Review (PDF)

The Fall Of Constantinople

First published in 1965, this is a scholarly and highly accessible study of Constantinople's fall, an event which had tumultuous repercussions across both East and West. Runciman demonstrates the inevitability of the Turkish conquest and the impotence of the Byzantine Empire which, at the time, comprised only one ineffectual city. This vivid account reconstructs the dramatic events which won the Turks an imperial capital, with a vital geographical location, and examines how the Greeks reacted to this devastating blow.

Audible Audio Edition

Listening Length: 7 hours and 41 minutes

Program Type: Audiobook

Version: Unabridged

Publisher: Audio Connoisseur

Audible.com Release Date: January 16, 2009

Language: English

ASIN: B001Q58IA2

Best Sellers Rank: #232 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > History > Middle East #251 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > History > Ancient #515 in Books > History > Middle East > Turkey

There are few historical events that conjure up the adventure, drama and pation of the fall of Constantinople; Barbarian hordes, age old empires, tremendous siege engines, feuding merchant states, conflicted religious leaders, age old prophecies of doom (or victory depending on your view), naval battles and finally a philosopher emperor who having failed to get the outside support his city needs to survive, dies at the hands of the enemy while defending the city's walls, his body never to be found. This book tells the story of the final empire of the Greeks, as if told by a story-teller rocking in a chair by a fire. The story is that good, the characters, their motives and actions are all that good, and they are all true. Some of my favorite parts were the descriptions of the Sultan's Janissaries, and the work of Urban, the canon builder that Constantine turned away, and who Mehmet was only too eager to hire.If you enjoyed any of Norwich's books on the rise and fall of Byzantium, then this book serves as an excellent conclusion. The author, Mr. Runciman, does a fantastic job of detailing the story, placing it in its appropriate historical time frame and setting the record straight on many elements. One of his central tenemants is the arbitrary nature of defining Constantinople's fall as the 'end' of the Dark Ages, and he does a convincing job of making his point that many of the effects often ascribed to the fall had long been in process. First published in 1965, this is by no means the latest re-telling of this event, but its ability to stand the test of time certainly reinforces that it is one of, if not outright, the best.

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