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auspea's review against another edition
4.0
Here is a book that reads like a historical Game of Thrones. The intrigues and action is as exciting as fiction. Roger Crowley's examination of the key figures involved in the fall of Constantinople is enlightening. His depiction of the clash between Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium is described in astonishing detail. For someone with a western education, I found learning the details of fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and the rise of the Ottoman Empire is thrilling.
jsjammersmith's review against another edition
5.0
Read my full review at my site White Tower Musings: https://jsjammersmith.wordpress.com/2019/01/15/canon-fire-in-1453-and-the-obnoxious-quality-of-janissaries-in-assassins-creed/
When the reader is able to read about the siege of Constantinople and find some manner of sympathy, or at least understanding, with both sides of the conflict, then I believe it's fair to say the writer has accomplished something.
1453 was an amazing read because every page of this book was brimming with animated prose that made the real facts of the Ottoman and Byzantine conflict seem like more than just a retelling of facts. This was a true and functioning narrative that explained the significance of a largely medieval conflict. 1453 isn't just about an Ottoman conquest of a Byzantine defeat, it's about the last bastion of the classical world falling beneath the might of rising industry, and the shifting of influence of religion in the Middle East as Islam became more than just a political movement. Roger Crowley writes a story in which every facet of this long siege and eventual slaughter was something more.
Reading this book I felt like I was reading an incredible story with real implications for a contemporary reader and that's what great history should be. Crowley has achieved something incredible with this book, and as I contemplate the blood soaked into the stones of the ruins of the Hippodrome, or Orman's mighty gun shaking the earth beneath the earth, I'm left marveled at a story I knew already and the way in which it's been forever altered.
When the reader is able to read about the siege of Constantinople and find some manner of sympathy, or at least understanding, with both sides of the conflict, then I believe it's fair to say the writer has accomplished something.
1453 was an amazing read because every page of this book was brimming with animated prose that made the real facts of the Ottoman and Byzantine conflict seem like more than just a retelling of facts. This was a true and functioning narrative that explained the significance of a largely medieval conflict. 1453 isn't just about an Ottoman conquest of a Byzantine defeat, it's about the last bastion of the classical world falling beneath the might of rising industry, and the shifting of influence of religion in the Middle East as Islam became more than just a political movement. Roger Crowley writes a story in which every facet of this long siege and eventual slaughter was something more.
Reading this book I felt like I was reading an incredible story with real implications for a contemporary reader and that's what great history should be. Crowley has achieved something incredible with this book, and as I contemplate the blood soaked into the stones of the ruins of the Hippodrome, or Orman's mighty gun shaking the earth beneath the earth, I'm left marveled at a story I knew already and the way in which it's been forever altered.
klandwehr's review against another edition
4.0
Even though you know what happened, the how it happened will keep you coming back .
echofm's review against another edition
3.0
1453 is an account of what led to and took place during the siege and fall of Constantinople. It delves deep into the workings of the time of the Christian world, the Ottoman Empire, and the clash of Islam and Christianity.
This book has a lot of great information and insight, but I would not call it an easy read, which is the primary reason I gave it 3 stars. I had to push myself to finish this book because it just took so much effort to read. Some may enjoy how the book goes in depth on battles, and while I enjoyed the history that led to 1453, a good chunk of the book is describing the siege. Unfortunately, most of the siege can be summed up by: The Turks made lots of noise and struck fear into the hearts of the defenders, they shot cannonballs, the walls crumbled, defenders rebuilt. Everyone was frustrated and terrified and the people of Constantinople were not particularly confident despite almost succeeding. In essence, it was a lot of book devoted to the same thing said in different ways, none of it particularly interesting. I don't regret reading the book, because I learned a great deal, but I very nearly chose not to finish the last 50 pages.
This book has a lot of great information and insight, but I would not call it an easy read, which is the primary reason I gave it 3 stars. I had to push myself to finish this book because it just took so much effort to read. Some may enjoy how the book goes in depth on battles, and while I enjoyed the history that led to 1453, a good chunk of the book is describing the siege. Unfortunately, most of the siege can be summed up by: The Turks made lots of noise and struck fear into the hearts of the defenders, they shot cannonballs, the walls crumbled, defenders rebuilt. Everyone was frustrated and terrified and the people of Constantinople were not particularly confident despite almost succeeding. In essence, it was a lot of book devoted to the same thing said in different ways, none of it particularly interesting. I don't regret reading the book, because I learned a great deal, but I very nearly chose not to finish the last 50 pages.
ckeeve's review against another edition
5.0
Crowley is a great storyteller, and gracefully weaves between a really dynamic set of timelines, geographical spaces, and historical figures (with varying levels of reliability). The book's divided chronologically, starting from the decades of decline of the Byzantine empire to the centuries after the fall of Constantinople. The chapters vary in specificity from a few hours in a particular part of the city to a few hundred years of geopolitics. Crowley is fairly candid about the tenuousness of the historical record and the reliability of historians and records from the time, but also refrains from historical or personal bias. Through parts of it, you'll have to dredge through the mechanics of siege warfare and the gruesome realities of sacking a medieval city, but all in all it's a pretty satisfying read.
wolvereader's review against another edition
4.0
Gripping and somewhat depressing account of the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Roman Empire. Crowley scours the original sources and tells the story in a narrative fashion that makes it easy to read and entertaining. Crowley dealt with both sides of the conflict in (what I considered to be) an even-handed manner, and while I was certainly sympathetic to the Byzantines, I didn't feel that Crowley did any demonizing of Mehmet or his army.
Well worth a read for fans of medieval history, or for fans of Roman history who want to see how everything really ended.
Well worth a read for fans of medieval history, or for fans of Roman history who want to see how everything really ended.
agirlushouldknow's review against another edition
4.0
While I have always been interested in the Roman Empire, my interest waned after the split and definitely never followed the Eastern Roman Empire, that is until I listened to this book.
It is an incredibly detailed book that examines both sides of the siege of Constantinople, the defenders who were the last remnants of the Roman Empire, and the newer force under the auspices of Mehmed II. I knew it was an important battle that changed the course of history in the region and the world, but didn't realize I would like reading about it so much.
The author gives enough detail of many of the individuals involved, and enough back history to give the feeling of the situation. Lots of little details I had never heard of, like the large cannons commissioned by Mehmed to take down the walls, the various infighting that occurred both inside and outside the walls and the repercussions of the fall of Constantinople.
I highly recommend this book, and it definitely makes me interested in reading other books written by Roger Crowley. Also, I was very impressed in the audio version with Simon Prebble's reading, he reminded me a lot of Roy Dotrice and I would recommend him as a narrator anytime.
It is an incredibly detailed book that examines both sides of the siege of Constantinople, the defenders who were the last remnants of the Roman Empire, and the newer force under the auspices of Mehmed II. I knew it was an important battle that changed the course of history in the region and the world, but didn't realize I would like reading about it so much.
The author gives enough detail of many of the individuals involved, and enough back history to give the feeling of the situation. Lots of little details I had never heard of, like the large cannons commissioned by Mehmed to take down the walls, the various infighting that occurred both inside and outside the walls and the repercussions of the fall of Constantinople.
I highly recommend this book, and it definitely makes me interested in reading other books written by Roger Crowley. Also, I was very impressed in the audio version with Simon Prebble's reading, he reminded me a lot of Roy Dotrice and I would recommend him as a narrator anytime.
librarianonparade's review against another edition
5.0
1453 and the fall of Constantinople is one of those pivotal moments in history, now sadly too neglected and forgotten, to which we owe much of the modern conflict between East and West, between Islam and Christianity. This conflict is often ascribed to the legacy of the Crusades and the attempt by the Western Christian nations of Europe to reclaim Jerusalem from the 'Saracens'. But in reality the fall of Constantinople had far more lasting repercussions, heralding as it did the spread of the Ottoman Empire into Europe, a steady overwhelming conquest that was not halted until the failed siege of Vienna in 1526 and did not end until the collapse of the Empire in 1923.
To Sultan Mehmed I Constantinople heralded more than just the last outpost of Eastern Christianity, the last remnant of the Roman Empire. It was a symbol of Ottoman supremacy, the city that was destined to form the centre of the Empire, a city prophesied to fall to Islamic might by no less than Muhammed himself, besieged and fought over for 650 years. In the siege and conquest of Constantinople more was at stake than just the fate of one city.
Considering the relative brevity of this book, Roger Crowley admirably establishes the history and context of both Constantinople and the fledging Ottoman Empire. He paints a picture of a city lost in fading grandeur, long since fallen from the height of its power and glory, a city and an empire than never really recovered from its sacking by Christian crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It was a city riven by the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and that hastily papered-over rift was largely to blame for the paltry forces available to the Emperor Constantine XI and why so little aid was forthcoming from the Pope and the West.
Despite obvious prior knowledge of 'how the story ends', Crowley writes with such narrative flair and skill that I read this on the edge of my seat, anticipating with dread the pre-dawn attack on 29th May 1453. He really conjures up the image of that long-ago morning, the noise and the confusion of battle, the sights and sounds and smells, the panic and fear of the besieged Greeks, the exultation and bloodlust of the conquering Ottomans, the sacking of the city, the despoilment of the churches and monasteries, the ransacking of the famous Church of St Sophia, now of course the Hagia Sophia mosque. The ransacking Muslims armies were, of course, no worse than any marauding medieval army, despite what some modern commentators and reviewers will say. Indeed, Mehmed reined his forces in after only one day of plunder and murder, despite the laws of Islam dictating three days of plunder for a city that refused to surrender - although largely this was because they'd done more than enough damage in just one day and he wanted something of the city left to form his new capital!
The fall of Constantinople was such a turning point in history that one cannot wonder what the world might have been like had it not fallen. At the point the city fell the siege was at such a breaking point that had the attack of 29th May been repulsed, as many others prior to this date had been, the Ottoman armies would likely have withdrawn, their forces too exhausted and their morale too low to continue. Without Constantinople the subsequent conquests of Anatolia, Greece, the Balkans and Eastern Europe may not have occurred and the whole history of Europe could have been different. But who knows?
To Sultan Mehmed I Constantinople heralded more than just the last outpost of Eastern Christianity, the last remnant of the Roman Empire. It was a symbol of Ottoman supremacy, the city that was destined to form the centre of the Empire, a city prophesied to fall to Islamic might by no less than Muhammed himself, besieged and fought over for 650 years. In the siege and conquest of Constantinople more was at stake than just the fate of one city.
Considering the relative brevity of this book, Roger Crowley admirably establishes the history and context of both Constantinople and the fledging Ottoman Empire. He paints a picture of a city lost in fading grandeur, long since fallen from the height of its power and glory, a city and an empire than never really recovered from its sacking by Christian crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It was a city riven by the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and that hastily papered-over rift was largely to blame for the paltry forces available to the Emperor Constantine XI and why so little aid was forthcoming from the Pope and the West.
Despite obvious prior knowledge of 'how the story ends', Crowley writes with such narrative flair and skill that I read this on the edge of my seat, anticipating with dread the pre-dawn attack on 29th May 1453. He really conjures up the image of that long-ago morning, the noise and the confusion of battle, the sights and sounds and smells, the panic and fear of the besieged Greeks, the exultation and bloodlust of the conquering Ottomans, the sacking of the city, the despoilment of the churches and monasteries, the ransacking of the famous Church of St Sophia, now of course the Hagia Sophia mosque. The ransacking Muslims armies were, of course, no worse than any marauding medieval army, despite what some modern commentators and reviewers will say. Indeed, Mehmed reined his forces in after only one day of plunder and murder, despite the laws of Islam dictating three days of plunder for a city that refused to surrender - although largely this was because they'd done more than enough damage in just one day and he wanted something of the city left to form his new capital!
The fall of Constantinople was such a turning point in history that one cannot wonder what the world might have been like had it not fallen. At the point the city fell the siege was at such a breaking point that had the attack of 29th May been repulsed, as many others prior to this date had been, the Ottoman armies would likely have withdrawn, their forces too exhausted and their morale too low to continue. Without Constantinople the subsequent conquests of Anatolia, Greece, the Balkans and Eastern Europe may not have occurred and the whole history of Europe could have been different. But who knows?
mysterybuff's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a huge fan of history books - but this one was well worth the read. It was lively (not the dry stuff we had to digest in college) and was interesting. A good read if you are interested in why the Turks were so gunho on capturing Constantinople (and if you ever wondered why they chanced the name to Istanbul).
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