Question #836c6
1 Answer
There were two Turkish sieges of Vienna -- 1529 and 1683. The first marked the apex of Turkish expansionism in Europe; the second marked the end of Turkey's place as a major power.
Explanation:
Following their arrival in Europe in the 14th Century, the Turks proved to be an aggressive imperial power -- sustained both by their own martial traditions, and the impulse to domination that sometimes pops up in Islam. Following the 1453 fall of Constantinople, the Turks moved north through the Balkans. The Turks were well organized, disciplined, and more modern than Europeans give them credit for -- particularly with respect to firearms, military music, and logistical organization.
Much of Western Europe (Spain, France, and England) considered the Turks to be a remote problem. Central and Eastern Europe saw a relentless march that was hard to stem. In 1529, Suleiman the Magnificent sought to complete the conquest of Hungary, but also well knew that Vienna was the gateway from the Hungarian plains into Southern Germany, as well as being the Hapsburg Capital.
The Turks always had problems with European fortifications (as witnessed in Rhodes and Malta), and logistical difficulties compounded the problem. The 1529 siege of Vienna failed, and Sulieman had other foes to confront and his successors had less taste for conquest. In 1682, border conflicts all along the northern edge of the Polish Empire with Poles and the Hapsburgs, sparked a Turkish plan to capture Vienna again. They spent a year making careful plans and working on their logistics and Sultan Mehmet IV allowed his Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha to begin the campaign.
However, the Europeans had undergone a military revolution in the last 150 years, with substantial improvements in weaponry, tactics, and military organization. Although the Turks reached Vienna and were on the edge of breaching the walls, Hapsburg and Polish reinforcements reached Vienna and administered a crushing defeat.
The defeat proved a clear signal that Turkish military superiority had been eclipsed. Thereafter, the Turkish control in Eastern and Central Europe ebbed away,
