Customer Reviews

Constantinople 1453: The end of Byzantium (Campaign)

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This is the kind of campaign summary one would expect from a British academic: long on scholarship and short on military insight or emotional drama. To be sure, Nicolle has done a thorough job of researching all the sources on the fall of the Byzantine capital in 1453. The excellent bibliography and the wonderful campaign maps are worth the price of this volume just for themselves.

Although Nicolle does a fine job summarizing the origins of the campaign and the opposing commanders, his section on the opposing armies is not particularly informative. He has spent many long hours gazing at suits of armor, ancient helmets and swords in museums and medieval paintings of these items, and this is what he wishes to convey to the reader. He also barrages the reader with a lot of Ottoman military jargon, but he misses the point when it comes to describing their tactical methods. He discusses a great deal about the Ottoman artillery, but little about the archers and other foot troops who fought the bulk of the battle. A cross section diagram of one part of the wall of Constantinople would have been useful. Also, some discussion of logistic and intelligence aspects of the siege would have been appropriate.

Nicolle's summary of the campaign is succinct and professional but it lacks passion. This was a close, hard fight for all the marbles in the eastern Mediterranean but this account lacks the desperate courage displayed by both sides in other, better written accounts. The Siege of Constantinople is usually engrossing because the idea of an ancient culture fighting for its life against an overwhelming foe is enough in itself to rivet attention, but when the punch and counter-punch of this knock-down drag-out fight is added the battle becomes truly memorable. Unfortunately, Nicolle's account skips along in an almost perfunctory manner and we are left with a description that seems to suggest that, "they came, they saw, they conquered".

Constantinople 1453: The End of Byzantium is a well written, but concise, history of the fall of Constantinople. The book is written in the clasical Ospery tradition and as a result gives the reader all that is necessary to understand the pivatol historical event.

What the book could not do, given the limited space avaliable, is put the the event in context. If the reader is looking for an indepth analysis of why Constantinople fell this is not the book for you. It would be impossible to cover centuries of history in 90 pages. If however, you are looking for the basics of the battle, the players and the whys and wherefores the book is excellent.

I have read extensively on the subjrect and was looking for something to read that concentrated on the fall of Constantinople. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Nicolle's little opus on the fall of Constantinople to the Turks is a concise overview of the end of the last vestige of the Roman Empire. It's a long, sad, and complicated bit of history, well-chronicled and illustrated by eye-witnesses and historians of the period. In fact, you can find most of their accounts for free in the public domain and 'Constantinople 1453' is too concise. It adds little.

Even the mechanics of the Byzantine walls, the cannons, and the siege are more than the length of this book allows. But a true treatment of the story requires an understanding of the relations between the Papacy and Orthodoxy, the rise of the Sultans, and Genoese and Venetian trading states.

I'm sorry, but just the last sad day in May 1453 deserves more space and much more love than the author affords. When Constantine XI Pelalogos gave his last noble speech, the crowds wept. Then, the people of the city went to Liturgy at Hagia Sophia, wept, and hugged and forgave each other. The servants in the Imperial Palace wept among the geraniums, and the Emperor himself went once more into the breach to die with his people. Everyone in the ancient city knew that doom was upon them yet they chose to a man not to flee. Just that alone deserved more loving treatment than this book gave it.

Those really interested in the topic might be better off reading Lord Norwich's superb history of Byzantium.

If one wants to get a good quick overview of the Fall of the once Great City of Constantinople to the Turks.Then one could do a whole lot worse than this thin little book. The only real problem that the whole story can not be told in just 80 pages. But if you want to know about the siege and sack of the city, then here you go.It does a good job tellings of Constantine XI, his forces and the Sultan and his troops. Its a sad story that was a disaster for Eastern Europe and shifted the center of power to the Atlantic States of Europe.

Generally speaking, this book is written at the high standard expected from the Osprey Publishing Company. Nevertheless, there are a few areas that could be better. First, some of the maps are too complicated and contain an inordinate amount of information. The result is a very confusing map where large amounts of text are printed in an extremely small font. Some of this information is simply unnecessary. On one map, the editor appears to have been asleep at the switch. The graphic map depicting the final phase of the siege contains the same paragraph printed twice.

The writing style is also a bit confusing. Numerous characters were involved in this battle. Some of these people are not mentioned in the Opposing Commanders section. Individuals such as Ishak Pasha and Mahmud Pasha are not mentioned until well into the book. Thus, the reader is forced to figure out the significance of these people.

One positive aspect of the book is found in the full color battle scenes which are very well done. In addition, they contain a single paragraph narrative of what the artist is trying to depict. The reader can clearly and quickly grasp the concept being presented. This is in contract to other Osprey books where the reader must flip back and forth between pages to identify a plethora of characters that are crammed into the picture.

All things considered, the author does an excellent job of depicting the siege. At times, he appears to be showing off his immense knowledge of the subject matter by inserting unknown names or referencing vague sources. Nevertheless, the book moves along at a decent pace and follows a logical progression. Bottom line, this is a pretty good reference book. The reader will definitely come away with a much better understanding of this great battle.