The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (Canto) | 
| Author: Steven Runciman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 50937
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 270
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0521398320
Dewey Decimal Number: 949.504
EAN: 9780521398329
ASIN: 0521398320
Publication Date: November 30, 1990
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Product Description
This classic account shows how the fall of Constantinople in May 1453, after a siege of several weeks, came as a bitter shock to Western Christendom. The city's plight had been neglected, and negligible help was sent in this crisis. To the Turks, victory not only brought a new imperial capital, but guaranteed that their empire would last. To the Greeks, the conquest meant the end of the civilisation of Byzantium, and led to the exodus of scholars stimulating the tremendous expansion of Greek studies in the European Renaissance.
Book Description
While their victory ensured the Turks' survival, the conquest of Constantinople marked the end of Byzantine civilization for the Greeks, by triggering the scholarly exodus that caused an influx of Classical studies into the European Renaissance.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 LAST DAYS OF A GREAT CHRISTIAN CITY December 22, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Over five hundred years have passed since Constantinople became Istanbul. It is difficult to imagine the city was once a Christian metropolis known as the capitol of the Roman Empire in the East. Runciman tells the story of this city's last days before the Turkish conquest. The book does not aim to cover everything of relevance to the subject and can be read at a sitting.
I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the last days. For a time, neither side could be sure who would win and strange signs and omens could be interpreted as favoring either side. When the end is certain, the reader feels the blow almost as clearly as the defeated Greeks. Perhaps the worst thing about it all is how little interest Europe took in the matter. It all goes to show how powerless groups are when divided.
 Historical drama at its best December 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If every history book is written like this, I can be a history buff too (I am not). This is historical drama at its best. As scholarly a work it is, it also reads like a novel, like a fantasy epic, like "The Lord of The Rings" if you wish, only it is better as it is also faithful (as faithful as written history can be) to real events.
The writing of this book is crisp, the organization tight, making it a cohesive narrative and a real page-turner. Byzantine's is a sad story, a civilization dating back to Creek times and the heir of Rome, finally shrunk to a lonely city at the wash of the great Ottoman's wave. In the end it may be its theology and pride that ultimately caused Byzantine's fall (the author does not say this), or maybe it was because Europe was to entangled with its petty affairs and the Turks are rising. Whatever it was, there is a sense of inevitability in its crumbling. As the page turns, the book unfolds the story vividly before you. This truly is as engrossing a book as I've read, history or otherwise.
Solid history with storytelling flair July 24, 2007
Sir Steven Runciman had an unique talent for conveying historical information with a flair. He did not convey history as a collection of unrelated facts to dates but instead provided all the color and nuances behind those facts and dates which gave them life. Only a few historians write in a way that transports the reader to the subject time, place, and people the way Sir Runciman has in this little volume.
The book is organized by describing the background and focusing on the last Emperor and Sultan Mehmet II as the key individuals in that background. It continues with a description of the weaknesses that prevented the west from providing efficacious help to Constantinople. Attention then turns to the siege and fall followed by an overview of the exodus of learned Byzantines to the west which helped to spark the renaissance.
A map of Constantinople and a pictorial depiction of the disposition of troops during the siege provides some detail for context. I would have liked more maps of the other geographical areas mentioned to provide the greater world context and that is my single critical point on this volume.
That so much information could be conveyed in so few pages with such brilliant flair is testament to his reputation. This is still the definitive work on the last years of Constantinople and the final fall of the Byzantine empire. It is a must have for ancient history libraries and a must read for historians wishing to communicate historical lessons in writing.
Amazing for any history buff and more May 8, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Runciman is academic yet lively, a rare combination that makes for a serious historical book that reads like a page-turning thriller/drama. Of course he is helped by the facts themselves. The story of the fall of Constantinople is one of those events in history that sounds like it was made up, because it is so picturesque. There are brooding Sultans, brothers strangling each other in competing for the throne, siege warfare, religious upheaval, dramatic sea battles, betrayal, the almost improbably anachronistic use of cannons and more.
The only fault I could find in the book is that sometimes he repeats himself in mentioning the same event in 2 chapters, each time in relation to a slightly different aspect of the story. But this he only does 5-6 times, everything else is great. He successfully builds up tension and is great at communicating the pathos of the events. The fall was seen as the end of a great civilisation stretching back thousands of years to ancient Rome. Reading the book you really feel the momentous nature of the events.
Runciman doesn't seem to like Mehmet II (the conquerer). I don't know enough of the history to tell if it's bias or whether he really was unusually cruel and despotic. I'm inclined toward the latter, for the facts speak for themselves. If other rulers of his day were similar (which they were!) this doesn't make him any more sympathetic.
This is a true classic of history. It's a real shame how unaware modern people are of Byzantium because our society is much more indebted to that civilisation than we think. This book is a sorely needed patch in this gap of knowledge.
A sublime account of the demise of the "Greek emperor" and the fall of his city August 1, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Exceedingly well written and utterly fascinating, Sir James Stevenson Runciman's classic account of the siege and fall of Constantinople manages to be thoroughly academically sound and highly entertaining at the same time. Steven Runciman doesn't just deliver the dry facts, which would be alright, no, he tells the story, which is much better. And he does it without forefeiting historical accuracy, and, blessedly, without drawing any politically motivated parallels to "modern" conflicts, be they religious, or political, or both.
This is one of the finest historical accounts I have ever read, and I recommend it 100%. It may be over 40 years old, but it is still unrivalled, the single greatest work on the subject in the English language. Only Roger Crowley's "Constantinople" comes close.
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