Book description
In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire at
the height of its power, despatched an invasion fleet to the island of
Rhodes. This was the opening shot in an epic struggle between rival
empires and faiths, and the ensuing battle for control of the
Mediterranean would last sixty years. Empires of the Sea tells the
story of this great contest. It is a fast-paced tale of spiralling
intensity that ranges from Istanbul to the Gates of Gibraltar and
features a cast of extraordinary characters: Barbarossa, the pirate
who terrified Europe; the risk-taking Emperor Charles V; the Knights
of St John, last survivors of the crusading spirit; and the brilliant
Christian admiral Don Juan of Austria. Its brutal climax came between
1565 and 1571, six years that witnessed a fight to the finish, decided
in a series of bloody set pieces: the epic siege of Malta; the battle
for Cyprus; and the apocalyptic last-ditch defence of southern Europe
at Lepanto - one of the single most shocking days in world history
that fixed the frontiers of the Mediterranean world we know today.
Empires of the Sea follows Roger Crowley's first book, the widely
praised Constantinople: The Last Great Siege. It is page-turning
narrative history at its best - a story of extraordinary colour and
incident, rich in detail, full of surprises and backed by a wealth of
eyewitness accounts.
Roger Crowley read English at Cambridge before going to live in
Istanbul. He now works in publishing and lives in Gloucestershire. His
first book, Constantinople, was published in 2005. His website address
is rogercrowley. co. uk.
