The Siege of Vienna (In Our Time, 4/5/09)

• published: 01 Oct 2014
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*** Dscussion on the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683, when the Ottoman Empire tried to capture the capital city of the Hapsburg monarchs. The ensuing tale of blood and drama helped define the boundaries of Europe. In June 1683, a man called Kara Mustafa made a journey to Vienna. That a Muslim Turk should come to a Catholic city was not unusual, but Kara Mustafa did so at the head of the Ottoman Army. Vienna was the capital of the Hapsburg Empire and he intended to take it. The ensuing siege has been held responsible for many things, from the invention of the croissant to the creation of Viennese coffee. But most importantly, it has come to be seen as a clash of civilisations, one that helped to define a series of boundaries, between Europe and Asia, Christian and Muslim, Hapsburg and Ottoman, that influence the view between Vienna and Istanbul to this day. But to see the siege as a defining moment in east/west relations may be to read back into history an idea that was not true at the time. *** GUESTS: Andrew Wheatcroft Claire Norton Jeremy Black ============================================== Islamic Civilization, Islamic Civilisation, Muslim Civilization, Muslim Civilisation, Islamic History, Muslim History, Arab Civilization, Arab Civilisation, Culture, Philosophy, Politics, History, Science, Achievements, Golden Age, Great Age, Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad, Muslims in History, Falsafa, Kallam, Islamic Art, Islamic Architecture, Muslim Religion, Islamic Religion, Muslim Thinkers, Ummayad, Abbasid, Fatamids, Muslim Dynasty, Mamluks, Ottomans, Muslim Empires, Islamic Empire, Arabia, Introduction, Series, Siege of Vienna, 1683, Ottomans, Ottoman Empire, Turkish Army, Clash of Civilizations, East vs West, Austro-Hungarian, Empire, Austrian, Hungarian, Muslim Christian, Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe, Infidels, The Habsburgs, Catholic