Summary of Constantinople

'Constantinople' is a vivid and enthralling history of the turbulent political, religious, and cultural forces that have defined the world’s most remarkable city for centuries. Starting in the seventh century and stretching through the centuries to its fall in 1453, this captivating study brings to life the sights, smells, and sounds of the city, its rise and fall, its tragic vanquishing at the hands of the Ottoman Turks and its subsequent re-imagining by the modern-day Republic of Turkey. With the use of eye-witness accounts and a wealth of historical sources, the author puts into context the political, economic, and religious forces which have continually shaped the city. From the city's first pagan rulers to its Islamic heyday and its re-birth as a secular nation, this book reveals how Constantinople has survived centuries of religious strife, violence, and upheaval to become the vibrant metropolis it is today.