Leopold I., who had seen his capital menaced by the Turks, now took energetic measures to continue the war, and very soon his forces recaptured Gran, the ancient seat of the primate of Hungary, which for a long time had owned the Turkish rule. The whole line of the Danube fell into the hands of the Christians, and in 1684 an attempt was made to capture Buda, the once famous capital of Hungary. The siege, however, failed on this occasion, in spite of the heroic efforts made by the Hungarians. But they were more fortunate in the case of another powerful Turkish stronghold, Neuhäusel (Érsekujvár), the recapture of which, a brilliant military feat, was made the occasion for feasting and merriment in many European cities. At length, in 1686, Buda, too, was restored to Hungary. Volunteers flocked into Hungary, from every part of Europe, when the news spread that Duke Charles of Lorraine, the commander-in-chief, was making preparations for the recapture of the ancient and famous seat of the Hungarian kings. A powerful army gathered around his banners, and in the middle of June the duke arrived under the walls of Buda, which was defended by Abdi Pasha, then seventy years old, and a garrison of 16,000 determined soldiers. The siege lasted seventy-seven days, during which time the Turks made two sallies, and the grand-vizier made three attempts to come to the relief of the garrison, but the enemy was each time driven back by the Christian forces. The strongly fortified city, which had been heroically defended, fell, at length, after five unsuccessful assaults, on the 2d of September, 1686, into the hands of Duke Charles. On the afternoon of that day, at four o’clock, began the sixth assault; 9,000 Christian heroes resolutely stormed with fixed bayonets (an arm at that time still new and here employed for the first time) the walls which had been reduced to ruins by the guns of the besiegers. After a sanguinary contest lasting about one hour, a gallant Hungarian, David Petneházy, succeeded in penetrating, first, with his 800 hayduks, into Buda, whose garrison and inhabitants were almost entirely put to the sword. Thus after a lapse of 145 years was Buda freed from the Turkish yoke, and the whole Christian world was jubilant over the glorious news.