Hans Wild (Landsknecht)

Hans Wild (* 1585 as Johann Wild ; † after 1619) was a German mercenary from Nuremberg who fought in the Turkish Wars, among others at Gran . He fell on 27 or 28 December 1604 in the battle for St. Andrae in Hungarian captivity and was used as a slave to the Turks sold their allies the Hungarians at the time. During his imprisonment, he was one of the first Europeans to visit the Islamic sanctuary of Mecca . Through his experience report, the West gained detailed knowledge of the Islamic world.

adventures

For the first years after his capture, he lived as a slave in Constantinople . He turned out to be gifted, quickly learned the Turkish language and, after having had slight difficulties in adapting to Muslim customs, was employed for administrative tasks. His descriptions suggest a certain formation of Wild, because he described local conditions quite precisely with reference to ancient geographers and was able to estimate the value and prices of everyday goods well.

In 1606 it was sold for the fifth time and taken to Cairo . There it was bought by a Persian merchant. In Cairo he learned the Arabic language . He accompanied the merchant on his business trips on grueling caravan trips to Mecca, Medina , Jeddah , Yemen , Sinai , Jerusalem and Damascus .

Since it Christians and Jews for the death penalty were forbidden to visit the holy places, it can be assumed that Hans Wild converted to Islam superficially. According to his own statements, he took part in all cultic acts at the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed in Medina. Nevertheless, he used a later stay in Jerusalem to get a confirmation of the visit to the tomb of Christ from the patriarch . When its owner found this document, he resold it in anger. Wild now served an elderly Turk in Cairo, who restored him to freedom in 1609. After a first attempt to return failed and his ship was shipwrecked, he returned to Cairo via Cyprus and Antalya . In 1611 Hans Wild returned to his home in Nuremberg, where he wrote down his experiences.

His Testimony was for the West one of the first accounts of customs, traditions, landscapes, people and places of Islam in the 17th century. His description of the Islamic sanctuaries refuted some of the rumors that had been widespread up to now, such as the one about an iron coffin of the prophet Mohammed, which was held in suspension by a large magnetic stone.

Works

• Reys description of a prisoner Christian… Ludwig Lochnern, Nuremberg 1623 ( digitized ).
• Reys description of a prisoner Christian: Anno 1604. Steingrüben, Stuttgart 1964.

literature

• Viktor Hantzsch :  Wild, Johannes . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, p. 487 f.
• Suraiya Faroqhi: The Ottoman Empire And The World Around It. Page 229.

Web links

Wikisource: Hans Wild  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Hans Wild in the catalog of the German National Library