The Ottoman Turkish Attack on Christendom 1520-1606

The great clash of culture and faith between the East and the WestThis Leonaur edition,written by one of Britain's most outstanding historians, brilliantly and compellingly recounts the activities of the Ottoman Empire as it reached its territorial and military zenith during the 16th century to become a primary threat to Europe. However, the Sultan was often forced to divide his resources to wage wars in the east against Safavid Persia and the Mameluke Sultanate of Syria and Egypt and these campaigns constitute the opening accounts in this history. Notably, under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman ' The Magnificent', the Turks were engaged in near-constant warfare on both land and sea. In 1522 the Knights of St. John were expelled from their stronghold on Rhodes. The Sultan's army then swept into continental Europe, assaulting Hungary and the empire of Habsburgs. The Battle of Mohács, was a decisive Ottoman victory that led to the collapse of Hungary and heralded a long occupation. The Ottomans then besieged Vienna in 1529. Here they were repelled, the action marking the high watermark of their expansion to the west. Control of the Mediterranean, however remained an essential objective for Ottoman expansion and their ships became the terror of the seas, raiding and taking thousands of prisoners into slavery. The Great Siege of Malta, failed to secure the central sea and in the Battle of Lepanto, the Christian allies' fleet destroyed the Ottoman navy. By the end of the 1500s, the Ottoman Empire's rapid, unchecked territorial expansion into Europe had largely become a strategic stalemate. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.