Short takes: past liwes

摘要

Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1543. Most of his reign (1444-46, 1451-81) 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.