1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople

Name: 1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople
Brand: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, USA
Price: 25.27 EUR
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A detailed account of the siege and fall of Constantinople in 1453, a watershed year that closed the book, once and for all, on the Roman Empire and confirmed for Europeans their worst fears about an expanding Ottoman Empire.

Anthony Kaldellis offers a new narrative of the siege and fall of Constantinople in 1453, a watershed year that closed the book, once and for all, on the Roman Empire and confirmed for Europeans their worst fears about an expanding Ottoman Empire.

By the fifteenth century, Constantinople had seen better days, but it was still a vibrant center of learning, worship, commerce, and information. 1453 sketches the tense but exciting shared world of Italians, Turks, and Romans that was thrown into crisis by Mehmed II's decision to conquer the city. Kaldellis showcases a detailed reconstruction following events on a day-by-day basis, pulling from gripping eye-witness testimonies in Latin, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Turkish. He weighs the strategies of both the attackers and defenders, and proves that, contrary to the fatalism that marks almost all narratives written with hindsight, in reality the defense was hardly a lost cause. The defenders knew exactly what they were doing. They were willing to risk their lives, but it was not their intention to become martyrs. Instead, it was the sultan who was scrambling to neutralize a seemingly impregnable defense. That he did so was a testament to his ingenuity and tenacity.

The final chapters of 1453 trace the fate of the vanquished and their captivity. It also weighs the impact of the city's fall on the conquerors, the conquered, and on world history. 1453 was not merely a symbol for the passing of the Middle Ages and the onset of early modernity: it changed the very nature of the Ottoman empire and redirected the transmission of cultural legacies, especially those of Greek classical scholarship. The fall of Constantinople is therefore a nexus of converging pathways between east and west, medieval and modern, ends and beginnings.

Comprar en Amazon: 25.27 €

Marca :OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, USA

Categoría :Antigüedad

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Críticas

A fresh take on the 1453 conquest of Constantinople that will challenge readers in history and classics to reconsider traditional interpretations. ― Margaret Heller, Library Journal

Prolific revisionist historian of the Byzantine Empire Anthony Kaldellis returns to the fray with this meticulously researched analysis of the final act, the Ottoman siege and conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Was the outcome a foregone conclusion, as historians have been telling us for hundreds of years? This powerful narrative of hope and tragedy brings the evidence vividly before our eyes and challenges us to think again. ― Roderick Beaton, author of Europe: A New History

A captivating blow-by-blow account of one of the most important military confrontations in history. ― Nicholas Morton, author of The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East

With careful analysis of old sources and recent scholarship, this fresh investigation makes for a high-stakes dramatic narrative. The twists and turns of the story are a good reminder of the contingency of history-that individual choices and actions have consequences. ― Leonora Neville, author of Anna Komnene: The Life and Work of a Medieval Historian

Anthony Kaldellis's compelling study of the final collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire advances a striking reassessment of both its demise and its broader historical significance. ― Thomas Filbin, The Arts Fuse

A bracing, much-needed retelling of the fall of the Queen of Cities to the Ottoman Turks... Kaldellis provides a fresh perspective. ― Alberto Fernandez, National Catholic Register

Kaldellis reconstructs the campaign afresh from Latin, Italian, Greek, Russian and Turkish sources... [His] enthusiasm is surprisingly infectious. ― The Times (London)

Richly-layered... an accomplished Byzantist, [Kaldellis] knows his material well and assembles it to dramatic effect. ― Justin Marozzi, The Spectator

A triumph ― George Woodhuysen, The Wall Street Journal

Kaldellis' book offers much, is a pleasure to read, is mercifully brief, and deserves to be widely read. ― Jeremy Black, University of Exeter

Riveting, passionate, indignant, eloquent... Kaldellis never discards his academic rigor, as befits a preeminent historian of Byzantium. ― Tunku Varadarajan, Washington Free Beacon

Biografía del autor

Anthony Kaldellis is a leading historian and a professor of Classics at the University of Chicago, who specializes in Greek historiography, Plato, and Byzantine Studies. He has published many books and articles on the history, culture, and literature of Byzantium, ranging from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries. He is previous publications include The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium (2023). He is also the host of the podcast "Byzantium & Friends."