City of fortune
by Roger Crowley · first published 2011
5mentions
3recommended by
5HN commenters
2013–2026first – last mentioned
60% recommend40% neutral
A magisterial work of gripping history, City of Fortune tells the story of the Venetian ascent from lagoon dwellers to the greatest power in the Mediterranean - an epic five hundred year voyage that encompassed crusade and trade, plague, sea battles and colonial adventure.
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…November/December as the atmosphere is very different from the more crowded times of year. Locals will tell you it's busy all year round now, but low season still has a lot of appeal. Before visiting I ready City of Fortune [1] for a high level overview of Venetian history and it is a truly enthralling read that covers most of Venice's timeline. I also came across several articles by Ioanna Iordanou. I would be interested…
on “Venice's Secret Service” ↗Book tip: I really enjoyed reading "City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas", which taught me that the main thing Venice had going for it was controlling much of the Silk Road trade until Vasco da Gama doomed it in 1498. Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812980220/
on “Manuscripts reveal the details of everyday life on the Silk Road” ↗…Zara, getting the entire Crusade excommunicated, and ultimately diverting the entire force to Constantinople where they sacked the city in 1204 and replaced the government with the Latin Empire. I found City of Fortune by Roger Crowley to be a very entertaining read, the full story of the Crusade is absurd. Venice completely dedicated its entire economy to producing the Crusade’s ships for years to make this happen.
on “Venice’s failed war against Constantinople led to the first bond market” ↗I just finished reading City of Fortune (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400068207/ref=pe_180000_31...), and this is closer to the truth - the rise of the Ottomans, the fact that Christian Europe couldn't get its act together after the debacle…
on “Riding the New Silk Road” ↗…gross oversimplification. The Byzantines were not exactly rivals of the Venetians. The whole thing was quite bizarre in fact, Roger Crowley has a pretty good story of the events leading up to this in "City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire" if I'm not mistaken.
on “Delacroix's Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople Restored” ↗