Habsburgs vs Ottomans - The Epic Battle for Vienna Explained

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:03]For centuries, two great powers have battled for supremacy in Europe. The Hapsburggs and the Ottoman Empire.

[00:00:12]The Hapsburg side is personified by Prince Eugene of Seavoi. A young nobleman who is prepared to rebel against his own king, Louie I 14th of France.

[00:00:23]>> You should serve. Not me, but God.

[00:00:26]>> No, never. As an impoverished prince, he embarks on what will be a brilliant career in the service of the Hapsburgs.

[00:00:36]On the Ottoman side, Gurush, a favorite in the Harum, mother of two sultans, and to the end, a philanthropist and patron of the arts.

[00:00:47]Two empires that are completely different and yet have much in common, and they are always ready to go to war with one another. Mustapa, we should fall back.

[00:01:12]>> Horrendous blood baths take place in which tens of thousands are left dead upon the battlefields.

[00:01:21]In times of peace, on the other hand, trade flourishes and the two powers engage in lively cultural exchange that even extends to medical techniques.

[00:01:31]What the devil are you doing now?

[00:01:36]>> The Orient and the Oxident were more than just enemies.

[00:01:51]Paris, the focal point of bustling trade routes, the starting point of revolts and revolutions, and the undisputed center of absolutism.

[00:02:07]350 years ago near Leal, the city's oldest market, stood an elegant townhouse, the Hotel Deson.

[00:02:27]Here [singing] in the second half of the 17th century, a small neglected young prince grows up as one of eight children de Savoir.

[00:02:55]This boy who will go down in history as Prince Eugene of Seavoi displays quite extraordinary interests.

[00:03:22]Is it not a scandal, just a four-man orchestra when your majesty dains to permit it?

[00:03:28]But what am I saying? They're not even men.

[00:03:33]>> I find it greatly charming of her to arrange for the maestro and her friends [music] to play for us.

[00:03:41]>> It is the era of the Sun King Louis the 14th.

[00:03:45]One of his many mistresses is Olympia Mancini, mother of Eugene. She competes relentlessly with other cortisans for the king's favor.

[00:03:56]>> The marquee is well on the way to losing his last shirt. Why don't you do us the honor of joining us in this merry little game?

[00:04:04]>> There are games, madame, which are more to my taste.

[00:04:12]>> His father away at war. his mother preoccupied by court intrigues. That is the world the little prince grows up in.

[00:04:32]Too small, too small, my little wicked one.

[00:04:50]The young prince becomes withdrawn. His talents remain unrecognized by almost everyone.

[00:04:59]>> He developed a real hunger for knowledge, far greater than in later years when his will to learn had lost its urgency.

[00:05:10]As a young man, something came out in him that was definitely of the period. A great interest in science and also in mathematics. There is a fear of mathematic.

[00:05:20]>> Besides the natural sciences, astrology is very popular at that time. It is still seen as a scientific discipline and so the swas also have their own in-house astrologer.

[00:05:34]Astrology and fortunetelling are popular not only in the west. In the Ottoman Empire, astrologers are regularly asked by their sultan to take a look at the stars.

[00:05:54]What the fortune tellers read from their charts has an influence on all the areas of life in the Sultan's palace. The stars are even consulted for the best possible time to declare war.

[00:06:06]It is an influential profession, yet it's also dangerous. One false prediction can cost an astrologer his head. The same goes for a forbidden glimpse into possibly the most secretive place in Constantinople, the Harim.

[00:06:23][crying] The word harim originates from the Arabic and means both forbidden and holy. Religion is the main focus of the women living there.

[00:06:50]Gnos is a Venetian woman who at the age of five was abducted from Cree during the conquest of the island. This former Christian slave is now a Muslim and concubine of Sultan Memed IV.

[00:07:14]Just like Prince Eugene, she is a foreigner who still has to assert herself. Over time, she has risen to be a hiki, a favorite of the Sultan. The main goal within the Harim is to ensure the continued existence of the Ottoman dynasty.

[00:07:32]>> The Paradisha is expecting you in his room in 1 hour.

[00:07:38]>> It's mostly free women who live here, the Sultan's favorites. To climb the Heram hierarchy, what matters is to bear the Sultan's child. Women who do so attain the status of Hasei Sultan. If the child they give birth to is a shada sultan which means a boy then the woman becomes a valid sultan that is the highest rank in the herum.

[00:08:07]My sultan >> gush.

[00:08:17]Sweet like a rose in morning dew.

[00:08:22]>> What is that?

[00:08:26]>> A commander from Cree once gave it to me.

[00:08:30]>> I would like to be able to read this.

[00:08:35]Then it seems the infidels taught you nothing at all.

[00:08:38]>> I was still too young to learn how to read. I only learned the colors, the sea, and the coast.

[00:08:46]But perhaps that isn't true either. My memory is too vague.

[00:08:54]Life in the her can be compared with a girl's boarding school today. As in a business environment, what counts is to rise within the hierarchy. Whether a woman does so depends on many factors.

[00:09:08]Her talents, for example, her ability to learn, and above all, her beauty.

[00:09:18]Competition and rivalry are also the order of the day at the court of Louis the 14th.

[00:09:24]>> Very nice.

[00:09:27]>> Your hand, my dear.

[00:09:30]and the other one.

[00:09:34]As for your lifeline, my dear, it is clearly visible on both of your hands.

[00:09:39]That speaks of great strength and vitality.

[00:09:43]But it is delicate, like the hair of a newborn child. Take care. Your own health is at risk, and your beauty will pass all too quickly. Olympia's doings revolve around secret ointments, exotic elixers, and so-called witches powders.

[00:10:00]>> At full moon, apply this ointment to the corner of the eyes, and then you'll see all the crow's feet will disappear.

[00:10:09]And this powder is truly a miracle cure for varicus veins.

[00:10:17]>> [laughter] >> And this one here, >> a secret musher.

[00:10:24]>> Over the years, Prince Eugene's mother, Olympia, was the most important and so the most politically influential of King Louis I 14th's mistresses. But of course, competition among mistresses at the royal court is intense. This means that Olympia, at least according to gossip, even uses poison to defend her position. Politically, she runs into difficulties. Although she is now a Seavoyard, a member of one of Europe's most powerful noble families, it is one of the poorer branches.

[00:11:13]Benedict.

[00:11:24]>> And so the mother of the frail prince, whom everyone refers to as snub-nosed, decides to leave him in the care of the church. He seems to be suited only to joining the clergy.

[00:11:42]Dominoed May is me.

[00:11:54]The family of course live in a town palace in Paris as befits their station.

[00:11:59]But financial difficulties mean that it is increasingly neglected, falling apart, derelict, and the mother Olympia spends more time at court occupied with intrigues than looking after her own family.

[00:12:14]As a result, the young princes are mostly unattended and uncared for.

[00:12:24]>> 1680, an intrigue at court. Vit, hurry.

[00:12:30]The carriage is already in the driveway.

[00:12:31]>> Olympia is suspected of having taken part in a series of fatal poisonings and even accused of seeking to kill the king.

[00:12:38]>> The king's henchmen are already on their way.

[00:12:42]>> But madam, what are you looking for?

[00:12:44]>> You know my golden box. The special one?

[00:12:47]>> Oh, the special one.

[00:12:50]>> So, where have you put it then?

[00:12:52]>> I swear, madam, I haven't touched it at all.

[00:12:55]>> Yes, nor would I have advised you to.

[00:12:58]No matter. We have to go, my dears.

[00:13:07]>> She escapes from Paris in great haste.

[00:13:16]Little is known of the life of Prince Eugene in the years that follow, but the marquee, who is in charge of the children, reported that Eugene was available for all kinds of nice games for those willing to play.

[00:13:42]homosexuality.

[00:13:44]Officially, homosexuality did not exist at all in the Barack era, but this didn't mean that it wasn't practiced, especially among young noblemen and particularly at the Parisian court. This matter became so controversial that the king himself had to step in to control this behavior which was becoming disagreeable to him.

[00:14:15]In 1683, Eugene decides to take a different path in life. The king is to help him in this.

[00:14:56]My dear Eugene, you made a real effort to look smart for your king.

[00:15:03]What can I do for you?

[00:15:04]>> Your majesty. I'm ready to go into battle for my fatherland. For you, my king.

[00:15:11]>> But surely you know, an Abbeby does not go to war.

[00:15:15]At most, he blesses the weapons.

[00:15:18]>> The church is not for me. I'm courageous. I shall fight. I don't want a regiment. Just give me a company with 40 men, and I'll surely prove to you what I'm capable of.

[00:15:30][laughter] My dear fellow, that's out of the question.

[00:15:40]You must understand to lead a company, [music] you must have the men's respect, and a manly figure would also help.

[00:15:50][laughter] And anyway, Missure, you're just about to enter a cathedral [music] chapter. You should serve.

[00:16:00]Not me, but God.

[00:16:03]>> No, never sea.

[00:16:18]The request was modest, but not the petitioner, for never had anyone presumed to stare at me in so insolent a manner like an angry sparrow hawk.

[00:16:31]Like his mother before him, Eugene now flees Paris. After a few days of travel, he reaches the border of the Habsburg Empire, France's greatest rival at the time. Meanwhile, Louis the 14th observes with growing satisfaction how the Ottoman Empire is slowly expanding towards the borders of the hostile Hapsburgs.

[00:16:52]He speculates on winning territories in the east while the Ottoman Empire establishes its claim as a world power.

[00:17:05]In those days, Sultan Memed IV, the father of Gush's sons, is ruling in the Sultan's palace, the top capy. Along with Gnous, dozens of women live within the narrow winding walls of the Harim.

[00:17:19]The closer one gets to the Sultan's chambers, the more striking is their magnificence.

[00:17:31]Many unics are responsible for guarding and teaching the women and also for their financial affairs. The higher a woman's rank, the higher her income.

[00:17:52]Because the Sultan has so many wives, no one woman can wield too great an influence on him. Yet, tensions continually arise between the Sultan's mother, who chooses the women for her son's Harim and the Sultan's favorite wife.

[00:18:21]Naturally, there was competition among the women, but unexpectedly, this rivalry did not center on winning the Sultan's favor. This also happened, of course, but it was more commonly the competition among those women who already had a child with the Sultan, the Hakis.

[00:18:40]This competition is understandable because what was at stake was raising their sons to positions of power and preventing their own children from being killed as was common in the past. So it was much more than just a struggle among several women for one and the same man.

[00:19:10]As with the European courts, there are intrigues, power games, and gossip, even from abroad.

[00:19:17]I tell you, my sultan, the tower of St. Steven's Church in Vienna is high enough to see from the top to Bohemia, Hungary, and all the way to the Alps, you know.

[00:19:29]And its bell is so huge and heavy that it has to be rung by no fewer than 40 infidels. And how do the infidels speak?

[00:19:37]>> Oh, nothing but gibberish.

[00:19:41]Look, this one for example, Shamdan, the vi is called lights. Lights and then the numbers.

[00:19:53]P one.

[00:19:57]Icky two.

[00:20:01]It free.

[00:20:05]>> One, two, three. [laughter] >> Yes, they can count. But as for religion, you know, they cannot get beyond one.

[00:20:15]They only allow one religion. And even Christians are hunted down ruthlessly without mercy if they do not profess the Catholic faith.

[00:20:24]>> And what does he look like? The man they call emperor.

[00:20:28]>> Many might almost doubt that that Allah really wanted to create a human with him. So ugly is he.

[00:20:37]His head is like a bottle tied up at the top like a butternut pumpkin. His forehead flat as a board. But worst of all, worst of all are his lips.

[00:20:51]They are swollen like a camels and a loaf of bread and a whole loaf of bread would easily fit into his mouth.

[00:20:59]Whenever he speaks, Spittle sprays and oozes from his mouth and from his camel's lips.

[00:21:10]But rarely has another city awakened the desires of the Ottomans as much as Vienna. The golden apple, capital of the derided emperor.

[00:21:22]Vienna is the gateway to Europe, whose southeastern region they already view as their own. And the tower of St. Steven's Cathedral is already seen as a minouret.

[00:21:49]In the spring of 1683, an enormous army starts to move from Adrianopoulos towards the Balkans in central Europe.

[00:22:03]Turkish television series such as Mtashem Museum, The Splendid Century, broadcast in 45 countries, take as their theme the imperial dimension of the Ottoman Empire.

[00:22:24]>> An aspect that's experiencing renaissance in Turkey today. a memorial site that has been built to commemorate the conquest of 1453 of Istanbul or rather Byzantine Constantinople by the Ottomans.

[00:22:43]Turkey has long been the political hub of the Middle East. Its self-confidence is demonstrated by its elaborate restagings of these conquests.

[00:23:09]Likewise, the Turra, the imperial monogram of the Sultan and symbol of the Ottomans par excellence, can once again be found everywhere in Turkey today.

[00:23:26]>> [music] >> Since the mid7th century, the traditional military music of the Ottomans has been known as Mehda. The horse tales attached to poles symbolize the top military dignitaries. In the spring of 1683, they are brought out to support the battle of Hungarian rebels against the Hapsburgs.

[00:23:49]Slowly the first troops start to move.

[00:24:04]You don't start to your campaign as 200,000 people or 150,000 people. You start maybe a few dots and thousands and then it increases.

[00:24:18]And by the way, of course, you buy your uh provision on the way. Therefore, it was a very strict rule not to destroy the gardens and the productive areas of the peasants on the way in order to keep your strategical provisional sources.

[00:24:43]That's when at the end of course you reach there you only had to take your cannons.

[00:24:50]>> But by the time the entourage has crossed into enemy territory their restraint has already vanished. The Tatars are particularly feared. They form the vanguard of the Ottoman army, robbing and plundering, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

[00:25:11]No less feared are the Delhi, which literally means the crazy ones. During their campaigns, they were said to be often intoxicated by opium.

[00:25:29]>> The fact is that MeT IV was not informed about where the campaign was heading. As one contemporary report puts it, we knew that the campaign would lead into Hungarian territory and to the Comaron fortress at the confluence of the Danube and the VA rivers.

[00:25:46]If I had known that Carol Mustaphaer had selected Vienna as the target, I would never have given my approval.

[00:25:53]From this, we can deduce that Car Mustaper forged these plans with his immediate circle, but did not devise them well.

[00:26:07]Ka most of her soldiers advanced towards Vienna via Heimber in July of 1683.

[00:26:18]Most of the town's inhabitants try to flee through the fisherman's gate towards the Danube. They blunder into a deadly trap. Heavily armed Tatars await them from outside the gate. No fewer than 8,000 people are slaughtered here.

[00:26:36]>> [screaming] >> In nearby Vienna, panic breaks out.

[00:26:41]Thousands of people, above all the royal household of Emperor Leopold I, flee as far as Pasau.

[00:26:49]Here, the deeply religious emperor prays daily before the painting merry help of Christians that Vienna may be saved.

[00:26:56]Later, Leopore gives a vianese church and its surrounding district the name Maria Hilf.

[00:27:05]>> Where are the troops of our >> The emperor has temporarily found shelter in the bishop's residence at Passau. Here, the frail young prince arrives on August the 14th, 1683.

[00:27:25]Your Majesty, Prince Eugene of Seavoi, >> we have heard wild rumors of his person.

[00:27:34]>> It is true. No more than a month ago, I was with the King of France. But believe me, I will be your best soldier.

[00:27:41]>> You Savoyards have courage. That I have heard. But you still seem to me very young. Have you yet grown to your full height?

[00:27:51]>> I am reliable, your majesty. Do me the honor of giving me a regiment to lead, and I say you will not regret it.

[00:27:58]>> A regiment?

[00:28:04]The regiments have all been given to loyal combatants, but you are most welcome as a volunteer.

[00:28:10]Report to the General Isimos. The Duke of Lorraine is still assembling troops.

[00:28:15]who, God willing, will liberate Vienna.

[00:28:22]>> From July the 14th, 1683, an army of 200,000 lays siege to Vienna. In a massive camp of about 25,000 tents, Karam Mustapa has some 100,000 armed men under his command. He gives the order to open fire.

[00:28:41]St. Steven's Cathedral is damaged by heavy Ottoman cannon fire.

[00:28:48]The catacombs of St. Steven's Cathedral.

[00:28:51]Countless victims of the Turkish siege can be found among the thousands of skeletons still lying there today. In those days, the cemeteries were outside the city walls.

[00:29:05]The attack on Vienna takes place mostly underground. Miners and fighting troops tunnel towards the city. Digging like moles, they draw near the bastions, some which are up to 12 m high.

[00:29:31]>> The Janiseries are the feared elite troops of the Ottomans. From the late middle ages until the mid 17th century, selected boys were press ganged from Christian communities and raised as devout Muslims to man the household guard, which now consists mostly of recruits and volunteers.

[00:29:53]Once the miners blow a hole in the city wall, the janiseries under the command of Kara Mustapa penetrate the imperial capital.

[00:30:02]Heat. Heat.

[00:30:32]Kamusta P was a wonderful ruler but was not an efficient marshall that we can understand from his strategical mistakes. The one is for example he has a chief the so-called belager of Vienna and where he lives for example Kenburg out of his influence and never had any good information about it that's the Polish division >> the Kalenburg the Hammonds Kul and the Sophian Alpa on the morning of September the 12th the troops of the Christian alliance led by this Polish king gather to attack the Ottomans.

[00:31:16]>> In fact, the Polish contigent on the right hand flank arrives almost too late for the battle. For a long time, there is little fighting on this side while a bloody conflict unfolds in the center and on the left flank.

[00:31:39]FIRE isn't We know that Prince Eugene took part in the battle for the liberation of Vienna in 1683. Many noblemen involved in this battle did not go into combat, but spent their time in the entourage of the commanderin-chief.

[00:32:20]>> Prince Eugene was different from the other noblemen. His first battle was a veritable baptism of fire.

[00:32:44]>> [screaming and groaning] >> The fact that he was rewarded with a regiment after the battle, which he was, tells us that he stood out. He must have been noticed by the commanderin-chief and the most important generals.

[00:32:58]Otherwise, he wouldn't have been given a regiment.

[00:33:02]begin.

[00:33:04]>> In the late afternoon, the Christian Alliance is finally victorious and liberates Vienna. More than 10,000 men are left dead upon the battlefield.

[00:33:22]Every time the Pummerin, the biggest bell in Austria, rings, it is a reminder of the Turkish siege of Vienna. Since the first Pummerin was cast out of melted down Ottoman cannons.

[00:33:40]Legend has it that the vianese believed the sacks of coffee to be camel feed and so they burnt them. Apparently their love of coffee was first aroused by the aroma of the roasting beans.

[00:34:07]2 years after the siege, the first vianese coffee house opened. And so the vianese coffee house culture, now so much a part of the city, was established.

[00:34:34]Thanks to his accomplishments in the battle of Vienna, Prince Eugene receives his regimental commission. He takes over the regiment of the Seavoya Draons, which is in a pitiful state.

[00:34:51]But Prince Eugene is determined to turn the worn out rabble into a powerful fighting force.

[00:35:00]>> Men, you are draons.

[00:35:05]It's important to know who you're fighting against, but most importantly, what you're fighting for. You're not only fighting for the Emperor, but for yourselves, for your honor. Don't forget that.

[00:35:23]There were the classic ownerships of regiments. So certain functions and positions were for sale. That was very lucrative. On the other hand, money also came from the emperor, the commander of the war. So in principle, one was something like a war profiteer at the time. On the other hand, it meant a lot of responsibility. One had to make sure that the soldiers were appropriately armed and uniformed. So, business skills were needed for the whole thing to pay its way.

[00:35:55]Prince Eugene's armor, to be found today in Vienna's Museum of Military History, dates back to a time when Prince Eugene [music] was already better off. It indicates a man of medium height for his time. Therefore, Eugene seemed to [music] be nowhere near as small as some reports say. But where did the dents in his suit of armor come from?

[00:36:20]In Maul, Upper Austria, suits of armor are still made over an open fire. 80 of these handmade masterpieces are currently being crafted by the blacksmith for the Swiss guards in the Vatican.

[00:36:39]We asked Gayorg Schmeidger to recreate a made to measure replica of Prince Eugene's suit of armor.

[00:36:56]Will the breastplate be able to withstand a musk ball? Experts from the Universal Museum Yuan and the Austrian armed forces put it to the test.

[00:37:40]The impact causes a fairly deep dent.

[00:37:43]The wearer would probably have got away with a few bruises and some broken ribs, but three testing shots. One or another of the dents may therefore have been caused in combat.

[00:37:56]Prince Eugene is now 25 years old and has won many a battle when outside Belgrade he suffers the most severe of his nine injuries.

[00:38:31]Eugene is brought back to Vienna.

[00:38:34]He can only be operated on after a few weeks.

[00:38:51]You got it.

[00:38:52]>> Yeah. Even the strip of paper is still on it.

[00:38:56]Your wound is badly infected. It needs a thorough cleaning.

[00:39:21]What the devil are you doing now?

[00:39:23]>> That your grace is the best wound closure there is. I let these creatures go hungry for a while so they'll bite both parts of skin together properly.

[00:39:34]>> At that time, wounds were sometimes not stitched, but held together by ants.

[00:39:39]This method can be compared to modern-day wound closure clips and is the result of a cultural transfer. It was invented by the Ottoman doctors.

[00:39:54]The strategic interest of the Hapsburgs now lies in the south and southeast. So, Prince Eugene fights alongside Charles of Lraine in the conquest of today's Budapest.

[00:40:06]For 150 years, it had been in Ottoman hands.

[00:40:16]Something else inherited from the Ottomans, Hitheru known to the Hapsburgs, was bathing in the form of her moms.

[00:40:25]The Kirly Bath in Budapest is one of two such surviving baths built almost 500 years ago by the Ottomans.

[00:40:37]>> [music] >> back to the Ottoman Empire where the bathing culture has its roots. In the Sultan's palace, Gnos reflects on her own roots.

[00:41:05]You can read, can't you?

[00:41:07]>> Yes, Valida.

[00:41:09]>> How long have you been here?

[00:41:11]>> Some 30 years.

[00:41:14]>> You come from Hungary.

[00:41:16]Kidnapped, aren't you?

[00:41:21]Just like me. But you can still remember your writing, can't you?

[00:41:25]>> I wish it had been otherwise.

[00:41:29]>> How so?

[00:41:32]It would be better to have no memory at all.

[00:41:35]>> Don't say that.

[00:41:37]When you have no memory, the same questions always haunt you.

[00:41:42]Who am I?

[00:41:44]Where am I from?

[00:41:47][snorts] It's just awful.

[00:41:51]Teach me to read now. Hvat.

[00:42:02]Prince Eugene has inflicted many defeats in battle upon the Ottoman Empire. This has an impact on domestic politics.

[00:42:11]>> Your grace, a letter from Victor Emanuel, the Duke of Seavoi.

[00:42:17]>> Read that to me.

[00:42:21]My esteemed cousin, today we received the message that in far off Constantinople, the Sultan has been deposed by his most trusted intimates.

[00:42:30]It's said that this disgrace is due to the military failures of the Ottomans, for which you, my dear cousin, seem to be mainly responsible.

[00:42:50]Sultan Memed IV is in fact deposed and brought to the cafes or golden cage.

[00:42:56]Previously, MeT's brother has spent 46 years within this closed off area of the top Capy Palace. Now, it is his turn to ascend the throne.

[00:43:16]Before the introduction of the golden cage, a much more brutal rule was enforced.

[00:43:23]Fratricside for 200 years, as soon as the new Sultan ascended the throne, his brothers, regardless of age, were killed.

[00:43:39]The memorial tombs called Turba beside the Haga Sophia in Istanbul recall this period.

[00:43:51]Up to a certain period, the Ottoman princes were sent to the provinces to learn the skills of governing there. In some cities of the empire, there were special facilities for this purpose in which the heirs to the throne learned the skills of government.

[00:44:09]Allah for Amen.

[00:44:32]One of these princes is Gush's son, Mustapa, who now ascends the throne in February 1695.

[00:44:39]After the early deaths of his uncle and cousin, he now receives the title of the sultan.

[00:44:46]Thus, Gulnos as Valida Sultan becomes the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire.

[00:45:01][music] Mustaper II does not hesitate to follow in his father's footsteps. He not only commands marches to military music, but plunges into a war to expand the power of his empire in Europe.

[00:45:15]The Ottomans have reconquered Belgrade.

[00:45:18]Now Buddha is to be won back in a new offensive. Not only the Sultan goes to the campaign but also his mother Gnush.

[00:45:26][music] >> On the other side, the Habsburg forces under Prince Eugene refused to let the Ottomans take over the fortresses along the Danube.

[00:45:50]If we look at the military at the time, we find tactics that are very very linear in their form. Troops no longer move towards each other in pike squares.

[00:45:59]Instead, they are aligned in a linear way with symmetry playing a special role. And we have the highest art of making war, namely the art of fortification and besiegment.

[00:46:10]I believe that Prince Eugene's mathematical, scientific, and architectural training were all of immense benefit to him.

[00:46:22]Provided with a salary of a field marshal, Prince Eugene acquires a property in the heart of Vienna where he will build his winter palace.

[00:46:40]Now, Prince Eugene is part of the inner circle of the Imperial Generals, and he sets out to show off his newly acquired status.

[00:46:58]Yet soon he must leave his luxurious palace behind. The emperor has ordered him to hold off Sultan Mustapa, who is moving north from Belgrade. But without risking a battle, nobody suspects that this clash is about to change the course of history.

[00:47:18]For the first time, Prince Eugene is commanderin-chief.

[00:47:22]He yearns to prove himself, but the emperor has forced a humbling waiting game on him. If nonetheless, he seeks confrontation with the enemy, he risks losing everything.

[00:47:40]On the Ottoman side, Sultan Mustapha seeks counsel from his closest advisers.

[00:47:47]>> And what do the stars tell us?

[00:47:51]>> Sultan, Saturn and Jupiter have come together in one constellation.

[00:47:59]This very night, Mars will come and join them too, which we believe will bring with it dangerous consequences as well. We know that from this conjunction, a terrible slaughter will follow, which will scorch all goodness like the heat does the seed.

[00:48:18]>> Mustapa, we should fall back.

[00:48:25]>> What is the will of Allah, Ephendi?

[00:48:28]My sultan, it is Allah's will that you be put to the test.

[00:48:36]If it be your destiny, you may win [music] great glory or you may suffer destruction.

[00:48:51]>> It is 911, 11th of September, 1697.

[00:48:56]Eugene's troops are exhausted on this morning, nothing suggests a possible attack by the Habsburg troops. But after capturing a Turkish officer, Prince Eugene believes he has discovered something decisive. But for the time being, he keeps this knowledge to himself.

[00:49:16]>> He doesn't hold a council of war, and he had a reason for this. He believes that nothing discloses one's intentions to the enemy more effectively than holding such a council.

[00:49:28]He simply knew what had been discussed naturally under the greater secrecy would be known to the enemy hours later or days later at best.

[00:49:43]>> A scout sent out at the crack of dawn finally brings the hoped for news. The Ottomans are near its center and are trying to cross the river. Their cavalry and artillery have been fed across it.

[00:49:55]So the rest are now vulnerable.

[00:50:02]Your grace. It's just as the captured Turb told us. The Sultan has already crossed the Tissa.

[00:50:09]>> Thank you.

[00:50:12]>> Good news at last.

[00:50:16]Your grace. A dispatch from the emperor.

[00:50:22]>> I don't wish to see it now. It could disturb our consideration somewhat.

[00:50:26]>> Your grace, I implore you. An attacks out of the question. [music] The men are all weakened. Marsh fever is raging.

[00:50:32]>> A retreat by the Ottomans is what the emperor wishes for. For Prince Eugene senses the chance to make history. He makes a momentous decision.

[00:51:18]>> [music] >> Hallelujah.