Constantinople- the Last Great Siege, 1453

by Roger Crowley

  Further praise for Constantinople:

  ‘Moving and convincing … Crowley gets you by the throat, switching back and forth between the Ottoman and the Byzantine camps as he leads his story to a nail-biting close.’ Jason Goodwin, Literary Review

  ‘A powerful telling of an extraordinary story, presented with a clarity and a confidence that most academic historians would envy.’ Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

  ‘More comprehensive and more leisurely than its immediate predecessor in English, Sir Steven Runciman’s The Fall of Constantinople … Roger Crowley’s Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453 tells an old story, but tells it well, with great flair and authority. A carefully paced, compelling and ultimately fair narrative, it is firmly grounded in the original Italian, Greek and (in lesser number) Ottoman accounts.’ Christine Woodhead, Times Literary Supplement

  ‘Gripping … Mixes intriguing details of military history with rich references to the religious imagery that influenced both parties.’ The Economist

  ‘Crowley’s fascinating account of the years leading up to and the final sacking of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire reads more like lively fiction than dry recounting of historical events. The characters, led by Mehmet II, the young leader of the Ottoman Turks, and Constantine XI, the wearying fifty-seventh emperor of a weakening Byzantium, are drawn in great detail.’ Michael Standaert, Los Angeles Times

  Author biography

  Roger Crowley read English at Cambridge before going to live in Istanbul. He now works in publishing and lives in Gloucestershire. His first book, Constantinople, was published in 2005 and his second, Empires of the Sea, in 2008. His website is at rogercrowley. co. uk.

  Copyright

  First published in 2005

  by Faber and Faber Limited

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2009

  All rights reserved

  © Roger Crowley, 2005

  Maps © John Flower

  The right of Roger Crowley to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  ISBN 978—0—571—25079—0

  This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.