John Freely's THE GRAND TURK Examines the Life and Times of Sultan Mehmet II

In a new book released this month, scholar and historian John Freely looks at the life of Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer, who captured Constantinople at the age of 21 and went on to reshape the world. The Grand Turk is a vivid and detailed account of the life and conquests of the man described by contemporary Christian rulers as “Ruler of the Glorious Empire of the Turks, the Present Terror of the World.” Mehmet was the seventh Ottoman sultan. He was only 21 years old when he brought an end to the centuries-old Byzantine Empire. During his 30-year reign, he extended the borders of his realm across Anatolia (then called Asia Minor) and into Europe, reaching into Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for Crusades against him. Why? Because the city of Constantinople was more than just a city. When Constantine the Great moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium in A.D. 330, he did not just change the course of history, he made this city into the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. As such, it became a jewel almost as religiously important as Jerusalem itself.

John Freely's THE GRAND TURK Reviewed in Booklist

Booklist offers a critique of The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II—Conqueror of Constantinople and Master of an Empire, by John Freely: "The fall of the “impregnable city” of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 ended the enfeebled Byzantine Empire; it also confirmed the emergence of a new, vibrant, and aggressive power that would control the southern and eastern rims of the Mediterranean. The Turkish assault on the city was led by Mehmet II, who was only 21. Freely, who has written numerous books on Turkish history, offers a well researched survey of Mehmet’s life and times. The author does an admirable job of separating myth from reality. Long despised by European Christians as a bloodthirsty tyrant, Mehmet is shown as a far more complicated figure. Given the serpentine nature of Ottoman dynastic politics, he was capable of ruthlessness and fratricidal violence. Yet, he was no thug. He could conduct diplomacy with subtle effectiveness and use it to avoid war when possible. Still, like Ottoman rulers before and after, his ultimate goal remained territorial expansion. A useful, informative survey that provides a balanced view of a seminal epoch in world history." — Jay Freeman