The Day of the Siege: September Eleven 1683

In late 1682 northern Italy, Catholic monk Marco d’Aviano is known far and wide for his ability to perform miracles. Crowds gather to watch him speak, hoping that he can perform a miracle to stop the advancing Ottoman Empire. The ruler of the Ottomans, Sultan Mehmed IV, appoints Kara Mustafa Pasha as his Grand Vizier. Kara Mustafa seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate across Europe and is notorious for turning Christian churches in conquered territories into mosques. Kara Mustafa terrifies Europe after informing the Sultan that he intends to march the Ottoman military into Rome, conquering the city and turning St. Peter’s Basilica into a mosque.

Kara Mustafa shows his favorite wife, Leila, an amulet that was given to him by a man after he saved him from dying in an accident while visiting Venice. Leila tells Kara Mustafa that she is troubled by a recurring dream where he is killed by arrows fired from hundreds of archers after a monk holds up a cross. Disturbed by this, Kara Mustafa consults a kahin, who predicts that Kara will see much blood, but the blood will not be his. Before Kara Mustafa leaves for Europe with his army, he gives the amulet to his tearful son, promising that the amulet means he will return. A comet with a red tail is seen, and is taken by both Kara Mustafa and Marco as a sign of victory.

Marco stops an angry mob, stirred up by anti-Ottoman sentiment, from killing one of his friends, a Muslim named Abu’l. However, despite this, Abu’l leaves his deaf wife behind to assist the Ottomans in their invasion of Europe. The ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I requests Marco’s presence in Vienna for advice on current events. Marco arrives and informs the shocked Emperor that the Ottomans have broken their peace treaty and are heading towards Vienna, having already advanced to Hungary. Marco suggests that Leopold ally himself with Saxony, Bavaria and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Leopold disregards Marco’s advice.

Leopold’s daughter, the Duchess of Lorena, is suffering from breast cancer, and Marco miraculously heals her disease. She encourages her father to listen to Marco’s advice. The number of troops in Vienna soon grows to 50,000, vastly outnumbered by the 300,000 man Ottoman army. At this time, Kara Mustafa instructs Abu’l to serve as his translator, instructing the people of Vienna to surrender to the Ottomans. Abu’l’s wife, Lena, who accompanied Marco to Vienna, is shocked to see her husband working with the Ottomans. That night, she sneaks into the camp to speak to him, only to be captured by the Ottomans. Abu’l is asked if he knows her, and he says no. She is then brought to the other captive women who are being used as sex slaves for the army, but Abu’l later pays to have her released.

The Tartars arrive, warning Kara to protect the rear of their army from the Polish, but he ignores this advice. The Turks use cannons to destroy Vienna’s walls and attack the city. The forces defending Vienna suffer heavy casualties and begin to doubt if they will stop the Ottomans from taking the city. However, at this time, the Polish arrive, led by King Jan III Sobieski. The largely protestant forces of Vienna do not want to listen to the Polish king, but Marco convinces them to do so. Sobieski plans a desperate charge from the top of the Kahlenberg mountain behind the Ottoman forces, where they will least expect an attack.

Kara Mustafa realizes that the man he saved all those years ago in Venice was actually Marco. Curious, he has Abu’l arrange for a meeting with Marco. The two men discuss the differences between Islamic submission and Christian virtues, and Marco tries in vain to convince Kara Mustafa to abandon his attack on the city. On September 11, 1683, Marco gives a speech to the army urging them to defend their Christian faith and western civilization from destruction. Using strategy and traps, the Ottoman cavalry suffers heavy casualties. When the Ottomans are weak, the Polish troops on top of the Kahlenberg attack from the rear and win the battle. Following this defeat, the Ottomans never again march into western Europe.

Kara Mustafa is enraged at the loss and admonishes his tacticians, who angrily inform him that he was the one who did not listen to their concerns about artillery on top of the Kahlenberg. Kara Mustafa appears to charge at the troops on horseback, only to be killed by arrows. However, it is determined that this was merely a decoy, and the real Kara Mustafa fled from the battle. On Christmas Day, 1683, the Sultan orders Kara Mustafa’s son to watch his execution as punishment for failing to capture Vienna and fleeing from the battle in cowardice. After the execution, Kara Mustafa’s son throws the amulet his father gave him in the snow.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 at 01:53