The Grand Turk

August 10, 2009
Mehmet II (1432–1481) ascended to the throne of the Ottoman Empire when he was only 12. In spite of his youth, he had an energetic desire to rule the kingdom, physical prowess and a precocious intellect, which made him one of the most brilliant and most feared of all medieval Muslim rulers. In this alternately tedious and fast-paced chronicle, historian Freely, of Bosphorus University in Istanbul, shows Mehmet as cunning and politically and militarily astute. Mehmet turned his back on a peace treaty he had signed with emperor Constantine XI and attacked Byzantium's capital, Constantinople, capturing the city when he was barely 21. His troops looted much of the city and Mehmet, who reportedly shed tears at the destruction of such beauty, spent much of the rest of his reign rebuilding it. By 1463, Mehmet the Conqueror ruled the former dominions of the Byzantine Empire from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. In one short chapter, Freely then rushes through roughly 450 years of history to the Ottoman Empire's end after WWI. Mehmet's colorful and dashing exploits deserve better than this colorless biography. B&w illus., 2 maps.

August 1, 2009
Turkey expert Freely (History/Univ. of the Bosphorus; Storm on Horseback: The Seljuk Warriors of Turkey, 2008, etc.) delivers an oblique portrait of the Ottoman ruler who considered himself another Alexander the Great.

Mehmet II (1432–1481) extended the Islamic empire well into Asia Minor, striking fear into the hearts of Christian warriors during the 30 years of his reign. The youngest son of sultan Murat, Mehmet was, as depicted by observers of the time, well educated in ancient knowledge, resolute and"in every way qualified to realise his soaring imperial ambitions." He was also constantly at war, from the conquest of the Byzantine empire in 1453, to excursions into Bosnia, Albania the Crimea and Anatolia, to the defeat of Negroponte and, climactically, the capture of Otranto in 1480. Freely concentrates on the highlights of his subject's life, such as Mehmet's spectacular conquest of Constantinople. In addition to a grand naval fleet, the sultan also employed a highly effective, albeit motley, army and a corps of engineers, who built a road from the Bosphorus to the Golden Horn, allowing them to transport more than 70 ships overland. After first sending emissaries into the city to offer terms of surrender, which were rejected, Mehmet ordered the bombardment of the city and sacked it in a matter of days. He then made it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire and, by dint of his openness and devotion to the study of geography, astronomy and ancient works, rendered it a true"Renaissance City"—most impressively demonstrated by the construction of the glorious Topkapi palace. Freely dutifully recounts the facts, but he can't get a handle on what made Mehmet such a fascinating man.

The first biography of Mehmet in decades finds the sultan a brilliant but elusive subject.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 15, 2009
Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1543. Most of his reign (144446, 145181) was spent warring. He extended the frontiers of his sultanate across Asia Minor and as far west as Hungary and Italy (Otranto); only the island fortress of Rhodes resisted him. Christians saw him as the devil; three popes called for crusades against him. Freely (physics & history of science, Univ. of the Bosphorus, Istanbul; "Alladin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World") offers the first biography of Mehmet in 30 years, workmanlike and straightforward for the most part, relating the battles he fought and describing court life and culture. Light on analysis but useful in providing what amounts to a summary of Mehmet's reign. Ideal for neither the scholar nor the lay reader but an option for either.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
The fall of the impregnable city of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 ended the enfeebled Byzantine Empire; it also confirmed the emergence of a new, vibrant, and aggressive power that would control the southern and eastern rims of the Mediterranean. The Turkish assault on the city was led by Mehmet II, who was only 21. Freely, who has written numerous books on Turkish history, offers a well-researched survey of Mehmets life and times. The author does an admirable job of separating myth from reality. Long despised by European Christians as a bloodthirsty tyrant, Mehmet is shown as a far more complicated figure. Given the serpentine nature of Ottoman dynastic politics, he was capable of ruthlessness and fratricidal violence. Yet, he was no thug. He could conduct diplomacy with subtle effectiveness and use it to avoid war when possible. Still, like Ottoman rulers before and after, his ultimate goal remained territorial expansion. A useful, informative survey that provides a balanced view of a seminal epoch in world history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)