but experienced a great defeat by an army half the size of their own, similar to the defeat they had experienced in 1697 at the Battle of Zenta. Ottoman Grand Vizier Damad Ali Pasha was fatally wounded, while the Ottoman army lost 20,000 men and 250 guns to the Habsburg army led by Field Marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy.
The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Herzegovina lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 de facto, and until 1908 de jure.
Maglaj is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, 25 km (16 mi) south of Doboj. It has a population of 6,438, with 34,980 inhabitants in the municipality.
Bosniaks are a South Slavic ethnic group, native to the region of Bosnia of which the majority are Muslims (90%). The term Bosniaks was used to describe everyone in that region regardless of their religion until late 1800s. It was established again after decades of suppression in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Bosniak Assembly adopted the ethnonym to replace "Bosnian Muslims." Scholars believe that the move was partly motivated by a desire to distinguish the Bosniaks from the term Muslim to describe their nationality in the former Yugoslavia. These scholars contend that the Bosniaks are distinguishable from comparable groups due to a collective identity based on a shared environment, cultural practices and experiences.
Doboj Fortress or Gradina (Градина) is located in the city of Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Throughout its turbulent history, the fortress has been burned and ransacked at least 18 times as per official records. Of note is that Doboj fortress was considered to be a royal Kotromanić property, unlike Great Bosnian Duke Hrvoje's Zvečaj fortress or Sandalj Hranić's Blagaj fortress, which were centers of their respective duchies.
The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the Kingdom of Hungary from 1526 to 1570. The Zápolyas ruled over an eastern part of Hungary, and the Habsburg kings ruled the west. The Habsburgs tried several times to unite all Hungary under their rule, but the Ottoman Empire prevented that by supporting the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
The Battle of Banja Luka took place in Banja Luka, Ottoman Bosnia, on 4 August 1737, during the Austro-Russian-Turkish War. An Austrian army under Prince Joseph Hildberghausen was defeated, as it attempted to besiege the town, when it ran into a large Ottoman relief force led by Bosnian Vizier Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha.
The siege of Belgrade was a successful attempt by Imperial Habsburg troops under the command of the Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II Emanuel to capture the city of Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire. Part of the Great Turkish War (1683–1699), the siege lasted a month and culminated in the capture of the city on 6 September 1688. By conquering Belgrade, the Imperialists gained an important strategic outpost, as the city had been the Ottoman's chief fortress in Europe for more than a century and a half. The Turks recaptured it two years later, only to lose it again to Eugene of Savoy in 1717.
The Battle of Olasch took place after a Habsburg Imperial army led by Saxon Elector General, Augustus II the Strong, laid siege to Turkish held Temesvár. On 26 August 1696, after learning that Sultan Mustafa II's relief army was crossing the Danube at Pancsova, Augustus gave up the siege and headed to meet the Ottoman army. The battle near the Bega River resulted in a draw after both armies retreated with heavy casualties on both sides. Strategically, the Ottoman army's campaign can be considered a success, as it achieved its goal of retaining Temesvár.
Baron, later Count Sándor Károlyi de Nagykároly was a Hungarian aristocrat, statesman and Imperial Feldmarschall. He was one of the generals of Francis II Rákóczi during the War of Independence. Later he negotiated the Treaty of Szatmár, which guaranteed autonomy to the Hungarian nobles.
The siege of Temeşvar took place from 31 August to 12 October 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-1718. The Habsburg army led by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who had just won a crushing victory at Petrovaradin, managed to capture the fortress of Temeşvar an Ottoman stronghold since 1552, the capital of the Banat and the last Turkish stronghold in Hungary. The garrison capitulated after a 43 days siege. The city remained under military administration until 6 June 1778, when it was handed over to the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary.
The Great Turkish War of 1684–1689 saw conflict between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire in territories of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. The war was concluded by the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, which significantly eased the Ottoman grip on Croatia.
Siege of Bihać (1697) was a Habsburg siege of the Ottoman fortress town of Bihać in Bosnian Krajina. The siege was planned as a diversionary attack from main Habsburg offensive on Danube river, and was called off after several failed storming attempts.
The Promontor palace is a former baroque-style palace in Budafok, a southwestern neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary. The quadrangular castle was built between the vineyards on the hills on the right side of the Danube river. It was commissioned by Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736). The design can probably be attributed to Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668–1745).