Empires of the Sea
The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World
by Roger Crowley · first published 2008
80% recommend20% neutral
In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent, Muslim ruler of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power, dispatched an invasion fleet to the Christian island of Rhodes. This would prove to be the opening shot in an epic struggle between rival empires and faiths for control of the Mediterranean and the center of the world.In Empires of the Sea, acclaimed historian Roger Crowley has written his most mesmerizing work to date--a thrilling account of this brutal decades-long battle between Christendom and Islam for the soul of Europe, a fast-paced tale of spiraling intensity that ranges from Istanbul to t
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There's a fantastic book by Roger Crowley called Empires of the Sea that covers the Habsburg-Ottoman war for control of the Mediterranean. The early chapters go into great detail on the Siege of Rhodes, including Tadini's efforts, and how the lessons learned there would…
on “A 16th-century engineer whose work almost defeated the Ottomans” ↗If you enjoyed that I would also highly, highly recommend "Empires of the Sea", also by Crowley. http://www.amazon.com/Empires-Sea-Battle-Lepanto-Contest/dp/...
on “Riding the New Silk Road” ↗For a good read on Lepanto and context, I recommend Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World: https://smile.amazon.com/Empires-Sea-Battle-Lepanto-Contest/...
on “How Important Was the Battle of Lepanto?” ↗One of the most fascinating historical connection points I've encountered comes from Richard Crowley's remarkable, "Empires of the Sea". In the early modern period, the rowed galley was the premiere device of naval warfare. The need for oarsmen for the growing fleets of the powers of the time, the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs, drove slave…
on “Barbary Pirates and English Slaves (2017)” ↗…their legitimacy to rule and is actually part of the prophecies of Islam. Thus for the Sultan to be legitimate, he must conquer Constantinople and Rome (eventually) and thus fulfill the prophecy. (Source: Empires of the Sea) The comparison between China and Turkey as descendants of the Roman Empire is a bit of a stretch. China at least uses the same language (old Chinese poems written in the Tang dynasty and even Han dynasty…
on “Studying the demise of historic civilisations” ↗