Relief of the battle of Sisak

Three historical events are linked in terms of content – fighting between the Christian and Turkish armies, but separated in terms of time and place. The most important of them is the Battle of Sisak on 22 June 1593, in which a Christian force overcame a Turkish army three times its size under the command of Hasan Pasha, in a brief, violent battle lasting an hour. Individual military units of the two armies are marked with the name of the commander, colours and standards, and the clothing and arms are also evident. The battle is shown clearly on the relief, in a number of scenes. The victorious infantry and cavalry of the Christian army advance valiantly and successfully (Andrej Auersperg is among them), the Turkish army flees on all sides, some are facing the River Kolpa and a large number of Turks (including Hasan Pasha) drown in its waves. The next event (lower right) shows Andrej Auersperg’s triumphant entry into Karlovac on 28 June 1593. The third event (upper right) is the capture of the fortress of Petrinja, which the Christian army took on 10 August 1594. In the upper part of the relief are shown the saint who assisted in the victory of the Christians over the infidels. The year in which the relief was made, 1731, can be read from a chronogram in the inscription in the lower part of the relief: SANCTVS ACHATIVS ANDREAM AB AVERSPERG IN ISTA FVRIOSA PVGNA PERSTITIT ANNO 1593 (St Achathius stood beside Andrej Auersperg in this terrible battle in 1593).