Siege of Belgrade (1521)
The siege and conquest of Belgrade took place in the summer of 1521 under Sultan Suleiman held.
meaning
For the Ottomans, Belgrade represented a major obstacle on the way to Central Europe, which from their point of view absolutely had to be conquered. As early as 1456 there was an Ottoman siege of Belgrade , which was successfully defended by a Christian army under Johann Hunyadi .
The Ottomans conquered most of Serbia with the exception of the new capital Smederevo until the 1450s , while Belgrade remained under the rule of the Hungarian King Ladislaus Postumus . After the successful defense of the city against the Turks, with the exception of a small reinforcement of the upper town through the Zindan Gate and the construction of the Nebojša Tower in the lower town, the fortifications were not significantly strengthened, which had serious consequences.
With the capture of Smederevo in 1459, Serbia became part of the Ottoman Empire and ceased to exist as a state for several centuries. The Ottomans conquered Serbia under the pretext of bringing order to the country until the political situation in Serbia stabilized. The reason was that the then governor of Serbia, Mihailo Anđelović, who in turn was the brother of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mahmud-Pasha Anđelović, was overthrown . Serbia became the Sanjak Smederevo .
The conquest in 1521 was a historic turning point for Belgrade and also for Europe , as it initiated the successful Ottoman expansion into Central Europe and led to the conquest of Hungary and subsequently the first advance to the gates of Vienna ( First Siege of Vienna by the Turks , 1529). The city experienced a new and brilliant period as a result of the expansion of the Turkish Empire, which brought peace here for 150 years. Belgrade was one of the largest oriental cities at the time and the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith.
siege
The strategically meticulously planned siege was carried out by circling the entire area around Belgrade on the last day of June 1521. In contrast to all previous attempts to take the city, the main attack came from the north. The double wall ring in the south of the city could be avoided.
Since the attack from the north first had to conquer the lowlands of Syrmia to the north of Belgrade, the Turkish armed forces first marched past Belgrade across the Save in order to isolate the city from all sides. Suleyman set up camp in Zemun . The left flank over the Danube took over Mustafa Pascha , the right save side Piri Pascha. The Ottoman cavalry took up position on the great island of war.
The city was bombed in June and intensified until August. The defenders fired cannons and muzzle-loaders at the attackers from the city's towers.
attack
The storm on the city began in early August. The city walls had already suffered considerable damage from the bombing, but the first attack on August 2nd was successfully repulsed.
On August 3, the Ottomans attacked the lower town, but this attack was also repelled. After this failure, the Sultan decided that further preparations were needed and the cannons were taken to the Great War Island. A pontoon bridge was also laid over the Save.
Preparations for the attack began on August 7th. During the night the Turkish forces gathered under the walls. On August 8, the general attack began from three sides: from the bank of the Sava (Piri Pascha), from the bank of the Danube (Mustafa Pascha) and head-on from the rivers (Ahmed Pascha). The defenders were unable to cope with this general attack, and the Lower City succumbed to the attackers after all day long fighting.
On the same day the Janissaries began the attack on the upper town, but could be repulsed. The next day the attack continued uninterrupted with the bombing. The Turks brought the cannons into position in the conquered lower town and a smaller cannon could also be brought onto a tower of the Franciscan monastery. The Turks were able to start some fires in the upper town. The troops under Ahmed Pasha attempted an assault on the castle of the upper town on August 16, which again failed.
Ever since the Turks took possession of the lower town, they tried to mine the walls. The construction of the pontoon bridge over the Save was completed on August 17th. On the 24th there were the first desertions among the defenders and on the 25th negotiations about the surrender began. On the 26th and 27th further attacks followed and on the 28th the defenders agreed to surrender the city.
Ingestion
The sultan took over the city on August 30th, after which all the churches in the lower city were converted into mosques at his behest. As the first in command, Ali Beg moved from the Sanjak Smederevo to Belgrade. Several thousand Belgrade residents were deported to the vicinity of Istanbul, which the Belgrade Forest still reminds of today .