Product Description

Philip Mansel’s highly acclaimed history absorbingly charts the interaction between the vibrantly cosmopolitan capital of Constantinople – the city of the world’s desire – and its ruling family.

In 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror entered Constantinople on a white horse, beginning an Ottoman love affair with the city that lasted until 1924, when the last Caliph hurriedly left on the Orient Express. For almost five centuries Constantinople, with its enormous racial and cultural diversity, was the centre of the dramatic and often depraved story of an extraordinary dynasty.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142552 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Review

‘An endless treasure chest of fascinating facts and extraordinary revelations ... a cultural and social history as much as a political and military one, Mansel’s outstandingly researched portrait of this intriguing imperial city and its exotic denizens is gripping’

(Robert Carver, Scotsman )

‘The victory, the defeat, the magnificence, the squalor, the cruelty and the tolerance of the Ottoman years are all recorded there, Constantinople is one of those cities to which I always long to return, and the longing grows on every page’

(Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph )

‘Marvellous ... the experience of the whole city grows with the book ... you always feel close to the beat of Constantinople’s raffish and mysterious heart’

(Michael Ratcliffe, Observer )

'A happy blend of shcolarship and panache ... If you have visited Constantinople, read it: if not, buy it before you go' Lawrence James, Evening Standard

(Lawrence James, Evening Standard )

‘Plenty of intrigue and bloodshed. The squeamish should skip the city’s solution to the stray dog problem... and focus on the convincingly documented and colourful ebb and flow of economy and society’

 

(Charmaine Chan, South China Morning Post )

About the Author
Philip Mansel is a historian of courts and dynasties. His books include a study of the Court of France, a history of Constantinople, Paris between Empires, and a life of the Prince de Ligne. He has written for numerous publications, including the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, the TLS and the Spectator. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Institute of Historical Research and editor of The Court Historian. His web-site can be consulted at www.philipmansel.com

---

Customer Reviews

Byzantium endures
With the conquest of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire, in many ways it was business as usual. Constantinople became an increasingly cosmopolitan and tolerant city throughout the Ottoman period and also increasingly westward looking, until it all started to go wrong in the lead up to the First World War, with violent nationalism on all sides leading into ethnic cleansing, not just in the 1920s but even beyond. I was surprised to learn in the epilogue that even as late as the mid-1950s there were still more than 100,000 Greeks still living in Istanbul, but (allegedly government supported) rioting forced most of them out.

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it, and history like this should be read more widely. With Turkey's entry into the EU surely inevitable sooner or later despite misgivings about some of its nationalistic policies and political prosecutions, understanding Turkey and its past is more important than ever.

This book has given me an excellent insight into the social, cultural and political life of the city in the past half-millenium prior to my impending visit there. Highly recommended.

Somethings never change in Constantinople
In his book Mr. Mansel brings to light why all the great powers in the history wanted to control Constantinople and its hinterland. Their motives were not only politic but economic as well. All wanted Constantinople to be an open city.

By giving quotes from contemporary diplomatic corresspondances, accounts of travel writers and history books writen back then; he explains the power strugle behind the scenes.
Sultans ruled the city and the Ottoman empire but, who influenced them? Answer is in the book, Mothers, Eunuchs, dragomans, Pashas, Ambassadors. It clearly shows that when Mehmed conquered the city he adopted the Roman system. In fact he was the continuation of the Roman Empire.
After Pagan Rome (I) and Christian Rome (II), he established the third, Muslim, Rome. As money does not have any religion, the inhabitants of the city wanted to continue their trade and increase their wealthy under the new administration. Cons.ple continued to be the magnet for the rest of the world whether they were firends or foes.

The palace entriques, just like in Rome, continued until last day of the Ottoman empire. (and also it is still continuing today)to control the power and wealth.

The book also gives a good example of the modernization and democratization efforts in the Ottoman empire trying to catch up with Europe and the forces opposing it, which is still continuing today, too.

Mr. Mansel's knowledge on other dynasties of Europe and Midddle East adds a lot into the book. I would have enjoyed more extensive comparison between the other rulers of their times and ottoman sultans, which would help readers to evaluate; the Sultans, the Ottoman Empire, the city and its population, fairly as most of the time Ottoman Empire and its system is critisized on today's value system.

Super powers again wanted to control Istanbul and its hinterland by enforcing their value system. Each super power prefers that Istanbul should better be run by weak administrations rather than another rival super power fully controls it. And today, the history repeats itself.

Constantinople will be Constantinople (multi cultural, multi ethnic, indulgent, intriquing, passionate, full of conflicting interests) until the end of time as it is the city that everyone desires.