![]() ![]() Non-Muslims became subjected to the jizya tax, and countless young Christian men were forcibly conscripted and converted in the system of devshirme. ![]() Churches such as the Hagia Sophia were converted to mosques (just as the Hagia Sophia was recently reconverted to a mosque). In 1453 the great city of Constantinople had fallen into Ottoman hands. The Iberian Peninsula likewise fell long ago, to the invading Moors, and the conquered peoples had to expend centuries of energy for Spain and Portugal to finally be liberated, during the Reconquista. ![]() The vision of God as the Holy Trinity, whose efforts to befriend mankind culminated in the Crucifixion of Christ, had been traded away for the vision of God as Allah, far too majestic to have ever been one of us, to whom all servitude must be given. In the centuries since the early Arab conquests the subjugated peoples, many of whom had the honorary status of “People of the Book” according to the Quran, had most all been converted, through policies of taxation and breeding and the force of law. The Holy Land had fallen long ago, as had Egypt, the Levant, and all of North Africa. The soldiers defending Vienna, and the peoples trapped behind her gates, were exhausted.įor over a thousand years, since the very dawn of Islam, the borders of Christendom had been pressed against, and receding. Having refused the customary demand to surrender, made by Kara Mustafa, the Grand Vizier, she had been under siege for two months. An invading Ottoman-led army, estimated at 150,000 troops, stood outside of her gates. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |