The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (1965)

A riveting account of the death of the last vestiges of the Roman Empire. We in the west don't understand just how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire and, as much as it pains me to say this, the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to broaden their understanding of a period that is all too often ignored. ( )

An exciting description of an important piece of history. ( )

I listened to the Audio Connoisseur version of this book, which was recorded in the 1960's. Although I throughly enjoyed the material, I cannot recommend this audio version because of the reader, who was so melodramatic and florid--think Master Thespian Declaiming the King's English--that his performance sometimes muddied the often dense information with unneccessary inflections.

About halfway through the six discs, I found that I had to go back and listen to some chapters again, especially the backstory on the consolidation of Turkic rule, which relies on a bewildering array of Turkish, Baltic and Greek place and proper names. I often comprehend better by listening, but in this case I think some maps and an encyclopedia at hand would have been helpful.

It was well worth the effort, though, because the narrative is gripping. I loved the way in which theological disputes took on life-or-death gravity as the Emperor Manuel maneuvered desperately to get his subjects to heal the schism with the Italian church, that being the only faint hope of garnering military support from Europe as the Turkic storm gathered into a thunderhead. I also dug the chapter on the rise of Seljuk, first great Sultan of what would become the Ottoman Empire. I'd be interested to read other accounts and critiques of Runciman's portrayal of the Turks from scholars of that culture. I thought he was quite even-handed.

The audio version became easier to follow as the focus tightened on the events of the siege. I still might have liked to have had a map in hand, but I got the gist of the tactics.

The lengthy closing placed Byzantium's surprisingly late fall in the larger historical context of the dwindling influences of Greece and Italy vs. the rise of the Moslems. The scimitar that cut a swath across the Near East separated the Eastern and Western churches and societies irreparably, with huge consequences for world history. This book made me want to read more about that, as well as other related subjects.

As a nonacademic reader of history, I appreciated the writerly construction of a dramatic narrative. I must trust that his facts are sound; his reputation seems well intact, a half century later.

Runciman, one of the foremost authorities in this field, delivers a succinct account of the events of the final fall of Christian Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. He builds a foundation of the circumstances that led up to that point. As he moves toward the final year and months, his narration expands in detail. Although it is a slim volume, he manages to supply a large amount of information. He draws from as wide a range of sources as possible, not relying merely on the Greek or the Turk side of the equation. ( )