The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans [Paperback]

Donald M. Nicol (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521894093 | ISBN-13: 978-0521894098 | Publication Date: May 9, 2002

Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last Christian Emperor of Constantinople and Byzantium. In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, he was last seen fighting at the city walls, but the actual circumstances of his death have remained surrounded in myth. In the years that followed it was said that he was not dead but sleeping - the 'immortal emperor' turned to marble, who would one day be awakened by an angel and drive the Turks out of his city and empire. Donald Nicol's book tells the gripping story of Constantine's life and death, and ends with an intriguing account of claims by reputed descendants of his family - some remarkably recent - to be heirs to the Byzantine throne.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This account of the life of Constantine XI Palaiologos, last Byzantine emperor, is the entertaining and well written product of deep research into the diverse sources which cover the last years of the Byzantine Empire ... The main text has the thrust of an epic work of fiction, but the powerful narrative is never allowed to eclipse the constant tight referencing, which gives the book its authority.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'The value of this work lies in its masterly synthesis of previous scholarship to produce a coherent and very readable account of the life of Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor ... a lucid and interesting account of an intriguing subject.' History

'... a sympathetic portrait of a ruler who stood out nobly, albeit vainly, against the flow of events'. The Spectator

'Professor Nicol is also able to indulge his 'own enthusiasm for the lunatic fringe of Byzantine genealogy' ... The last chapters provide a highly entertaining addition to the theme Byzance après Byzance. It is good to know that until quite recently there was still a Byzantine court and government in the Isle of Wight.' Times Literary Supplement

'... lucid and compelling ...' The Times

Book Description

Donald Nicol tells the gripping story of the life and death of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Christian Emperor of Constantinople and Byzantium. The book ends with an intriguing account of claims by reputed descendants of his family - some remarkably recent - to be heirs to the Byzantine throne.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521894093
• ISBN-13: 978-0521894098
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Up to Nicol's usual high standards . . ., August 18, 2003

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans (Paperback)

Constantine XI was the last Byzantine emperor, the last Christian ruler of what had been the Eastern Roman Empire, killed trying to defend his city against the final, successful Ottoman attack in May 1453. (Sultan Mehmed II subsequently had his head cut off, peeled off the skin, and stuffed it with straw as a trophy.) He had succeeded his childless brother to the throne less than five years before, after a career as a provincial governor -- the eighth member of his family to hold the title of emperor since Michael Palaiologos in 1253. Like Arthur in Britain and other rulers in trying times, his hero's death led inevitably to legends that he wasn't really dead, that he had escaped the fall of Constantinople, that he would be resurrected to restore the empire. It seems strange that no book has been published about Constantine XI since 1892, but Nicol, who is director of the Gennadius Library in Athens, goes far in rectifying that lack. Because the last emperor was very much a product of his family's inheritance as well as of his Graeco-Roman culture, the first half of this slender volume provides considerable information on the operation of the empire as a family business, as well as on the administrative differences between East and West in the medieval period. The later chapters relate the spread of the Palaiologi as far as Cornwall and Barbados, though these may or may not be descendants of the imperial branch of the family.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicol does it again!, April 7, 2000

By 

M. Stone (ARIZONA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans (Canto original series) (Paperback)

Donald Nicol is a blessing to Byzantine History in the 20th century. One of his greatest pieces of work is THE IMMORTAL EMPEROR. This is only the second biography on the life of the last Roman Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine Palaiologos, and the first to appear in one hundred years. This book is not the history of the fall of Constantinople. For that, you should see Runciman, "The Fall of Constantinople." It is, however, an extraordinary treatment on the life of Constantine XI as well as the incredible legends that surround his death to this present day. Some people have critisized Nicol for providing almost too much information on the legends and myths that surround Constantine. But I think it all goes to show just what this one man means to even modern Greeks, as well as people everywhere. Nicol's research is unmatched. You may feel that there is too much packed in such a small book, but because it is all very exciting and well organized, you will want to read it over and over.

Matt

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truly Uncommon Valor, April 5, 2000

By 

Arthur (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans (Canto original series) (Paperback)

Aside from the fact that The Byzantine Empire, while largely ignored in the Western Historical tradition, is among the most important phenomena in the development of the Western Enlightenment, reading about a figure such as Constantine XI Palaiologus is an excellent way of showing that leaders need not be anemic bankers with no sense of honor or dignity. Nicol shows the end result of Western Christendom's abandonment of the East, and the East's continuing glory in the face of the inevitable. He treats his subjects fairly and attempts to understand and convey their motivations/actions while not indulging in an apologia. Overall an excellent and thoroughly readable text about an extraordinary figure. I also enjoyed his study of the posthumous mythology which has arisen around the Emperor, even among the Turkish people. Can anyone imagine Bill Clinton or Tony Blair behaving so valiantly? So selflessly? Neither can I. Constantine was a hero in the classical sense-except that, unlike Achilles or Aeneas, he really lived. An excellent role model for the young and an inspiring figure for the mature, treated respectfully yet objectively (insofar as anyone can be objective) by Nicol. I would certainly read anything he writes. My only complaint is that I wish the book were longer.