Wednesday, October 15, 2008
This Day in the History of Muslim Failure
On this day in 1529, Muslim Turks of the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, abandoned the siege of Vienna. This is different from the failure of the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 (See Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle) but just as important. When European nations initiated Crusades in the Holy Land, the Muslims were kept out of Europe by having to fight the Europeans at home. When the Crusades ended, the Muslims were free to try to expand into Europe and convert by the sword. The European forces in and around Vienna stopped them, twice. The history of the World is much different, and worse, I believe, if Muslims take over more of Europe just as the Renaissance gets going.
Labels: Siege of Vienna
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 8:23 AM 
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Since you mentioned fiction set during the 1683 siege, I'll also recommend Tim Powers's "The Drawing of the Dark". Compelling writing and a decent description of the siege as well.
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