Synopses & Reviews
A complete and compelling account of the fall of Constantinople, the siege that gave rise to today's jihad.
When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, a remarkable era in world history ended. Constantinople, the "city of the world's desire," was a wealthy, imperial, intimidating, and Christian city, influencing world opinion for a thousand years. The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantium Empire and the end of the medieval era. Thereafter, two worlds would rise that of the West and that of the Middle East.
1453 is brought to life by the stories of its two ambitious battling leaders Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium. It is a vivid, intense tale of courage and cruelty, of technological ingenuity, of endurance and luck. Impeccably researched and told as a real-life adventure, the book explores the issues that led up to and resulted from the fall of Constantinople in a way that is easily grasped and jumps from the pages into the headlines of world news. 1453 is the story of a moment of change that has new relevance today a crucial link in the chain of events that besets the modern world.
Review
"Crowley's book...is anything but academic. In fact, it has the flourish of historical fiction, stuffed to the gills with court intrigue, massive armies on the move, religious portents all building up to a crescendo in 1453, when the Ottoman Turks besieged Constantinople and changed history." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Swiftly paced, useful guide to understanding the long enmity between Islam and Christianity." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The characters...are drawn in great detail from historical source material to bring them to life on the page." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
A gripping exploration of the fall of Constantinople and its connection to the world we live in today. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current conflict between the West and the Middle East.
For a thousand years Constantinople was quite simply "the city" fabulously wealthy, imperial, intimidating - and Christian. Singlehandedly it blunted early Arab enthusiasm for Holy War; when a second wave of Islamic warriors swept out of the Asian steppes in the Middle Ages, Constantinople was the ultimate prize: "The Red Apple." It was a city that had always lived under threat. On average it had survived a siege every forty years for a millennium - until the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, twenty-one years old and hungry for glory, rode up to the walls in April 1453 with a huge army, "numberless as the stars."
1453 is the taut, vivid story of this final struggle for the city, told largely through the accounts of eyewitnesses. For fifty-five days a tiny group of defenders defied the huge Ottoman army in a seesawing contest fought on land, at sea, and underground. During the course of events, the largest cannon ever built was directed against the world's most formidable defensive system, Ottoman ships were hauled overland into the Golden Horn, and the morale of defenders was crucially undermined by unnerving portents. At the center is the contest between two inspirational leaders, Mehmed II and Constantine XI, fighting for empire and religious faith, and an astonishing finale in a few short hours on May 29, 1453 - a defining moment for medieval history.
1453 is both a gripping work of narrative history and an account of the war between Christendom and Islam that still has echoes in the modern world.
Synopsis
Now in trade paperback, a gripping exploration of the fall of Constantinople and its connection to the world we live in today
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history, and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current jihad between the West and the Middle East.
About the Author
Roger Crowley was born in England and studied English at Cambridge University. After university, he taught English in Istanbul where he developed his interest in the city and its history. He has traveled widely throughout Turkey, including three journeys on foot across Western Anatolia, and has a working knowledge of Turkish. For the past fifteen years he has worked as a successful educational publisher for Nelson Thornes in Cheltenham, England.