For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across at the shores of Asia. The history of this city—known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul—is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular, Istanbul was re-founded by Emperor Constantine I as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman Empire. He dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Constantine built new walls around it all—walls that were truly impregnable and preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor—walls that still stand for tourists to visit. From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens—the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars, and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city. Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital." Read more

This WWI history examines the Ottoman Army’s defense of the Dardanelle Strait during Winston Churchill’s failed Gallipoli Campaign. The Dardanelles Strait, separating Europe and Asia Minor, was fortified in the fifteenth century with massive bronze bombards causing any unwelcome ships to run a truly formidable gauntlet. And indeed it was on March 18th, 1915, when a powerful fleet of British and French warships attempted to clear the Strait. The attack failed at the cost of three ships sunk and three more seriously damaged. The Allied failure to take control the Strait led to its disastrous invasion of Gallipoli. Using maps, photographs, and other illustrations, this in-depth study examines the strengths of the Turkish defenses, including the Ottoman Army’s reliance on German Krupp guns. Historian Michael Forrest also assesses the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Royal and French Navies, as well as the flaws of Winston Churchill's strategy. Damningly, Forrest's research proves that British intelligence sources had previously assessed that a naval attack alone would not succeed. Many of the fortifications on the Gallipoli peninsula and the Asian shore are still accessible. This volume helpfully identifies those that can be visited, many of which still have wrecked guns emplaced. Read more

The indispensable account of the Ottoman Empire’s Siege of Malta from the author of Hannibal and Gibraltar. In the first half of the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was thought to be invincible. Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman sultan, had expanded his empire from western Asia to southeastern Europe and North Africa. To secure control of the Mediterranean between these territories and launch an offensive into western Europe, Suleiman needed the small but strategically crucial island of Malta. But Suleiman’s attempt to take the island from the Holy Roman Empire’s Knights of St. John would emerge as one of the most famous and brutal military defeats in history. Forty-two years earlier, Suleiman had been victorious against the Knights of St. John when he drove them out of their island fortress at Rhodes. Believing he would repeat this victory, the sultan sent an armada to Malta. When they captured Fort St. Elmo, the Ottoman forces ruthlessly took no prisoners. The Roman grand master La Vallette responded by having his Ottoman captives beheaded. Then the battle for Malta began in earnest: no quarter asked, none given. Ernle Bradford’s compelling and thoroughly researched account of the Great Siege of Malta recalls not just an epic battle, but a clash of civilizations unlike anything since the time of Alexander the Great. It is “a superior, readable treatment of an important but little-discussed epic from the Renaissance past . . . An astonishing tale” (Kirkus Reviews). Read more

Discover the remarkable history of the Fall of Constantinople...Free BONUS Inside!The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked a number of significant historical turning points. It saw the end of the last vestige of the Roman Empire, which had been founded more than 1,400 years before, and marked the beginning of a period of dominance for the growing Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, this moment is taken as marking the end of the Middle Ages in Europe and the beginning of the Renaissance, as the fall of Constantinople was directly linked to both these events.But just why was the city of Constantinople so important, and why did its conquest herald such massive changes? This is the story of one city and two empires and how they clashed to shape the modern world.Discover a plethora of topics such asByzantium: A Fading EmpireThe Rise of the Ottoman EmpireMehmed II: A New SultanConstantinople Seeks HelpThe Siege BeginsFinal AssaultAnd much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the Fall of Constantinople, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access! Read more

A masterful account of the assassins who hunted down the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide set in the context of Ottoman and Armenian history.“A dramatic work of history that reads like a thriller.” —Michael Bobelian, Los Angeles TimesIn 1921, a tightly knit band of killers set out to avenge the deaths of almost one million victims of the Armenian Genocide. They were a humble bunch: an accountant, a life insurance salesman, a newspaper editor, an engineering student, and a diplomat. Together they formed one of the most effective assassination squads in history. They named their operation Nemesis, after the Greek goddess of retribution. The assassins were survivors, men defined by the massive tragedy that had devastated their people. With operatives on three continents, the Nemesis team killed six major Turkish leaders in Berlin, Constantinople, Tiflis, and Rome, only to disband and suddenly disappear. The story of this secret operation has never been fully told, until now.Eric Bogosian goes beyond simply telling the story of this cadre of Armenian assassins by setting the killings in the context of Ottoman and Armenian history, as well as showing in vivid color the era’s history, rife with political fighting and massacres. Casting fresh light on one of the great crimes of the twentieth century and one of history’s most remarkable acts of vengeance, Bogosian draws upon years of research and newly uncovered evidence. Operation Nemesis is the result—both a riveting read and a profound examination of evil, revenge, and the costs of violence.“Absorbing reading. . . . Where it matters most he delivers: in his gripping action accounts of Nemesis at work, and in the sober assessment of its terrible aftermath.” ―Joseph Kanon, New York Times Book Review“Hitler asked, ‘Who remembers the Armenians?’ Eric Bogosian, that’s who. Read his potent, action-packed account of how a little known assassination plot harkens back to a world-historical genocide and so will you.” ―Sarah Vowell, author of The Wordy Shipmates and Assassination Vacation Read more

A New York Times bestseller, The Burning Tigris is “a vivid and comprehensive account” (Los Angeles Times) of the Armenian Genocide and America’s response.Award-winning, critically acclaimed author Peter Balakian presents a riveting narrative of the massacres of the Armenians in the 1890s and of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Using rarely seen archival documents and remarkable first-person accounts, Balakian presents the chilling history of how the Turkish government implemented the first modern genocide behind the cover of World War I. And in the telling, he resurrects an extraordinary lost chapter of American history.Awarded the Raphael Lemkin Prize for the best scholarly book on genocide by the Institute for Genocide Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Graduate Center.“Timely and welcome. . . an overwhelmingly convincing retort to genocide deniers.” —New York Times Book Review“A story of multiplying horror and betrayal. . . . What happened to the Armenians in Turkey was a harbinger of the Holocaust and of the waves of modern mass murder that have swept the world ever since.” —Boston Globe“Encourages America to tap into a forgotten well of knowledge about the genocide and to revive its powerful impulse toward humanitarianism.” —New York Newsday Read more

A gripping exploration of the fall of Constantinople and its connection to the world we live in today. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current conflict between the West and the Middle East. For a thousand years Constantinople was quite simply "the city": fabulously wealthy, imperial, intimidating - and Christian. Singlehandedly it blunted early Arab enthusiasm for Holy War; when a second wave of Islamic warriors swept out of the Asian steppes in the Middle Ages, Constantinople was the ultimate prize: "The Red Apple." It was a city that had always lived under threat. On average it had survived a siege every forty years for a millennium – until the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, twenty-one years old and hungry for glory, rode up to the walls in April 1453 with a huge army, "numberless as the stars." 1453 is the taut, vivid story of this final struggle for the city, told largely through the accounts of eyewitnesses. For fifty-five days a tiny group of defenders defied the huge Ottoman army in a seesawing contest fought on land, at sea, and underground. During the course of events, the largest cannon ever built was directed against the world’s most formidable defensive system, Ottoman ships were hauled overland into the Golden Horn, and the morale of defenders was crucially undermined by unnerving portents. At the center is the contest between two inspirational leaders, Mehmed II and Constantine XI, fighting for empire and religious faith, and an astonishing finale in a few short hours on May 29, 1453 – a defining moment for medieval history. 1453 is both a gripping work of narrative history and an account of the war between Christendom and Islam that still has echoes in the modern world. Read more

A captivating account of the legendary empire that made Western civilization possibleByzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium—long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.Bringing the latest scholarship to a general audience in accessible prose, Herrin focuses each short chapter around a representative theme, event, monument, or historical figure, and examines it within the full sweep of Byzantine history—from the foundation of Constantinople, the magnificent capital city built by Constantine the Great, to its capture by the Ottoman Turks.She argues that Byzantium's crucial role as the eastern defender of Christendom against Muslim expansion during the early Middle Ages made Europe—and the modern Western world—possible. Herrin captivates us with her discussions of all facets of Byzantine culture and society. She walks us through the complex ceremonies of the imperial court. She describes the transcendent beauty and power of the church of Hagia Sophia, as well as chariot races, monastic spirituality, diplomacy, and literature. She reveals the fascinating worlds of military usurpers and ascetics, eunuchs and courtesans, and artisans who fashioned the silks, icons, ivories, and mosaics so readily associated with Byzantine art.An innovative history written by one of our foremost scholars, Byzantium reveals this great civilization's rise to military and cultural supremacy, its spectacular destruction by the Fourth Crusade, and its revival and final conquest in 1453. Read more

Published with a new afterword from the author—the classic, bestselling account of how the modern Middle East was createdThe Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts—including the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraq's competing sects—are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War.In A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day.A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us. Read more

Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianity alive.  Streams of wealth flowed into Constantinople, making possible unprecedented wonders of art and architecture. And the emperors who ruled Byzantium enacted a saga of political intrigue and conquest as astonishing as anything in recorded history. Lost to the West is replete with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands. Read more

From a small Turkish principality to a global superpower, the Ottoman Empire’s role in world history is certainly undeniable. For over six centuries, the empire was arguably the world’s strongest Muslim empire, dominating its rivals in Europe and Asia for many years.Spanning three continents and controlling lands in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Crimea, Anatolia, the Middle East, the Levant, Egypt, and North Africa, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most menacing powers at the height of its power in the 16th century. It was feared by other great empires of Europe. But how exactly did the Ottomans achieve this great power, and how did they lose it by the early 20th century?This book will cover these and other important topics from the history of the Ottoman Empire.In this book, you will discover the following:The emergence of the Ottoman state under its first leader, OsmanThe different sultans of the empire and their reignsThe fall of Constantinople and the Golden Age of the Ottoman EmpireDifferent wars and political processes that shaped the empire’s historyFactors responsible for the gradual Ottoman declineThe social, economic, and political policies of the empire throughout the agesThe dissolution of the empire in the 20th centuryAnd much, much more!Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn about the Ottoman Empire! Read more

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The definitive history of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most influential empires in world history. Its reach extended to three continents and it survived for more than six centuries, but its history is too often colored by the memory of its bloody final throes on the battlefields of World War I. In this magisterial work-the first definitive account written for the general reader-renowned scholar and journalist Caroline Finkel lucidly recounts the epic story of the Ottoman Empire from its origins in the thirteenth century through its destruction in the twentieth. Read more

Discover the remarkable history of the Balkan Wars...Free BONUS Inside!“Trouble in the Balkans” was a familiar headline in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as the European nations living under the rule of the Ottoman Empire simmered with nationalism, unrest, and a covetous yearning for one another’s territory. The Ottoman Empire had seen centuries of dominance, but by the start of the twentieth century, the once-powerful Turks were declining. As reformers within the empire sought routes to power, Ottoman subjects—denied access to the avenues of influence—sensed that the time was ripe for rebelling.Finally, in 1912, the nations of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece formed the Balkan League and went to war against the Turks. The so-called Great Powers of Britain, France, and Russia, each with its own agenda regarding European boundaries and loyalties, had ignored the failure of the Ottomans to implement reforms and now watched with alarm as conflict broke out. The Balkan League won territory, the Ottomans lost territory—and then, irate because of displeasure at the re-drawn borders, Greece and Serbia promptly went to war against their former ally, Bulgaria.Just a year after the Balkan Wars ended, a 19-year-old Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip, filled with nationalist zeal and resentment, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian imperial throne. The First World War that resulted would re-draw the boundaries of Europe and leave millions dead. As Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had predicted decades before, a major European war had come out of some “damned foolish thing” in the Balkans.Discover a plethora of topics such asThe Ottoman YokeThe Powder Keg of EuropeThe Balkan LeagueThe First Balkan WarThe Second Balkan WarAftermathAnd much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the Balkan Wars, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access! Read more

The historian and expert on Israeli-Palestinian relations offers “a well-written, well-balanced” account of cultural conflicts in the region before WWI (Anita Shapira, author of Israel: A History).When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Some discussions focus on the 1967 war, some go back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and others look to the beginning of the British Mandate in 1922. Alan Dowty, however, traces the earliest roots of the conflict to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, arguing that this historical approach highlights constant clashes between religious and ethnic groups in Palestine. Dowty demonstrates that, during the 19th century, there was an overwhelming hostility to European foreigners, and that Arab residents viewed new Jewish settlers as European. He also shows that Jewish settlers had tremendous incentive to minimize all obstacles to settlement, including the inconvenient hostility of the existing population. Dowty's thorough research reveals how events that occurred over 125 years ago shaped the implacable conflict that dominates the Middle East today. Read more

A sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West, shedding a revealing light on current hostilities The West and Islam -- the sword and scimitar -- have clashed since the mid-seventh century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom.Sword and Scimitar chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian land in 636, through the Muslim occupation of nearly three-quarters of Christendom which prompted the Crusades, followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars, to the European colonization of the Muslim world in the 1800s, when Islam largely went on the retreat -- until its reemergence in recent times. Using original sources in Arabic and Greek, preeminent historian Raymond Ibrahim describes each battle in vivid detail and explains how these wars and the larger historical currents of the age reflect the cultural fault lines between Islam and the West. The majority of these landmark battles -- including the battles of Yarmuk, Tours, Manzikert, the sieges at Constantinople and Vienna, and the crusades in Syria and Spain--are now forgotten or considered inconsequential. Yet today, as the West faces a resurgence of this enduring Islamic jihad, Sword and Scimitar provides the needed historical context to understand the current relationship between the West and the Islamic world -- and why the Islamic State is merely the latest chapter of an old history. Read more

The Sabres of Paradise was first published in 1960, a hundred years after the story it recounts had ended. The Soviet Union was at the height of its power and the Caucasus had been coerced into submissive conformity by the brutalities of Stalin. Today, the narrative is a lot more relevant – post-Vietnam, post-Afghanistan, post-Soviet Union and post-September 11.A dramatist by training, Lesley's Blanch's bold work of narrative non fiction – the definitive biography of Imam Shamyl – builds the story scene by scene of two worlds brought into sudden juxtaposition. It is the product of six years of diligent and scholarly research done in Russia and the Caucasus, including tracing his descendants in Turkey and Egypt. During the Caucasian Wars of Independence of 1834-1859, the warring mountain tribes of Daghestan and Chechnya united under the charismatic leadership of the Muslim chieftain known as the ‘Lion of Daghestan’. For years, Shamyl defied his enemy, the Tsar, who had taken his eldest son as a hostage to St Petersburg. Shamyl captured in turn two Georgian princesses (from the Tzarina’s entourage), a French governess, and the children, and kept them in his harem until they could be exchanged for his son.Also a historical narrative, there are beautiful descriptions of the Caucasus – a region of supreme natural beauty and mighty mountain ranges – and the campaigns in which Lermontov and Tolstoy participated.BRIAN ALDISS ― “A book as thick with flavour as roast wild boar, tusks and all. One of the most nutritious books I have ever read.”PHILIP MARSDEN ― “Like Tolstoy’s, her sense of history is ultimately convincing not because of any sweeping theses, but because of its particularities, the quirks of individuals and their personal narratives, their deluded ambitions, their vanities and passions.”HAMISH BOWLES in Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years ― “Jacqueline Kennedy and Khrushchev maintained a spirited badinage through dinner. Mrs Kennedy had recently read The Sabres of Paradise, Lesley Blanch’s dashing history of the Muslim tribes' resistance to Russian expansionism in the Caucasus, and attempted to engage the Soviet premier in conversation on the subject. He responded with the comparative numbers of teachers per capita in the Soviet and Czarist Ukraine. She cut him off with the playful riposte, “Oh, Mr Chairman, don’t bore me with statistics.”NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW ― “I can imagine no better introduction to modern Russia.”LE MONDE ― “A magnificent historical drama; a marvellous, impassioned biography of Imam Shamyl.”AUTHOR BIO Lesley Blanch was a distinguished writer, artist, drama critic, and features editor of British Vogue during World War Two. In 1946 she sailed from England to travel the world with her diplomat-novelist husband, Romain Gary. By the time they reached Hollywood in the 1950s they were literary celebrities. Their marriage of eighteen years ended when Gary left her for the young actress, Jean Seberg. Blanch headed East to travel across Siberia, Outer Mongolia, Turkey, Iran, Samarkand, Afghanistan, Egypt, the Sahara. Born in 1904, she died aged 103, having gone from being a household name to a mysterious and neglected living legend. The author of twelve books, including Journey into the Mind's Eye, Pierre Loti, The Sabres of Paradise, and Round the World in Eighty Dishes, her memoirs – On the Wilder Shores of Love: A Bohemian Life – are published by Virago and La Table Ronde in France. A follow up volume of writings Far To Go and Many To Love: People and Places is published by Quartet Books. Read more

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Armenian Genocide, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! During 1915 to 1923, one and a half million Armenian people were deported and killed in the most appalling ways comprehensible. They were ripped from their homes (in a land where they had lived for longer than history can tell, a land so old that many speculate it was the site of the biblical Garden of Eden) and sent off on death marches across the blistering Syrian Desert. They were shot on the thresholds of the houses where they were raising their children. They were butchered with swords in gruesome ways in order to dishearten those left alive. They were starved in concentration camps, they were burned and drowned and beaten to death by the thousands, and then their corpses were stripped naked and left to rot in the open air. They were overdosed with morphine. They were injected with infected blood. They were cast overboard into the frigid Black Sea. They were gassed. They were raped. They were abducted and sold as slaves. In short, the Ottoman Empire under the Three Pashas made every possible attempt to exterminate the Armenian race with such fervor that their actions would inspire the creation of the very word that now defines the greatest crime that can be perpetrated against a civilization: genocide. Yet today, the Armenian Genocide is an event that has melted out of the collective consciousness. It is an event that has repercussions extending to the modern day and is an event that should never be forgotten. In The Armenian Genocide: A Captivating Guide to the Massacre of the Armenians by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, you will discover topics such as The Armenian ProblemThe Ottoman EmpireThe First MassacresThe Young Turk RevolutionThe World Goes to WarRed SundayDeath MarchOne Thousand OrphansThe Black Sea Runs RedStolen ChildrenJusticeOperation NemesisDenialFighting for FreedomAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the Armenian Genocide, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button! Read more

An astonishing retelling of twentieth-century history from the Ottoman perspective, delivering profound new insights into World War I and the contemporary Middle EastBetween 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, is World War I—a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the “wars of the Ottoman succession,” we know far less than we think. The Ottoman Endgame brings to light the entire strategic narrative that led to an unstable new order in postwar Middle East—much of which is still felt today.The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East draws from McMeekin’s years of groundbreaking research in newly opened Ottoman and Russian archives. With great storytelling flair, McMeekin makes new the epic stories we know from the Ottoman front, from Gallipoli to the exploits of Lawrence in Arabia, and introduces a vast range of new stories to Western readers. His accounts of the lead-up to World War I and the Ottoman Empire’s central role in the war itself offers an entirely new and deeper vision of the conflict. Harnessing not only Ottoman and Russian but also British, German, French, American, and Austro-Hungarian sources, the result is a truly pioneering work of scholarship that gives full justice to a multitiered war involving many belligerents. McMeekin also brilliantly reconceives our inherited Anglo-French understanding of the war’s outcome and the collapse of the empire that followed. The book chronicles the emergence of modern Turkey and the carve-up of the rest of the Ottoman Empire as it has never been told before, offering a new perspective on such issues as the ethno-religious bloodletting and forced population transfers which attended the breakup of empire, the Balfour Declaration, the toppling of the caliphate, and the partition of Iraq and Syria—bringing the contemporary consequences into clear focus.Every so often, a work of history completely reshapes our understanding of a subject of enormous historical and contemporary importance. The Ottoman Endgame is such a book, an instantly definitive and thrilling example of narrative history as high art. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Life-filled and life-affirming history, steeped in romance and written with verve' GUARDIAN'Richly entertaining and impeccably researched' Peter FrankopanIstanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qu'ran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place, and overspills its boundaries - real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between the East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was known simply as The City, but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city, but a story. In this epic new biography, Hughes takes us on a dazzling historical journey through the many incarnations of one of the world's greatest cities. As the longest-lived political entity in Europe, over the last 6,000 years Istanbul has absorbed a mosaic of micro-cities and cultures all gathering around the core. At the latest count archaeologists have measured forty-two human habitation layers. Phoenicians, Genoese, Venetians, Jews, Vikings, Azeris all called a patch of this earth their home. Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence, this captivating portrait of the momentous life of Istanbul is visceral, immediate and scholarly narrative history at its finest. Read more