Ottoman-Habsburg Wars (1521-1791)
Images from eight wars fought between 1570 and 1718
View of the siege of Bihać, 1592 (Bihać, Bosanska Krajina, Bosnia-Herzegovina) 44°49ʹ01ʺN 15°52ʹ15ʺE
published 1592Etching and engraving; printed on paper; the double ink framing lines of Mount Type A are drawn directly onto the sheet | 30.5 x 45.1 cm (image) | RCIN 721081
A medium-high oblique view of the siege of the Imperial fortress of Bihać by the Turks, commanded by Telli Hasan Pasha (Hasan Predojević; ca 1530-22 June 1593), resulting in a Turkish victory. Ottoman-Habsburg Wars: The Long War (1591/3-1606). Oriented with north-east to top. Orientation is indicated by a boldly engraved arrow for north, and the letters O[riens], P[onente], and L[evante] which are written to the edges of the sheet.
In response to the refusal by Rudolf II to pay the annual tribute to the Sultan, the Turks, commanded by Hasan Pasha, responded by taking the last imperial fortress of Bihać in June 1592. It became the westernmost Turkish acquisition, prompting the recently elected Pope Clement VIII to propose the formation of a league against the Turks. It was reported that the Turks killed 5,000 Christians and abducted 800 children when they took the city.
Printed from a worn, scratched, and possibly re-used plate.
Giovanni Battista de Cavalieri (c. 1525-1601) (engraver) [bottom left:] Intagliata per Gioanbatista de / Caualleri in Roma i592.
Subject(s)
Army-Ottoman EmpireWatermark: The letter M under six-pointed star in a shield
Condition: no gilt edges; pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso. Verso: three old, small waterstains; brown discolouration
27.2 x 45.1 cm (neatline)
30.5 x 45.1 cm (image)
30.7 x 45.4 cm (platemark)
33.8 x 48.8 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
Il vero ritrato della Forteza di Bichat asituata in mezo del Fiume Vna in Crouatia asediata da Turchi il mese de Giugno i592. [below map]
Annotations:
George III heading: Bihach 1592.
Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [top left, red pencil:] 1/73; [top left, black pencil, erased:] I/77.
George III catalogue entry:
Bihach Ritratto della Fortezza di Bichat asituata in mezo del Fiume Una in Croatia, assediata da Turchi il mese de Giugno 1592: intagliata per Gioanbatista de Cavalleri, 1592.
Subject(s)
Bihać, Bosanska Krajina, Bosnia-Herzegovina (44°49ʹ01ʺN 15°52ʹ15ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
K.M. Setton, ‘Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the seventeenth century’, American Philosophical Society 1991, vol. 192, p. 6
L. Duerloo, Dynasty and piety: Archduke Albert (1598-1621) and Habsburg political culture in an age of religious wars, Farnham 2012, p. 258
J.A. Marino and T. Kuehn, A renaissance of conflicts: visions and revisions of law and society in Italy and Spain, Toronto 2004, p. 368
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2727
Page revisions
25 May 2024
Current version
