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Primary sourcePainting1556

The Victories of Emperor Charles V: Suleiman Forced to Raise the Siege of Vienna

D. V. Coornhert · 1556

A 1556 propaganda print by Coornhert from a series celebrating Emperor Charles V, showing Suleiman's army retreating from Vienna amid battle.

This propaganda print frames Suleiman's withdrawal from Vienna as a victory for his rival Charles V.

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Engraved print of a battle scene with mounted knights in armor and lances in the foreground, troops fighting among fallen men and horses, a city with spires at upper left, and a Latin and Spanish-French caption below reading 1529, Pannonia Turcam Caesar...Viennam.
D. V. Coornhert, The Victories of Emperor Charles V: Suleiman the Magnificent Forced to Raise the Siege of Vienna, 1556. Leiden University Libraries.

About this source

What it is

This engraved print was made in 1556 by the printmaker D. V. Coornhert, part of a series called The Victories of Emperor Charles V. It shows Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's forces being driven back from the siege of Vienna in 1529. The print is held by Leiden University Libraries and includes verses in Spanish and French beneath the image.

Why it matters

This print was created as propaganda to glorify Emperor Charles V and his allies by showing a defeat of the Ottoman forces under Suleiman. It reveals how European rulers used art to shape public memory of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire, turning a military failure of Suleiman's campaign into a celebration of Christian victory.

Look closer

  • Why would a series about Charles V's victories include an image connected to Suleiman?
  • What does the battle scene emphasize, and what might it leave out about the Ottoman side?
  • How do the multiple languages in the caption suggest who the intended audience was?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Suleiman the Magnificent on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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