Thou art a Turkish imp, the damned devil’s brother and friend, and a secretary to Lucifer himself. The Cossacks had a lot of fun coming up with a reply containing as many insults as possible:
When the painter heard of it, he got inspired to paint this scene. The original reply was lost, but in the 18th century, a copy was made. The painting depicts Cossacks writing a reply to the demand of Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV to surrender (around 1670):Īs the Sultan son of Muhammad brother of the Sun and Moon grandson and viceroy of God ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Upper and Lower Egypt emperor of emperors sovereign of sovereigns extraordinary knight, never defeated steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ trustee chosen by God himself the hope and comfort of Muslims confounder and great defender of Christians-I command you, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, to submit to me voluntarily and without any resistance, and to desist from troubling me with your attacks. The Zaparozhye Cossacks Writing a Mocking Letter to the Turkish Sultan
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