Osman Aga of Temesvar

Osman Ağa of Temeşvar ( tr, Temeşvarlı Osman Ağa; 1670–1725) was an Ottoman army officer and one of the few Turkish-language autobiographers of the era. The former prisoner-of-war wrote mostly about his adventures in Habsburg Austria, and his autobiography was the sole Ottoman Turkish example of its kind. He was also a historian and travel writer.

Life

Osman was born in Temeşvar (Timișoara), Temeşvar Eyalet (now in western Romania), probably in a family of South Slavic origin. He spoke German and Serbo-Croatian (South Slavic). Temesvár was inhabited by Romanians, Southern Slavs (Serbs), and Hungarians and had been conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1552.

Osman Aga was a low-ranking army officer in Temesvár who excelled in learning foreign languages and equitation.

After the unsuccessful Siege of Vienna in 1683, the tide turned and the Holy League of European nations began to force the Ottomans out of Hungary during the Great Turkish War between 1683–1699.

Military service

During the war, the Austrians were unable to capture Temesvár, but in 1688, Osman's squadron of 80 men was given a special task: to deliver the salaries of army officiers to Lipova, Arad, just north of Temesvár. While they were in Arad County, they were attacked by superior Austrian forces, and the city council decided to surrender. Osman thus became a prisoner-of-war at the age of 18.

Prisoner-of-war

Osman Aga was awarded to a military judge in the Austrian Army who asked for a ransom. Although he was able to pay for his freedom, he was not released. He was sold to several new masters in Kapfenberg and Vienna. He spent several months in dungeons and was frequently beaten or even whipped by his masters during the early years, but his skill in equitation and learning German helped him to live a relatively less stressful life in later years. One of his masters even offered him freedom in return for converting to Christianity, which he refused. After the Treaty of Karlowitz, he was able to return to Temesvár in 1700.

Austrian-Ottoman War and later life

In Temesvár, with the help of the German that he had learned during his servitude, he became the official dragoman (translator) and served in several diplomatic missions to Austria. However, his comfortable days were over at the outbreak of a new war between the Ottomans and the Austrians in 1715. This time Eugene Savoy of Austria captured Temesvár in 1716. Osman Aga fled to Belgrade (now in Serbia). But Belgrade shared the same fate in 1717. Shortly before the final assault of the Austrians on Belgrade, they exploded the ammunition dump of the fort on 14 August 1717, which resulted in the death of 3,000 people, including most of Osman's family. After the loss of Belgrade, he served in Vidin (now in Bulgaria) and then came to Istanbul, where he continued his civil service as dragoman.

Work

Osman Aga's most important work is ''Prisoner of the Infidels'' (1724), which summarizes his adventures in Austria between 1688 and 1700. He also wrote ''Austrian History'' ( tr, Nemçe Tarihi), an unfinished work up to 1662. His other works include notes about his diplomatic missions after 1700.

*''Austrian History'' ( tr, Nemçe Tarihi, 1722), an unfinished work up to 1662.
*''Prisoner of the Infidels'' (, german: Der Gefangene der Giauren, 1724), his summary of his adventures in Austria between 1688 and 1700. (British Museum NR. MS Or. 3213) ( published in 2021)

See also

* Ottoman-Habsburg wars
* Nikolai Spathari

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman Aga Of Temesvar
17th-century Ottoman military personnel
18th-century Ottoman military personnel
18th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire
Writers of captivity narratives
1670 births
18th-century deaths
Ottoman prisoners of war
Autobiographers
Ottoman people of the Great Turkish War
Writers from Timișoara
Dragomans
Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy
Military personnel from Timișoara
Non-fiction writers from the Ottoman Empire