A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East

Book Description

Wonderful....No book published in recent years has more lasting relevance to our understanding of the Middle East. Los Angeles Times

Customer Reviews:

A Major Source of Historical Perspective.......2007-10-01

I wish to second Robert Steele's 5-star review of "A Peace to End All Peace", which was posted yesterday. I had ample time to read the book thoroughly, not in the stands at my son's Little League game, some years ago. It's worth a careful and thoughtful reading; no other book I know of sets the stage for understanding the Middle East in the 20th C as conprehensively. And after you finish it, I'd recommend "All the Shah's Men" as the key text for understanding America's embroglio with Iran.

Supporting Links and Passing Praise.......2007-09-25

I am forty books behind in actual reading, but I had the pleasure of scanning this book while on the sidelines of my son's football practice, and it is, as so aptly described by the best of the reviews, breathtaking.

The sentence that grabbed me is in the final paragraph, where the author sums up the roots of the Middle Eastern troubles as being directly on the heads of the English in particular, who lied, cheated, and stole without mercy. He says of Loyd George: "His political deviousness and his moral and financial laxness were never forgotten." Would that this were so, for Dick Cheney and George Bush are our Lloyd George.

I have written a full summative review of a book that complement's this author's sensible account, and reading that review before reading this book could be helpful. The other books also support the view that we are our own worst enemy, that there is plenty of money with which to make the world heaven on earth, but rule by secrecy, predatory capitalism, and fascism disguised as democracy has looted the planet and picked the pocket of the individual taxpayer while destroying the middle class. We are repeating history, in part because we have one of the most poorly educated populations with respect to history and global cultures, than ever before. The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency has taken to complaining recently that he cannot find enough qualified recruits in our shallow pool of "worldly" talent.

The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond the State

The key point of the above book is that the Treaty of Westphalia and the creation of nation-states as soverign entities with unrestricted powers within their own borders--borders created by the English and other invasive colonizing powers with the US the most active in the last 200 years--were huge mistakes. We should instead have at least made Indigenous Peoples co-equal, and understood, and respected, tribal boundaries established over centuries. Ignorance and hubris/arrogance combine with greed at the corporate and dictator levels (see Ambassador Palmer's book on "Breaking the Real Axis of Evil" to understand why our White House loves 42 of the 44 dictators on the planet, and Tim Weiner's "Legacy of Ashies" for why CIA went straight into the business of supporting dictators as proxy bullies). Paul Bremer had it right: the root cause of terrorism is us. See my comment for a note on Chinese Irregular Warfare that just took force off the table as a US option.

See also
The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)
The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy
Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders

On the positive side, but Amazon only allows ten active links, see
Yochai Benkler, Wealth of Networks
Barry Carter, Infinite Wealth
C.K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
J. F. Rischard, HIGH NOON: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them
Robert Steele, The New Craft of Intelligence
Robert Steele, The Smart Nation Act: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest
Thomas Stewart, Wealth of Knowledge
Alvin Toffler, Revolutionary Wealth
E. O. Wilson, The Future of Life
Medaard Gabel, Seven Billion Billionaires (forthcoming)

I hope this contextual connecting of some dots is viewed as helpful. This is not a "pretend" review!

Not 5 star good........2007-09-08

I have bought this book after looking at all the 5 star reviews on this site and was aghast when I read it through. The book is not terrrible. It provides an extremely elitist interpretation of history which still teaches many things. The author, aside from several exception, illustrates individuals as caricatures. Does not analyze the cultural social and economical structures any more than skin deep and appears to have very limited access to any knowlegde about the Ottoman empire. Many contentious issues are glossed over. I would not have written this review cause as I said the book is not terrible but it certainly does not deserve all the 5 stars that it got. If you have read real history books, just read the first chapter and you will understand exactly what I mean. If you just want to have some hazy idea about the "Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East" than this book is good for you. Note however that you have only that, a hazy idea.

A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing..........2007-09-02

I agree with all the rave reviews--this book is a "must-read" in order to understand what is going on in the world today. The title refers ironically to the justification that World War I was a war to end all war. The peace that followed the First World War, including the carve-up of the former Ottoman Empire by the Allied powers and encouragement of nationalism by Woodrow Wilson, led to disaster. A good companion for Barbara Tuchman's "The March of Folly".

Extraordinary! A monumental book........2007-08-25

This is a well researched, comprehensive narrative on how the middle east was formed, centered on the British side of events, where the most important decisions were taken. Reading these pages, I can only think of the mess that the middle east was in those days, mostly because the major constituents of this region, that is to say Mesopotamia, Arabia and Palestine, had more than one internal player interested in holding part of the dismembered Ottoman Empire, and with the major external players at war trying also to get a piece of the cake and install or retain its influence on this important region, strategically important for its oil resources and geographic location. Added to this scenario was the zionist question, Turkey and its confilcts in central Asia and the internal problems faced by Britain, politically and economically.

Those were very complex times indeed, where the best of British diplomacy was deployed in order to forge peace and stabilize the region according to the situation in those years. Sadly, the settlement of 1922 didn't consider the Kurdish people and the Palestinian Arabs. In spite of all these problems, the book also allowed me to know more about the Arab people and part of its history and religion, its tribes and sects. I cannot say this book is the best in this subject, but certainly a must reading.

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Turkish Delights
Philippa Scott
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Turkish Style
Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook
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The Ottoman Kitchen: Modern Recipes from Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, Lebanon, Syria and Beyond

ASIN: 0500510377

Book Description

Liotard's fine portraits of Westerners in Turkish dress, Carpaccio's turbaned figures, and the coveted "Turkey" carpets that appear in paintings by Lotto and Holbein bear witness to a deep Western fascination with all things Ottoman. It is this cultural influence, spanning five hundred years—from the fall of Constantinople through to the twentieth century—that unites the wealth of paintings, drawings, photography, and decorative objects in this sumptuously illustrated book. The result is a visual feast of Turkish delights, from the exotic allure of the harem and Turkish baths to Ottoman-inspired Western interiors and pavilions; from paintings of Europeans in Turkish costume to carpets, silks, tulips, turbans, Iznik tiles, coffee, tobacco, and croissants. The delightfully informative text explains how Turkey, the gateway to the East, became a fountain of inspiration for so many artistic and cultural fields—painting, ceramics, textiles, interiors, fashion—in the West. Today the many fruits of this cultural meeting, enticingly displayed in this book, will engage a fresh audience with the decorative possibilities of the ravishing colors, motifs, and furnishings of traditional Turkey. 150 color photographs.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)

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Another great book by Steven Runciman
An Invaluable Resource
Best on the subject
A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!
Enlightening

The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)
Steven Runciman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521313104

Book Description

This is Sir Steven Runcimanâ€™s established and widely admired classic account of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, first published in 1968. The Great Church, as the Greeks called the Orthodox Patriarchate, was the spiritual centre of the Byzantine world. The Churchâ€™s survival during the four centuries of Turkish rule which followed the fall of Constantinople bore witness to its strenght and to the unquenchable vitality of Hellenism. Sir Steven Runcimanâ€™s history of the Great Church in this period is written with scholarship, sympathy and style.

Customer Reviews:

Another great book by Steven Runciman.......2006-11-04

I'll be honest with you.The only reason I bought this book, was because I'd already read all of Runciman's "real" history books and just wanted to complete my collection.Church history and theology aren't exactly my cup of tea.So, I thought I'd open it, start reading and fall asleep after page....ix.But I was wrong of course.I underestimated Runciman's ability to make even a debate about the role of Epiklesis in Transubstantiation appear interesting.No,really,I'm being serious.This is a well-written and interesting book that provides an answer, from a unique perspective, to the question everyone has after reading the "Fall of Constantinople": "Well,what happened next?"
We also get a deeper insight on Runciman's own ideas about religion and theology that we only catch a glimpse of, in his most ...ermm, "secular" works.
This book also piqued my interest on a more personal level as well, being (nominally) Orthodox.For anyone who has read his books, it's not a secret where Runciman' s sympathies lay - and he certainly tries to explain and excuse many "unfortunate" acts and decisions on behalf of the Orthodox Church.But be warned - this isn't a rose-tinted hagiography - the story of the "Great Church" in "captivity" becomes literally nauseating at times, and it doesn't lack in cynicism and petty squabling.It certainly didn't make me want to get rid of that pesky "nominally" in front of my religion....

An Invaluable Resource.......2006-03-03

It is rare to find a work of excellent scholarship that is also very readable. Runciman has once again achieved this result.

Best on the subject.......2006-02-02

This excellent monograph from the most objective world leader on the subject, is without parallel. A must read for all those interested in the bad but not-that-bad fate of the Orthodox Church under the Ottoman Turks.

A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!.......2004-12-27

This gifted British historian captures you with his prose and holds on to you with his glorious tale and historiography which is second to none. A must read for anyone interested in the Orthodox Church or Christianity. He deals with his subject with a sense of empathy without losing his objectivity. A must buy!!!!!

Enlightening.......2004-04-08

The dilemma facing English speakers of Greek decent is that there are so few books written in English on Greek medieval history, and I can think of none written specifically on the Orthodox Church during the turkocratia, except of course Runciman's "The Great Church in Captivity". At first, I was skeptical. After all, Runciman is an Englishman and I was leery about potential ignorance or bias which could seep its way into his book. No need to be concerned. Runcimen's book is a well researched and a thorough history on the subject. I could hardly put it down.

Generally, the book was easy to read and very informative. One chapter deals heavily with theology, and finding the subject brain numbing, I must admit, I skipped over most it. No matter, the balance of the book, which deals with Church history, was very enlightening. I do have one issue with Runcimen's account, however. Greek history teaches that during the captivity, Greek children were taught Greek by the clergy, under covert conditions, usually at night in underground caves, so as to not alert the Turks. By doing this, the Greek people were able to maintain their identity through language and religion, and resist turkification. This is a fact of paramount significance to the Greek people, a legend of heroism passed down from generation to generation, yet there is no mention of it by Runciman. Even though this account was omitted, there is so much content in this book, that I highly recommend it to those interested in the history of the Orthodox Church.

Book Description

The dramatic history of an empire that shaped the modern world in the first authoritative account written for general readers

According to the Ottoman chronicles, the first sultan, Osman, had a dream in which a tree emerged fully formed from his navel "and its shade compassed the world"-symbolizing the vast empire he and his descendants were destined to forge. His vision was soon realized: At its height, the Ottoman realm extended from Hungary to the Persian Gulf, from North Africa to the Caucasus.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most influential empires in world history. For centuries, Europe watched with fear as the Ottomans steadily advanced their rule across the Balkans. Yet travelers and merchants were irresistibly drawn toward Ottoman lands by their fascination with the Orient and the lure of profit.

Although it survived for over six centuries, the history of the Ottoman Empire is too often colored by the memory of its bloody final throes. In this magisterial work Caroline Finkel lucidly recounts the epic story of the Ottoman Empire from its origins in the thirteenth century through its destruction on the battlefields of World War I.

"Caroline Finkel effortlessly conveys the high drama of Ottoman history." (Orhan Pamuk)

Customer Reviews:

Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire.......2006-08-02

An excellent book. Very readable. A great way to compress six centuries of the great Ottoman Empire in a relatively short space. Finally the truth about Ottomans are emerging from the pens of eminent scholars, instead of garbage spewn by Armenians, Greeks, and some European powers that vied for Ottoman territories and resources for their own colonial purposes. I hate to see armenian-Americans to unfairly degrade a book that is truthful or complimentary to the great Ottoman Empire. Hope these folks grow up soon. I will not stoop to their level and demean the authors that put out lies about the "poor" armenians. Great job Caroline.

Shallow political history.......2006-07-11

I was quite disappointed by this book - its like a 19th century history with a shallow retelling of the names of Sultans, dates and major battles. I would have expected a greater analysis of the socio-cultural milieu in which the Ottoman empire arose and the institutions it spawned. I kept reading on hoping that this would follow but its really just a chronological listing of sultans, the major battles fought - if you want a political history of the empire, this may work for you. But when, why not just read the Wikipedia entry if you have no interest in the socio-political institutions.

Solid.......2006-06-20

This is a decent survey of Ottoman history. In many ways, this is traditional history from above, mainly a political history concentrating on the ups and downs of the reigns of the Ottoman Sultans. Finkel does well in constructing the basic narrative, covering centuries of Ottoman history in solid prose. The complicated dynastic politics of several periods are covered well. Finkel makes a less successful attempt to integrate social and economic history. She describes different phases of social and demographic history in the Empire as related to the political history but rarely provides enough detail to be satisfactory. For example, she mentions the declining Muslim population of the 19th century empire but never describes the size of the population or whether this was an absolute or relative decline. In many sections, she devotes more text to architectural history than relevant economic or social history. This book is largely descriptive and useful on that basis. As a basic political history, it will probably be useful for many, but its analytic shortcomings make its utility limited.

Good core, fuzzy edges.......2006-05-27

This is one more book about Ottoman history, a subject which lately semms to have become fashionable. As a general outline of the Empire's history it is pretty good, mentioning all important events, and doing so from an Ottoman perspective. This last is significant, as traditional histories tend to adopt an anti-Turkish approach by default. I have given this book 3 stars because it omits no serious events, because of the fact that it narrates them from the Ottoman viewpoint and because it utilises many sources, including Ottoman ones.

I have declined givng the last two stars because of two problems: One, many institutions and events are treated superficially or have an inaccurate description -- there is litle depth and often further research reveals the summary presented by the author to be the truth but by no means the whole truth. (or the most important part thereof -- although this also depends on what one considers to be the most important aspect of an event).

The second problem is one endemic to US/English scholarly work:
All too often, the sources cited, though numerous, turn out to consist of english-language bibliography plus some sources from the culture/people being studied. In this case the bibliography consists of Ottoman and english language sources. Yet when writing history it is oftem critical to examine the writings of a people's neighbors and enemies as well. This is sadly lacking here, the author seems not to be aware of contemporary Greek, Italian, Persian or Russian sources. An example: in discussing te 1821 Greek revolt, the author states that it is not clear whether Prince Ypsilantis's Moldavian adventure was undertaken in coordination with the Morea rebels. Yet anyone with elementary knowledge of contemorary greek writings on the issue cannot help but be aware that coordination did exist and in fact the whole point of the Moldavian affair was to provide at worst a diversion for Ottoman troops and at best cause a Russo-Turkish war.

One last thing, an appeal to my fellow Greeks, concerning reviews who give the book one star because it ignores how evil vicious and subhuman the Turks are: Can we PLEASE grow up and stop demonizing the Turks? Yes the author does not mention the Armenian genocide and the pogroms at the Ottoman Greeks expense as forcefully as many of us might have liked, but the way to draw attention to these omissions is NOT by blatantly exaggerating Turkish "cruelty" or the number of people who fell victim of the upheavals at the end of WWI. Stop automatically denigrating everything that may disagree with "our" POV!

Osman's Dream.......2006-05-12

The last years shelved a handful of new books that revise and overview the Ottoman history from construction to demise. Goodwin's Lord of the Horizons, Faroqhi's the Ottoman Empire and the World Around it, or Imber's the Ottoman Empire 1300-1600 already gave professors a hand with their survey cirrucula.

In similar vein though Osman's dream may be, it further serves with its lucid style as the most updated and reiterative (same-old-story-rehashing) work written in the field.

Major problems that Ottomanists have long discussed such as on periodization, methods of conquest, role of dervishes, the reverberation of tensions between center-province-local, the f/actors that in effect changed/stabilized the Ottoman trajectory deserve a better place than mere explication of the symptoms and diagnosis come forward earlier.

I do not agree with Nikephorus Phokas (a customer that previously reviewed the book) on grounds that Osman's Dream ignores the Genocide: not advertently. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that Finkel undertook her work as unpolemical and selective as possible. There are many other issues she does not touch on as she accepts honestly.

My recommend to a reader would be that s/he complement Osman's Dream with other works in the field, particularly Findley's Turks in World History and Quataert's Ottoman Empire 1700-1922. And, keep in mind that this work appeals primarily to general readers and in some ways to those that want to refresh their factual knowledge on this vast chunk of history.

There is no reason to be cynical in Osman's Dream's overall success. I am not, still, expecting a Hofstadter to write an Ottoman Age of Reform, a Foner "Ottoman's Unfinished Revolution", or a letter-day Bloch "Ottoman Middle Ages". This work may well place the history of the Ottoman Empire into a broader historical template, better than others that try hard to integrate it to the European history.

The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire

Average customer rating:

An outstanding scholarly work informative and entertaining too
The Age of Sinan: Ottoman Empire

The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire
Gulru Necipoglu , Arben N. Arapi , and Reha Gunay
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Architectural History Foundation Book)
A History of Ottoman Architecture
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Islamic Art and Architecture: From Isfahan to the Taj Mahal
Iznik: The Artistry of Ottoman Ceramics

ASIN: 0691123268

Book Description

During his tenure as Chief Royal Architect (1539-1588) in the "Golden Age" of the Ottoman Empire, Sinan designed hundreds of structures that helped create the renowned urban image of Istanbul, particularly mosques with seemingly weightless, light-filled centralized domes that have been compared with developments in Renaissance Italy. His distinctive architectural idiom left its imprint over a vast empire extending from the Danube to the Tigris, and he became the most celebrated of all Ottoman architects.

In this lavishly illustrated, major new assessment of Sinan's oeuvre, Gülru Necipoglu challenges standard views of Sinan as a "Turkish Michelangelo" driven solely by an insatiable urge for artistic experimentation. Her innovative analysis shows that Sinan's rich variety of mosque designs sprang from a process of negotiation between the architect and his elite patrons, both men and women. Defined though they were by social and territorial hierarchies and associated notions of identity, memory, and decorum, Sinan's mosques simultaneously shaped these conceptions. The Age of Sinan draws on a wealth of primary sources to reveal the chief architect's monuments as bearers of previously unrecognized dimensions of meaning. A sophisticated study of the cultural and social history of Ottoman architecture, interpreting the oeuvre of a seminal figure in the early modern eastern Mediterranean world, it is must reading for scholars and students of art history and other fields with an interest in the Ottoman Empire.

Customer Reviews:

An outstanding scholarly work informative and entertaining too.......2006-02-25

I bought the book for its architectural content but received a very detailed history book as well.Its not only a precise compilation of Sinan's work it is also a good read. I recommend it thoroughly.

The Age of Sinan: Ottoman Empire.......2005-10-23

This is a great, great book. Beats many table top art books.

The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe (New Approaches to European History)

Average customer rating:

Pass the Turkey, Please
Against Ottoman Black Legend

The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe (New Approaches to European History)
Daniel Goffman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State
The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 (New Approaches to European History)
The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power (European History in Perspective)
Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire
The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

ASIN: 0521459087

Book Description

Despite the fact that its capital city and over one third of its territory was within the continent of Europe, the Ottoman Empire has consistently been regarded as a place apart, inextricably divided from the West by differences of culture and religion. A perception of its militarism, its barbarism, its tyranny, the sexual appetites of its rulers and its pervasive exoticism has led historians to measure the Ottoman world against a western standard and find it lacking. In recent decades, a dynamic and convincing scholarship has emerged that seeks to comprehend and, in the process, to de-exoticize this enduring realm. Dan Goffman provides a thorough introduction to the history and institutions of the Ottoman Empire from this new standpoint, and presents a claim for its inclusion in Europe. His lucid and engaging book--an important addition to New Approaches in European History--will be essential reading for undergraduates.

Customer Reviews:

Pass the Turkey, Please.......2006-06-09

In The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe, Daniel Goffman takes a fresh approach to explaining the relationship between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. He takes a dim view of earlier historians of the Ottoman Empire whom he accuses of being guilty of Orientalism. Goffman's goal in this book is to highlight the commonalities between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe by investigating two aspects of the empire, the state's polity and its interactions with Western Europe.

Perhaps the strangest aspect of this book is Goffman's attempt to bring a personal character to Ottoman studies. He introduces each chapter with a vignette from the life of a certain Kubad. These vignettes are meant to provide a narrative aspect to this work that is otherwise a survey. In looking at these glimpses of Kubad's life, Goffman takes certain liberties with his tale by fabricating details to fill the lacuna in Kubad's life. Though he notes when he is speculating, these flights of fancy may leave some historians uneasy. Ultimately, the perceived effectiveness of this technique is a matter of taste. Some people may appreciate the narrative and personal touch these vignettes provide, while others may find the work disjointed as it bounces between speculative biography and survey.

In this book, Goffman proposes that historians cannot understand the history of Western Europe during the early modern period without addressing the Ottoman Empire. He writes, "It is thus not only reasonable--but quite fruitful--to conceive and study a "Greater Western World" which encompassed the followers of both Jesus and Mohammed" (8). In this book, Goffman investigates early modern Europe from an "Ottocentric" point of view. By doing this he emphasizes the commonalities between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe and deemphasizes the ideological differences. Throughout the book, Goffman argues that during the early modern period, Europeans imagined the Ottoman Empire as being a part of the European community. They inherited this status from the Byzantine Empire and maintained it through their economic and political influence. According to Goffman, it was not until the late nineteenth century that Western Europe viewed the Ottomans as being outside the European sphere.

Goffman has some convincing arguments, but he seems to downplay the religious divide too much. Instead of addressing the difference, he notes it and dismisses it. This dismissal might be justified, however, because Goffman is writing a corrective work rather than a holistic one. Though in affirming the common monotheism of Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire, Goffman himself seems guilty of Orientalism by placing the Taoist, Buddhists, and Hindus in a separate category.
Ultimately, the book comes across as an extended defense of Turkey's bid to enter the European Union. Every page reiterates the historical place occupied by the Ottomans as a European state. Of course I might be reading too much into the book, but my speculations seem as justified as Goffman's speculations about Kubad.

Against Ottoman Black Legend.......2002-06-13

I find in this book a good defence against the "Ottoman Black Legend", insisting that Turkey is also part of Europe, and showing that the Ottoman Empire was more alike to the present world than contemporary Christian societies, given that its degree of tolerance towards other people's religions and the ethnic compo-sition of its subjects was far greater and more varied than those of Christian Early Modern Europe. But I have the feeling that this book is not for beginners, but for those who already know about the Ottoman Empire and which wish to deepen their knowledge.I have rated it four starts. Considering its content, I think it should be five; conside-ring its readability, three.

Average customer rating:

A good intro to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on modern Europe
Full of contradictions and inaccurate facts
Ottoman Centuries
East Meets West: Epic Film Material Waiting To Be Born!
good book but with some errors

Ottoman Centuries
Lord Kinross
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Short History of Byzantium
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The Turks Today

ASIN: 0688080936
Release Date: 1979-08-01

Book Description

The Ottoman Empire began in 1300 under the almost legendary Osman I, reached its apogee in the sixteenth century under Suleiman the Magnificent, whose forces threatened the gates of Vienna, and gradually diminished thereafter until Mehmed VI was sent into exile by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk).

In this definitive history of the Ottoman Empire, Lord Kinross, painstaking historian and superb writer, never loses sight of the larger issues, economic, political, and social. At the same time he delineates his characters with obvious zest, displaying them in all their extravagance, audacity and, sometimes, ruthlessness.

Customer Reviews:

A good intro to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on modern Europe.......2007-02-01

I purchased Lord Kinross's "The Ottoman Centuries" on a whim one cold winter evening, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it: the book is a very detailed examination of the Ottoman Empire's growth and decline. It is for the most part well written, though Kinross' phrasing is often quaint and some of the passages require re-reading to figure out what the author is trying to say. I found his viewpoints to be objective: not tainted with the Anglo-centric cultural bias that many British authors of his generation have been afflicted-with.

The book focuses-on the political and military history of the Ottoman Empire: centered on the lives of its rulers and their court. Kinross includes a fair amount of information on how the Empire's society and economy were structured and functioned, but this is presented mostly as background information in support of the main narrative.

The book filled in many gaps for me in terms of European history, in particular, and described many historical episodes I was unaware of, as well as being a good analysis of the factors and personalities involved in the Empire's rapid rise to prominence, followed by its centuries-long decline. There are some discussions of the Empire's interactions with the tatars and Persians, but only a few brief mentions of the Empire's history and exploits in Africa (or the region now known as the Middle East).

I was fascinated with Kinross' detailed discussions of the many interactions the Ottomans had with nearly every major and minor European state over the centuries. It was also interesting to see how the nature of these interactions changed as Europe evolved from a collection of Feudal Kingdoms into modern Nation-States, while the Turkish state stagnated and was eclipsed.

His analyses of the military tactics and strategies and innovations employed by the Ottomans are very good, as is his examination of how their social, economic and political systems gave them a competitive advantage early in the empire's history, but became an impediment that contributed to the decline, and also impeded attempts to reverse that decline.

I was impressed with the open-mindedness of most of the Sultans in terms of not only tolerating, but promoting Christians and other religious minorities - to the point where populations of Orthodox Christians often favored being conquered by the Ottomans in preference to being dominated by Christian rulers affiliated with Rome (who were often very intolerant of the Orthodox Christian tradition).

The major concern I have with about this book is not with the text, but with the publisher's presentation of this book. The paperback edition contains what I assume are reproductions of the artwork from the original 1977 publication; but, in this edition, the representations had poor detail and contrast; giving the impression of having been run off on a cheap copier. They do a disservice to the quality of the text itself.

All in all, an excellent book, well worth the read. Anyone seeking to gain a good understanding to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on European and Mediterranean history will find this book a well written starting point with vast amounts of detail.

Full of contradictions and inaccurate facts.......2006-09-21

My current field of research is the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. I thought it would be a good idea to read about some of the ancient history in the region though so I read John Julius Norwich's A Short History of Byzantium as well as his History of Venice. Both excellent works. Then I read Lord Kindross' work, Ottoman Centuries. This was my first historical work that I have read devoted entirely to the Ottoman Empire.

I was very disappointed. I gave the work two stars because it reads excellently, at times like a novel. However, now that I am finished reading it I am left wondering how much of what I read was in fact, true. I state this because a lot of the statements about the Balkan countries aren't factually correct. The most glaring one I'll provide. On page 356 the author writes:
"Thus a peace conference was held in the last months of 1698 at Karlowitz, in Croatia, on the right bank of the Danube."

He is refering to the Treaty of Karlowitz. However, the treaty was signed in Sremski Karlovci which is in modern day Serbia. I should know, I've had a private tour of the building where the treaty was signed. The city was never actually a part of Croatia, at the time of the treaty it was, one could argue, a part of Hungary but never Croatia.

Also, the author has a common theme of trying to argue that the Ottoman army never practiced forced conversion to Christianity. But then will describe the Janissaries and admit that the very foundation of the Janissaries was taking Christian children forcing them to be Muslims by raising them as such with no other option. He also discusses how churches were converted to mosques constantly following conquests but apparently, that doesn't fall within the realm of forcible conversion. Here is another example of what I am talking about:

On page 559 "Abdul Hamid...offer(ed) his enemies, at the point of a bayonet, the choice between death and forcible conversion to Islam--a practice previously renounced, under British pressure, by Sultan Abdul Mejid." (Which was the previous Sultan). However, on page 26 (just as one of many examples) the author writes, "There was no general Islamization of Christians--least of all by compulsion--within Ottoman territory."

The list goes on and on of constant contradictions within this work which makes this it so hard to take seriously.

Also, the author, or perhaps editor, has an annoying habit of placing words in quotation marks. Serbian Emperor Dusan is "Emperor" Dusan who rules over an "empire" and the balkan states are "nations" though later in the book they become nations without quotation marks.

I would only recommend this work to be read for entertainment purposes. I shall now search for another history of the Ottomans, hopefully one that is more academic.

Ottoman Centuries.......2006-07-17

Superbly written. Excellent overwiew of the Ottoman Empire, in such a short space.It may not reflect some of the newly uncovered facts, but so what.
Very highly recommended.

East Meets West: Epic Film Material Waiting To Be Born!.......2006-06-11

Lord Kinross was the author of many splendid books but The Ottoman Centuries remains his crowning achievement. Published in 1977 shortly after his death and dedicated to Freya Stark, The Ottoman Centuries offers a positive view of the Turkish Empire without glossing over any of its shameful episodes.

Amongst the nomadic warrior hordes that poured out of the Eurasian steppe and into Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, Kinross points to the exception of the Ottoman Turks who `were no longer mere nomads but settlers, creators, and builders too. As time went on they evolved their own frontier civilization, compounded of elements Asiatic and European, Moslem and Christian....This was the prototype of a society destined to inherit and transform.' Conquer and transform is more like it, as these were tumultuous centuries full of the clash of arms.

Kinross's thrilling narrative crosses over to Europe with the Ottoman advance, but reminds us they were initially invited over as mercenaries, securing Gallipoli and eventually assisting a rival faction come to power in one of Byzantium's many civil wars. Marriage took place between the usurpers daughter, now a Byzantine princess, and the Ottoman Sultan.

Kinross gives a brief account of the controversial battle of Kossovo that took place in 1389 and became the graveyard of Serbian independence. Serbian clans betrayed each other, some allied with the Turks by remaining absent from the field, diminishing their own forces. The son of the Serbian prince responsible, by way of atonement, sought a personal audience with the Sultan and stabbed him with such force the blade appeared out his back.

In this divisive atmosphere and after the crippling blow of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the lands of the Byzantine Empire were swallowed piecemeal by the Ottomans until Constantinople was like a head without a body. The dramatic end finally came in 1453 when Mehmed the Conqueror wrested his way into the city; Belgrade and Vienna would soon come into view, epic film material waiting to be born!

Kinross alternates between the advances made on the battlefield with close up portraits of the Sultans whose combination of `shrewd political judgments' and innovative ability were essential in these early stages of a quickly expanding empire; an empire that developed a meritocracy, where Christian slaves could advance up to the highest rungs on the career ladder simply by having talent. It was that peculiar mix of Greek and Turk, Christian and Moslem, that led to such a unique and dynamic empire, the likes of which Christian Europe had never seen before.

Kinross tends to over use the word `destiny' to explain the rise and fall of empire, suggesting an unnecessary Arnold Toynbee influence. Otherwise, his narrative remains cohesive throughout and full of detailed knowledge, whether exploring the impossible entanglements of the Balkans, `Russian Rivalry,' the courts of Europe or the Sublime Porte.

Turkophile though he was, we are given a chilling description of the Armenian genocide and are left in no doubt that this was a pre-meditated, orchestrated act by the imperial Ottoman government that became it's disgraceful epitaph.

The Ottoman Centuries is a vibrant canvass that shows what became of the shattered Byzantine empire; the phoenix that rose was an equally stunning, Islamic mosaic.

good book but with some errors.......2006-05-14

this is a well written book, but there are some mistakes in it, especially when the author talks about homosexual inclinations of some of the Ottoman (Osmanli) rulers e.g. Mehmet the Conqueror (Mehmet Fatih) fell in love with a teenage boy and so on. This is simply not true, there are no historical facts to support this claim. That's why I do not give 5 stars to this book.

The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600

Average customer rating:

Highly recommended
Historians take note...
Phoenix: The Ottoman Empire: A classical Book

The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600
Halil Inalcik
Manufacturer: Phoenix Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 (New Approaches to European History)
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History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey

ASIN: 1842124420

Book Description

A preeminent scholar of Turkish history vividly portrays 300 years of this distinctively Eastern culture as it grew from a military principality to the world's most powerful Islamic state. He paints a striking picture of the prominence of religion and warfare in everyday life, as well as the traditions of statecraft, administration, social values, financial, and land policies. "...masterly...Halil Inalcik is one of the foremost living students of Ottoman history...Read this book..."--Times Literary Supplement.

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended.......2005-01-13

Professor Inalcik is one of the best in documenting the long history of the Ottoman Empire. To many readers, this book might look boring and excessively academic. But to other readers, especially those who are interested in taking a deep look into the history of the Middle East in general and the Ottoman Empire in particular, this is one of the must-read books.
The book is full of details of the Ottoman bureaucracy, the Janissaries (the army), conspiracies among rulers and would sultans, the social status of the different people of the empires and of course the Ottoman political situation and that of its treasury.
For those interested in modern Turkish history, this might not be their best read as it highlights the history of the Ottomans up until the days of the zenith of their rule. The book does not go as far as depicting how the Muslim Ottoman Empire was transformed into the sick Turkish man of Europe.
Overall, the book is highly recommended for readers interested in Middle Eastern affairs.

Historians take note..........2004-08-14

...this is how a text should read. Inalcik is not only thorough in his presentation of Ottoman history, but he includes cause and effect as well as the synthesis of events, something that Stanford J. Shaw's text on the Ottoman Empire seemed to be bereft of. Highly recommended.

Phoenix: The Ottoman Empire: A classical Book.......2004-03-31

Prof. Inalcik truly earns the reputation as one of the world's leading historians on the Ottoman Empire. The book explains the history, administration and social life of the Ottoman Empire during this time masterfully in seperate sections. An appendix of terms in Turkish and Ottoman is provided at the back for quick explanations, since the historical matter is rather heavy for a lay person.
A good historical reference book for Middle Eastern History, especially to get a true understanding of the Ottoman's Empire building brilliance between 1300-1600.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
The Medieval Empire of the Israelites

ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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