"O believers, when you encounter unbelievers in war, do not withdraw from them. Whoever withdraws, except for changing ranks or maneuvering in battle, will incur Allah's wrath, and his refuge is Hell."

Holy Koran, Surah VIII, Verses 15-16.

"If the Turks once break in, there is no resisting their impetuosity."

1787, Count PeterAleksandrovich Rumyantsev (1725-1796) on the need to create and strenuously maintain regimental squares when fighting the Ottomans.

"I do not want to partition the empire of Constantinople; even were I offered three-quarters of it, I should refuse to do so. I wish to strengthen and consolidate this great empire and to use it, as it stands, against Russia."

Napoleon's instructions to General Sebastiani upon his appointment as France's new ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, May 2, 1806.