jjares reviewed The Siege of Vienna (1529): The History and Legacy of the Decisive Battle that Prevented the Ottoman Empire?s Expansion into Western Europe on + 3263 more book reviews
This is a concise overview of the sieges of Vienna that Suleiman the Magnificent tried. The author certainly understood the levels of soldiers in both armies and explained them extensively.
The author also tells that the fall of Constantinople helped significantly to bring about the Renaissance. How? Constantinople was the custodian of many, many ancient texts. When the Byzantine Empire fell, refugees flocked to Europe with those books. Those ancient texts sparked an interest in the thoughts and beliefs of the ancient wise men. That brought about the Italian Renaissance, which spread over Europe.
As Suleiman was expanding his empire out from Constantinople, he forced European rulers to (reluctantly) work together to stop the powerful Ottomans from taking over Europe. The entryway to Europe was Vienna. This book explains, in great detail, how the Ottomans were defeated time and again by wet weather, mud that stopped the movement of heavy artillery, and camels that could not stand the cold, wet weather, dying in droves. Ottoman soldiers also died of the awful weather and rains. This story would be repeated after 1529 -- in 1532. The shocking thing is that Vienna's walls were weakened by years of little maintenance. The forces of Vienna were about 21,000 (compared to 120,000 Ottoman soldiers). Yet, they held.
In 1541, Suleiman turned his attention to Hungary repeatedly. In fact, he died in 1566, while on campaign in Hungary. Then the book talks about the factors that led to Suleiman's defeat in Vienna (the rising power of the Habsburgs). Then, there is an analysis of why the Ottoman Empire started to crumble (their system was built on slavery - but only Christians could become slaves). There are several other interesting factors that the book explains.
The author also tells that the fall of Constantinople helped significantly to bring about the Renaissance. How? Constantinople was the custodian of many, many ancient texts. When the Byzantine Empire fell, refugees flocked to Europe with those books. Those ancient texts sparked an interest in the thoughts and beliefs of the ancient wise men. That brought about the Italian Renaissance, which spread over Europe.
As Suleiman was expanding his empire out from Constantinople, he forced European rulers to (reluctantly) work together to stop the powerful Ottomans from taking over Europe. The entryway to Europe was Vienna. This book explains, in great detail, how the Ottomans were defeated time and again by wet weather, mud that stopped the movement of heavy artillery, and camels that could not stand the cold, wet weather, dying in droves. Ottoman soldiers also died of the awful weather and rains. This story would be repeated after 1529 -- in 1532. The shocking thing is that Vienna's walls were weakened by years of little maintenance. The forces of Vienna were about 21,000 (compared to 120,000 Ottoman soldiers). Yet, they held.
In 1541, Suleiman turned his attention to Hungary repeatedly. In fact, he died in 1566, while on campaign in Hungary. Then the book talks about the factors that led to Suleiman's defeat in Vienna (the rising power of the Habsburgs). Then, there is an analysis of why the Ottoman Empire started to crumble (their system was built on slavery - but only Christians could become slaves). There are several other interesting factors that the book explains.
