The French Soldiers Stationed at Papa Join the Osmánlís
About three thousand of the French troops who had been sent to assist the Germans against the Osmánlís, were appointed to garrison the fortress of Papa. Having been in this fortress for about a whole year, and having received no wages for the service which they had rendered, they quarrelled with the Hungarian soldiers of that place, had frequent sharp skirmishes with them, and at last slew them. On this account they applied to Mohammed Páshá, beglerbeg of Romeili, who was at Buda, and offered to deliver up Papa to him if he would agree to pay them the wages which were due to them. They made a similar application to Dervísh Páshá, beglerbeg of Bosnia, and who was stationed at Alba Julia. Mohammed Páshá complied with the request of these Frenchmen, and sent his lieutenant, Abdí Aghá, with four hundred men, and also the beg of Alba Julia, Arnáúd Hasan Páshá, with his troops to support the above renegadoes against all who came against them, and to avenge the death of their brethren. The Moslem aid which was thus sent them did it effectually; for they slew all who came to oppose them, carried away with them all their wives and children, and distributed them for slaves among those of the troops who had been most active. Three of the most respectable and most honourable of these captives they sent, under the charge of Hasan Páshá, to Belgrade. In the meantime a statement of the amount of wages due to the Frenchmen by the Austrian government, and which amounted to fifty thousand pieces of gold, and for which they had stipulated to deliver up Papa to the Osmánlís, was sent off to Constantinople without any unnecessary delay. The government readily agreed to the proposal; but before the money could be sent to them, the Germans surrounded Papa with cannon and soldiers, so that, in fact, neither the money nor any thing else could be sent to them. The poor Franks remained more than a month in this besieged condition, and thinking it hopeless to wait any time longer in this state of suspense and danger, they, under covert of the night, secretly left the fortress, and tried to escape to the mountains near Alba Julia, about six leagues distant. Not being acquainted with the road, they were soon overtaken by German and Hungarian soldiers, who slew the greater part of them. Nevertheless, five or six hundred of them, who escaped falling into the hands of their pursuers, eventually found their way to Alba Julia in a very weak and wounded condition. Five hundred of them remained at Alba Julia, and the remainder went or were sent to the serdár or commander-in-chief. This account of the Frenchmen of Papa is taken from the Fezliké, but Hasan Beg Zádeh and Abdulkádír relate the story somewhat differently.
From their account of the fact it appears, that the French who had garrisoned Papa had written to Dervísh Páshá, proposing to deliver up that fortress on the condition of receiving a sum equal to what was due to them by the Austrian government; also of being received into regular pay, and that pay to be regularly paid to them at the end of every three months. Their number amounted, they stated, to two thousand, and they promised to be every way serviceable to their new masters, provided their offer was accepted. Sixty thousand ducats was the sum they demanded, which the exalted serdár agreed should be advanced to them, and immediately sent an account of the whole affair to the court of Constantinople. The money required, and ten thousand ducats in addition, for paying travelling expenses, were sent to Dervísh Páshá, who sent it to the Franks. To the principal or leading man among these Franks, who was a cardinal, a gold chain was sent along with the sixty thousand ducats. As soon as the money and the gold chain were delivered to the Franks, they put the Osmánlís in possession of Papa and immediately joined Dervísh Páshá. They were afterwards escorted by one of the ághás to Belgrade, where they entered into the service of the Turks. The exalted serdár some time afterwards showed them very great respect in the siege of Kaniza, they being the very first who entered the trenches on that occasion. The same night on which they entered into these trenches, the serdár gave them fifty thousand ducats over and above the pay which was due to them. This race was found most active and useful in the following campaigns, and were always preferred to other infidels. Several hundreds of them afterwards accompanied Sultán Osmán Khán in his wars, and were most serviceable to him whilst engaged against the northern nations. These French or Franks did not kill in the ordinary way. Such of the Russians and Cossacks as fell into the hands of the Moslems were delivered over to these Franks, who first fixed them alive on spits, and then roasted them before a fire, turning them round and round till they perished by the process.