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The Fall of Constantinople book cover
The Fall of Constantinople
The Ottoman Conquest of Byzantium
2000
First Published
3.72
Average Rating
256
Number of Pages

Byzantium was the last bastion of the Roman Empire following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It fought for survival for eight centuries until, in the mid-15th century, the emperor Constantine XI ruled just a handful of whittled down territories, an empire in name and tradition only. This lavishly illustrated book chronicles the history of Byzantium, the evolution of the defenses of Constantinople and the epic siege of the city, which saw a force of 80,000 men repelled by a small group of determined defenders until the Turks smashed the city's protective walls with artillery. Regarded by some as the tragic end of the Roman Empire, and by others as the belated suppression of an aging relic by an ambitious young state, the impact of the capitulation of the city resonated through the centuries and heralded the rapid rise of the Islamic Ottoman Empire.

Avg Rating
3.72
Number of Ratings
68
5 STARS
25%
4 STARS
29%
3 STARS
40%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
1%
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Author

David Nicolle
David Nicolle
Author · 86 books

Dr. David C. Nicolle (born 4 April 1944) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East. David Nicolle worked for BBC Arabic before getting his MA at SOAS, University of London. He gained a PHD at the University of Edinburgh. He lectured in World and Islamic art and architecture at Yarmouk University, Jordan. He was also on the editorial board of the Medieval History Magazine.

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