“Vekayi'-i Beç”, a Turkish source for the siege of Vienna in 1683

Abstract

In 1683 Vienna was sieged by Ottoman Turks and was relieved after two months “Vekayi'-i Beç” is the first major Turkish source for this historical event. It exists in two manuscript copies, one in London and the other in Istanbul (T. K. S., Revan, No 1310-of which microfilm was recently accepted by the Toyo Bunko, Tokyo). The portion of the work concerning the siege and its aftermath has been translated into German and annotated by Richard F. Kreutel (Kara Mustaf a vor Wien: das Türkishe Tagebuch der Belagerung Wiens verfasst vom Zeremonienmeister der Hohen Pforte). “Vekayi'-i Beç” is. supposed to be an official diary written by the anonymous Master of Ceremonies (tesrifatci) of the Ottoman court. Its eyewitness description reflects first-hand knowledge about the abortive Turkish siege of Vienna. Moreover, through the examination of this diary we shall be able to throw light on the military structure of the Ottoman state.