Sultan Suleyman The Grand Turk

The historian and author of Strolling Through Istanbul presents a detailed portrait of the fifteenth century Ottoman sultan, revealing the man behind the myths. Sultan Mehmet II—known to his countrymen as The Conqueror, and to much of Europe as The Terror of the World—was once Europe's most feared and powerful ruler. Now John Freely, the noted scholar of Turkish history, brings this charismatic hero to life in evocative and authoritative biography. Mehmet was barely twenty-one when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the capital of his mighty empire. He reigned for thirty years, during which time his armies extended the borders of his empire halfway across Asia Minor and as far into Europe as Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for crusades against him as Christian Europe came face to face with a new Muslim empire. Revered by the Turks and seen as a brutal tyrant by the West, Mehmet was a brilliant military leader as well as a renaissance prince. His court housed Persian and Turkish poets, Arab and Greek astronomers, and Italian scholars and artists. In The Grand Turk, Freely sheds vital new light on this enigmatic ruler.

Suleiman the Magnificent, most glorious of the Ottoman sultans, kept Europe atremble for nearly half a century. In a few years he led his army as far as the gates of Vienna, made himself master of the Mediterranean and established his court in Baghdad. Faced with this redoubtable champion, who regarded it as his duty to extend the boundaries of Islam farther and farther, the Christian world struggled to unite against him. 'The Shadow of God on Earth', but also an expert politician and all-powerful despot, Suleiman ruled the state firmly with the help of his viziers. He extended the borders of the empire beyond what any of the Ottoman sultans had achieved, yet it is primarily as a lawgiver that he is remembered in Turkish history. His empire held dominion over three continents populated by more than thirty million inhabitants, among whom nearly all of the races and religions of mankind were represented. Prospering under a well-directed, authoritarian economy, Suleiman's reign marked the apogee of Ottoman power. City and country alike experienced unprecedented economic and demographic growth. Istanbul was the largest city in the world, enjoying a remarkable renaissance of arts and letters; a mighty capital, it was the seat of the Seraglio and dark intrigue. 'Clot's informed and intelligent study is to be commended ... Brings back to life a man, an empire and an era.' -- Digest of Middle East Studies 'Excellent ... The best book from which to gain an introduction to Suleiman's era.' -- Middle East Journal

Moses Almosnino (1518-1580), arguably the most famous Ottoman Sephardi writer and the only one who was known in Europe to both Jews and Christians, became renowned for his vernacular books that were admired by Ladino readers across many generations. While Almosnino's works were written in a style similar to contemporaneous Castilian, Olga Borovaya makes a strong argument for including them in the corpus of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) literature. Borovaya suggests that the history of Ladino literature begins at least 200 years earlier than previously believed and that Ladino, like most other languages, had more than one functional style. With careful historical work, Borovaya establishes a new framework for thinking about Ladino language and literature and the early history of European print culture.

This early work on Suleiman the Magnificent is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It details the life of a sixteenth century Sultan and is a fascinating work thoroughly recommended anyone interested in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

"The dramatic story of Islam's counter-crusade against western Christendom, written with vivid narrative power by the author of The Crusades. Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Turks, was one of the most powerful figures in the 16th-century world. This vastly enjoyable account of his impact on Christian Europe from 1520 to the 1560s shows him battering on the gates of Vienna, engaged in running battles with the Hungarians and the Knights of St John and in constant conflict with the navies of the Mediterranean powers. The threat of Islam in the 16th century was not so different in people's imaginations from the West's fear of the East today. To the Habsburg Emperor Charles V and to King Francis I of France Suleiman - from his base in Constantinople - was a super-power to be reckoned with. The epic sieges of Rhodes, Vienna and Malta are the big action set-pieces of the book; the Janissaries of the Sultan hold centre stage. When Suleiman died in 1566 the power of the Turks began to wane; with him the forces of militant Islam had reached their high watermark."--Jacket.

In 1630s' Holland thousands of people, from the wealthiest merchants to the lowest street traders, were caught up in a frenzy of buying and selling. The object of the speculation was not oil or gold, but the tulip, a delicate and exotic bloom that had just arrived from the east. Over three years, rare tulip bulbs changed hands for sums that would have bought a house in Amsterdam: a single bulb could sell for more than £300,000 at today's prices. Fortunes were made overnight, but then lost when, within a year, the market collapsed. Mike Dash recreates this bizarre episode in European history, separating myth from reality. He traces the hysterical boom and devastating bust, bringing to life a colourful cast of characters, and beautifully evoking Holland's Golden Age.