Bertrandon de la Broquière: A Medieval Secret Agent?
Bertrandon de la Broquière embarked on a remarkable journey across the heart of the Ottoman Empire, for one year in 1432, documenting his experiences in a detailed account that continues to fascinate historians today.
The Life of Vlad the Impaler: A Timeline (1429-1476)
A look at the events that took place in southeastern Europe during the fifteenth century and the role that Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia, would play in its many conflicts.
The Siege of Rhodes (1522)
The Mediterranean island of Rhodes would once be the stage for the conflict between the Hospitallers and the Ottoman Empire. In this episode of Bow and Blade, Michael and Kelly talk about how Suleiman the Magnificent was able to besiege and overcome the Hospitallers and their fortress.
The Battle of Zonchio (1499)
In the first naval battle covered by Bow and Blade, Kelly and Michael discuss the Battle of Zonchio, fought on four separate days in August of 1499. The Ottoman and Venetian fleets fight off the coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea to determine who would control the waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
The Battle of Nicopolis (1396)
In 1396, a Crusader army coming from France, Germany, England, Hungary, the Teutonic State and other parts of Europe would march into southeastern Europe, determined to attack the Turks. At Nicopolis they would find the Ottoman forces led by Bayezid I, and fight in one of the most important battles of the Middle Ages.
The Siege of Rhodes (1480)
In the year 1480, the Ottoman Empire massed its armies to conquer the small island of Rhodes. Defending the island were a group of medieval monastic warriors – the Hospitallers. In this episode of Bow and Blade, Michael and Kelly discuss the Siege of Rhodes in 1480.
The Parthenon mosque, with Elizabeth Key Fowden
A conversation with Elizabeth Key Fowden on the Parthenon mosque and Athens under the Ottomans.
Vlad III Țepeș: The man who inspired Dracula
The story of Vlad III Tepes – the prince himself, his brutal reign, and the historical context in which he lived.
Dreaming of Constantinople after the Failed Ottoman Siege of Vienna
The failure of the Ottoman campaign against Vienna in 1529 had further consequences beyond the center of the conflict. This event seems to have given new hope to traumatized Christian rulers and their subjects that perhaps the Ottoman armies could be halted from their steady advances into Europe.
Hagia Sophia to be a mosque again, court rules
One of the most famous landmarks in the medieval world will be used as a mosque again, after a top Turkish court ruled that the decree making Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 was illegal.
Portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror returns to Istanbul
There are only three surviving portraits of the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II, better known as Mehmed the Conqueror. One of them has just been purchased by the city of Istanbul for £777,000.
The Ottomans in Medieval Eastern Europe
How the Ottomans expanded into medieval Eastern Europe – an overview from the 14th century to the 16th century.
Medieval Manuscripts: A Walk through 16th century Constantinople, Baghdad, and Aleppo
Do you want to see the 16th century Middle East through an illuminator’s eyes? Check out the interactive maps!
Medieval Manuscripts: Muhibbî Dîvânı: A Sultan in Love
From sultan to servant: in this collection of poems, Süleyman the Magnificent gives up all his powers to worship a girl “as tall as a cypress, with cheeks as red as roses”. And what better decoration than ever-changing gold and pastel floral patterns?
Dishonorable Ambassadors: Spies and Secret Diplomacy in Ottoman Istanbul
In the sixteenth century, the Habsburgs and the Ottomans clashed for the dominance of Europe and the Mediterranean and engaged in a global rivalry that affected every polity along the shores of the Mediterranean.
Between the Sultan and the Doge: Diplomats and Spies at the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent
The paper presents earliest Venetian accounts about the Ottoman empire viewed through the prism of personal contacts and links between Venetian and Ottoman diplomats and nobles.
Mirrors of the World: Alexander Romances and the Fifteenth Century Ottoman Sultanate
The beginning of the fifteenth century offered a narrative link between the Ottoman and Alexandrine historical contexts that has been overlooked thus far.
Multi-Agent Simulation of the Battle of Ankara, 1402
In 1402, at the north of the city of Ankara, Turkey, a battle between Ottoman Empire and Tamerlane Empire decided the fate of Europe and Asia. Although historians largely agree on the general battle procedure, the details are still open to dispute.
The Battle of Nicopolis (1396), Burgundian Catastrophe and Ottoman Fait Divers
The Battle of Nicopolis was the first major encounter between the Ottoman Empire and the Western European states of the later Middle Ages.
The Shadow of Chinggis Khan on Istanbul: The Ottoman Empire in the Early Modern Asian Context, 1300 – 1600
Prof. Ali Yaycioğlu examines the making of the Ottoman State and socio-economic formation between the late 14th to the 17th centuries.
The Lack of a Western European Military Response to the Ottoman Invasions of Eastern Europe from Nicopolis (1396) to Mohacs (1526)
On 25 September 1396, on the plains south of the central Bulgarian city of Nicopolis, a battle was fought.
Book Talk: A Conversation with Guy Gavriel Kay
Set in a parallel Renaissance world, two major religions, the Jaddites who worship the sun, and the Asharites who worship the stars, struggle amidst the backdrop of court politics, murder, espionage, faith and family.
BOOK REVIEW: Children of Earth and Sky – Guy Gavriel Kay
BOOK REVIEW: Children of Earth and Sky – Guy Gavriel Kay
A Comparative Analysis of the Concepts of Holy War and the Idealized Topos of Holy Warrior In Medieval Anatolian And European Sources
This thesis focuses on the relations between the idea of holy war and the portrayals of holy warriors in medieval narratives composed by those in the service of power-holders.
The Secret Attack on Gallipoli in 1473
During the Venetian-Ottoman wars, a group of seven men attempted a secret attack on the Ottoman base at Gallipoli. The attack did not go completely as planned…