| Description |
ix, 341 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
Prologue: Ptolemy's Map -- Pt. I. Caesars: The Contest for the Sea -- 1. The Sultan Pays a Visit -- 2. A Supplication -- 3. 'The King of Evil' -- 4. The Voyage to Tunis -- 5. Doria and Barbarossa -- 6. The Turkish Sea -- Pt. II. Epicentre: The Battle for Malta -- 7. Nest of Vipers -- 8. Invasion Fleet -- 9. The Post of Death -- 10. The Ravelin of Europe -- 11. The Last Swimmers -- 12. Payback -- 13. Trench Wars -- 14. 'Malta Yok' -- Pt. III. Endgame: Hurtling to Lepanto -- 15. The Pope's Dream -- 16. A Head in a Dish -- 17. Famagusta -- 18. Christ's General -- 19. Snakes to a Charm -- 20. 'Let's Fight' -- 21. Sea of Fire -- 22. Other Oceans -- Epilogue: Traces |
| Summary |
"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."--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-327) and index |
| SUBJECT |
Turkey -- History -- 1453-1683. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85138807
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Venice (Italy) -- History -- Turkish Wars, 1453-1571.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85142723
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Mediterranean Region http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85083230 -- History, Military.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh00005863
|
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Mediterranean Region http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85083230 -- History, Naval.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh00005865
|
| ISBN |
9780571232307 (hbk.) |
|
0571232302 (hbk.) |
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