Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
1453
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West | Roger Crowley
25 posts | 4 read | 5 to read
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.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Texreader
post image
Pickpick

For 50+ days, Constantinople defended itself and its 1200+ years of history as the eastern-most bastion of Christendom against the Turkish Ottomans‘ assault. This is a very detailed account of the siege and battle, and some of the aftermath. Sultan Mehmet was only 21 when he felled the city that had withstood many previous attempts. I suspect age aided his endurance. But he was also a young military genius and had extraordinary control of the ⬇️

Texreader men who fought his battles, both by use of carrot (you get to plunder the city) and stick (you will die a lingering death if you fail to fight). The author writes in never boring detail, but it is a slow, monotonous read—the nature of a siege. The atrocious killing, taking of slaves, and plunder—the author is quick to note—was common at the time, regardless of creed or religion. I strongly recommend the book and its evenhandedness in its telling. 5h
sisilia I‘m so going to read this!!! 3h
28 likes1 stack add2 comments
quote
Texreader
post image

The author of the tagged book describes the sources he most trusted to write this historical account of the siege and fall of Constantinople, Doukas being one of them. How crazy that Doukas‘s account stops mid-sentence!

quote
Texreader
post image

“If there is any moment at which it is possible to recognize a modern sensibility in a medieval event, it is here in the account of reactions to the news of the fall of Constantinople. Like the assassination of Kennedy or 9/11 it is clear that people throughout Europe could remember exactly where they were when they first heard the news.”

blurb
Texreader
post image

I realize how inappropriate this is but in the chapter when Constantinople fell, I had to play this song. Now everyone will have this song stuck in your head. Sorry, not sorry. It is a good song.

27 likes1 stack add
blurb
Texreader
post image

#two4Tuesday Thanks @TheSpineView for the tag

1) Easy, stripes. I have some very nice work blouses with subtle stripes. Hard to imagine being subtle with spots

2) Tagged. Checked out from Libby. It‘s an interesting but slow read. I‘ll likely have to renew my loan

TheSpineView YW! Thanks for playing! 1w
43 likes1 comment
blurb
Texreader
post image

Constantinople in the early 15th century. It had declined quite a bit by then, especially after its sacking by the Venetians.

I‘m also reading this one for the #comfortreadathon. Just switching around what I‘m reading depending on my mood at any particular moment. @BookwormAHN

BookwormAHN Absolutely 🧡 2w
43 likes1 comment
blurb
Texreader
post image

My next ebook. I read Cloud Cuckoo Land, which in part was about the siege of Constantinople, so this one looked good to me. So far, the writing style is excellent

40 likes1 stack add
review
hefau
Pickpick

Wow, that was a fantastic read in both subject matter and writing. Reading about the history leading up to a massive siege was almost as fascinating as being taken through the politics and tactics of the actual battles that happened over those 50+ days of siege at Constantinople.

quote
hefau
post image

“At the time of the first Arab siege of 669, a strange prophetic book had appeared, the so-called Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius.” Pg 186

quote
hefau
post image

“In the slashing, hacking confusion, the two leaders squared up to each other in single combat in front of their men.” Pg 162

quote
hefau
post image

“The obsession was linked to secrecy, learned young in the dangerous world of the Ottoman court, which made him keep plans close to himself until they were ripe.” Pg 145

quote
hefau

“‘Battles on the sea are more dangerous and fierce than the battles by land, for on the sea there is no recoiling nor fleeing, there is no remedy but to fight and to abide fortune, and every man shows his prowess.‘ Jean Froissart, fourteenth-century French chronicler” Pg 123

quote
hefau
post image

“The Greek chroniclers struggled to convey what they saw, or even to find a vocabulary to describe the guns.” Pg 116

quote
hefau

“During the winter of 1452, [Orban] set to the task of casting what was probably the largest cannon ever built. This painstaking and extraordinary process was described in detail by the Greek chronicler Kritovoulos.” Pg 91

quote
hefau

“Booty was a raison d‘être” Pg 24

hefau I couldn‘t help myself. 3y
1 like1 comment
quote
hefau
post image

“Orthodox religion worked powerfully on the emotions of the people through the intense colors of its mosaics and icons, the mysterious beauty of its liturgy rising and falling in the darkness of lamplit churches...” Pg 18

hefau I love the way Crowley writes. 3y
1 like1 comment
quote
hefau

“The Byzantines, who were heirs to the practical engineering skills of the Roman Empire, seem to have developed a technique for heating the mixture [for Greek Fire] in sealed bronze containers, pressurizing it by means of a hand pump, then emitting it through a nozzle, where it could be ignited by a flame.” Pg 13

quote
hefau

“‘A red apple invites stones.‘ Turkish Proverb”. Pg 9

quote
hefau

“To the Ottoman Turks of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries [the Theodosian wall] was ‘a bone in the throat of Allah‘.” Pg 1-2

blurb
hefau
post image

After reading a bunch of fiction, I decided it was time to whip out this book about the fall of Constantinople.

blurb
Purpleness
post image

As a Canadian abroad, I do sometimes get a little frustrated with being called American, but at least we‘re more similar than Scotland and Germany🤷‍♀️

abandonedonearth I do sympathise with you Canadians. I always get identified as Australian. 🙄 4y
38 likes1 comment
quote
Purpleness
post image
blurb
Purpleness
post image

When life gives you the wrong size of cannonballs...

blurb
hefau
post image

I have a backlog of books to read, and I still picked this up at the thrift store. 🤷🏻‍♀️

blurb
julesG
post image

Constantinople was what is now Istanbul (more or less), which is in #Turkey
😝
#emojinov @RealLifeReading

Cinfhen Clever!! 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk “Why did Constantinople get the works? It‘s nobody‘s business but the Turks.” 7y
Mdargusch Very clever! 👏🏼🦃👏🏼 7y
See All 8 Comments
rockpools 😆Nice! 7y
Tadams4 One must love They might be Giants! 7y
Zelma TMBG fans unite! ❤️ 7y
writerlibrarian I have this one in my TBR 📚 7y
51 likes1 stack add8 comments