Identify Books Concering The Fall of Constantinople 1453
| ISBN: | 0521398320 (ISBN13: 9780521398329) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Steven Runciman
Paperback | Pages: 270 pages Rating: 4.3 | 1120 Users | 100 Reviews
Chronicle Toward Books The Fall of Constantinople 1453
This classic account shows how the fall of Constantinople in May 1453, after a siege of several weeks, came as a bitter shock to Western Christendom. The city's plight had been neglected, and negligible help was sent in this crisis. To the Turks, victory not only brought a new imperial capital, but guaranteed that their empire would last. To the Greeks, the conquest meant the end of the civilisation of Byzantium, and led to the exodus of scholars stimulating the tremendous expansion of Greek studies in the European Renaissance."... an excellent tale, full of suspense and pathos... He [Sir Steven Runciman] tells the story and, as always, tells it very elegantly."
- History
"This is a marvel of learning lightly worn..."
- The Guardian
Point Based On Books The Fall of Constantinople 1453
| Title | : | The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |
| Author | : | Steven Runciman |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Canto |
| Pages | : | Pages: 270 pages |
| Published | : | November 30th 1990 by Cambridge University Press |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Medieval History. Historical. Medieval |
Rating Based On Books The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Ratings: 4.3 From 1120 Users | 100 ReviewsDiscuss Based On Books The Fall of Constantinople 1453
This book has a lot of weaknesses. As of this writing, it is over 50 years old, and many of the "modern works" cited date from when the Ottoman Empire still existed. The author makes a number of unusual writing choices - at times he references "the Arab caliphate" - you know, the one-and-only! On page 58 there is a rather long and unusual description of the Sultan's physical features: "He was handsome, of middle height but strongly built. He face was dominated by a pair of piercing eyes, underThe quibble I had with The Sicilian Vespers, the other of Runciman's books I've read, namely that, in his effort to stick to the story he's telling, he skimmed over tangents I wished he'd have more fully pursued, that problem does not exist here. By its very nature, the story of Constantinople's fall is a much more focused one than the story of the many conquests and rebellions that marked medieval Sicily's history. This focus, combined with Runciman's yet again beautiful prose, makes for
An extraordinarily cogent narrative, a page-turner that doesn't wear its erudition on its sleeve. One star deducted for the obvious and necessary concessions to length and narrative. Two hundred pages of intricate diplomacy, battle, and fallout only to conclude that 1453 wasn't really important in the grand scheme. They don't make 'em like they used to.
A well written, and well sourced account of the famous siege. The author succinctly presents the points of view from the different parties involved throughout the siege. This book, unlike others delves deeper into the motivations (or lack thereof) of Venice and Genoa; which I found very interesting.The author goes into a sufficient level of detail around the Council Of Florence while not going deep enough bore the reader to sleep with minuscule doctrinal differences that were discussed. My only
Aeneas Sylvius, in his lament, termed the fall of Constantinople as 'the second death of Homer and of Plato.'This is such an extraordinary narrative on the dying moments of the 1100 years old Byzantine empire. Beautifully written that it makes the complex history of Byzantine so easy to understand as the words flow fluidly. Runciman brings the history alive before the eyes and nowhere it falls into traps of partiality or ambiguity. I have always had a fascination for this part of European
A beautiful book, and extremely valuable as long as you are aware of its limitations. Runciman believed in the art of turning history into readable narrative--something he does with remarkable skill--and the result is a book that is powerful and engrossing, but which, by necessity, must elide, simplify, and generally stick to a single narrative perspective. If you are a serious scholar, you already know that Runciman is more of a starting point than the final word, and recent work can tell you a
The Fall of Constinonple is in my top 5 saddest historical events. Runciman does an excellent job covering the later history of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the Islamic forces in the Middle East. He presents all the various ways that the East tried to save themselves--even going so far as to reunify with the Roman Catholic Church. However, Western leaders and peoples were all focused in their own backyards with their own problems as the last of the Roman Empire fell to the Turks.A timely
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