For 145 years, the Ottoman Empire held Buda — the ancient hilltop capital of Hungary — as one of its most prized western outposts. By 1686, Europe had had enough. A massive alliance of armies from Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, and a dozen smaller states gathered along the Danube with a single mission: take the city back. What followed was 78 days of hell that would turn the river into a mirror of flames.
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Crowns & Conquests·2/3·1′
The place
Buda Castle
The River of Fire
The 78 days that ended 145 years of Ottoman rule
June 18 - September 2, 1686Buda Castle
Moral of the Story
“Freedom sometimes costs more than tyranny ever did.”
Characters
C
Charles of LorraineA
Abdurrahman Abdi Pasha (Ottoman Commander)E
Eugene of SavoySource
Habsburg military archives; Ottoman defteris; European gazettes