Slag bij Belgrado, 1717 1717 - 1729

This is an anonymous depiction of the 1717 ‘Slag bij Belgrado’ or Battle of Belgrade. It was made shortly after the event. The print captures a pivotal moment in the Austro-Ottoman War. Looking at this map, we see more than just geographical data. The lines etched here were drawn in the context of imperial ambitions and religious conflict, which defined much of early 18th-century Europe. Belgrade was a melting pot, a contested space where identities clashed and coalesced. The battle itself was a brutal intersection of cultures and power dynamics. Although the artist remains unknown, their work provides insight into the narratives that were being circulated at the time. What stories were being told about who had power, about which lives mattered? How does a battle like this shape the identity of a city and its people? Consider how the act of mapping—of claiming to know and represent a space—is itself an assertion of control. This depiction of the Battle of Belgrade invites us to reflect on the ways in which history is recorded, and whose perspectives are included or excluded.