Suleiman the Magnificent: Scourge of Heaven

by Anthony Cyrpian Bridge

Bridge, Antony, Suleiman The Scourge Of Heaven

Genres: History

220 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1983

Reviews

[Anubis]

This is a very nicely written book. It flows well, and you can really immerse yourself in it. It has a few black and white pictures, a few nice maps, and a chronology overview.

However this book shouldn't be titled Suleiman the Magnificent. It should be something like Suleiman and Europe in the 16th century. The book probably talks more about Europe than it does about the Ottomans, or at least you feel like that when reading it. You read a lot about Carlos V, Francis I, Henry of England, Ferdinand etc... And it's quite fun, but not something you expect with the book of that title.

And the biggest issue of the book, there is basically no talk whatsoever about the other Ottoman fronts and campaigns. Barely any mention of the Persian front. Nothing at all about the Indian ocean. And the author does say at a place in the book that this is something that isn't in the scope of the book he is writing. But then i have to ask why such a title. It feels really misleading.

So it is definitely a book i would recommend, but if you want to know about Europe and the Ottomans. And even then the book does go too much in depth about anything. But it is a very nice, fun and easy read.

[Brian]

Suleiman the Magnificent covers the life of the Sultan Suleiman as he came to power following the death of his mad father and built the Ottoman Empire into the feared entity it was. Utilizing the Janissaries at a time before they had become fully corrupt he lashed out across the middle, east, Africa and Europe to go to the gates of Vienna. His wars in Hungary shocked Christendom and exposed the weakness of a unified Christian kingdom that sacrificed Hungary to gain power between Spain, England, France and Italian States o the Holy Roman Empire. Suleiman would seize Rhodes and several islands throughout the Mediterranean with a partnership from the pirate Barbarossa. His expansion shaped the landscape to make the Ottoman Empire into the empire it was known for. He brought an impressive level of cooperation amongst different religious groups and various languages. His death would bring relief to Christian Europe and his sons would never attain the heights that he did. Overall this is a very quick read and well organized around a topic that has important implications for the time period but not often discussed.

[Edward Vallecillo]

Morenof a general history of the period.

[Linda]

This is a great book! As well as a biography of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan who took the Turks to the outskirts of Vienna and could have changed the character of the world except for bad weather, Bridge gives us a great view of the middle of the 16th century as a whole. He sketches in the political events in Europe which were often too consuming for the participants to heed the calls of their Hungarian brothers that Europe could be lost if they didn't help to defeat the Turks. Charles V - the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I - the French King, Henry VIII - who stood just outside of the magic circle of possible Turkish destruction and could therefore play allies against each other, are all well-painted characters on the scene. Charles was raised for the most part by the widowed sister of King Edward IV of England, sister also to Richard III. His inheritance included what became the Holy Roman Empire plus most of Spain and parts of Italy. He was beset by Francis of France who was constantly making treaties then breaking them and, what is often not thought about, the wretched (to him) Lutherans and Calvinists. Suleiman was determined to succeed where his father and grandfather had failed and conquer Hungary and as much of Europe as he could. Hungary and Transylvania were also matters of contention for Europe and countless connivances went on to control it. So Europe was in upheaval with Suleiman just biding his time, waiting to strike.

It's a very fascinating picture of its time and the author writes well. He is my favorite type of historian as well. When he sees something obvious, he inserts his own opinion. For instance, Louis I of Hungary and his boyars were not really concerned with Suleiman until he was at their border. Even then, nothing could convince the boyars that the Turkish threat was more important than their struggles with each other. Bridge actually calls them "stupid." But the best, to me, is when the Pope listens to testimony about the killing of a Cardinal with all the witnesses (116) testifying AGAINST the Cardinal. Bridge remarks, "After this splendid display of impartiality..." I love it!

The book is short although it may be difficult to get your hands on. I had to go through Interlibrary Loan and I live in an area with one of the absolute top library systems in the US.

But if you can get ahold of it, do. You'll have a great time and learn a lot about the Europe of the 16th century.

[Glenn Robinson]

Not so much as a bio to the great Ottoman Sultan, but more a book of diplomacy during his reign. Much of this book related to Charles V of the Hapsburg Dynasty, Francis I of France, Henry VII and Henry VIII of England and other countries and how these Western Leaders quarrelled and warred amongst each other while Sultan Suleiman was able to play one off the other and enlarge the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire.