Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453–1924

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Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453-1924 is a 1995 non-fiction book by

Ottoman Constantinople (now Istanbul) during the rule of the Ottoman Empire
.

The author hoped to show positive aspects of the Ottoman Empire while acknowledging some negative aspects.[1]

Ottoman Turkish and therefore being able to research the Ottoman Empire.[2]

Background

William Armstrong of Hürriyet Daily News stated that the usage of "Constantinople" instead of "Istanbul" was a "deliberate decision" to highlight the "historical cosmopolitanism" that ended after the end of the empire.[3]

Contents

Mordecai Lee of the

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee states that the book "maintains a strict academic-level presentation" although it is "eminently readable for a lay person".[4] The author discusses the various aspects of the city,[4] among them religious tolerance and tensions.[5] Armstrong states that the book does not flesh out "historical background" and therefore does not demonstrate "deep impression of the underlying intellectual undercurrents".[3]

The book's bibliography and end notes sections make up 22 and 41 pages each.[4]

Reception

John Ash of The Washington Post stated that Mansel wrote an "engaging and richly detailed account".[6]

Lee stated that the "more positive aspects of Ottoman history[...]are especially enlightening to the reader".[5] Lee praised how the "information flows naturally" and concluded that it was an "outstanding book".[4]

Dalrymple described it as "an impeccably researched masterpiece of exquisite historical writing, without question one of the finest books ever written by an Englishman on the Turks."[2]

References

  • Lee, Mordecai (Winter 1998). "Turkey: Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453–1924; Philip Mansel". . - 16 March 2010 is the date of first publication

Notes

  1. ^ Lee, p. 60.
  2. ^ a b Dalrymple, William. "Turkish delights". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  3. ^ a b Armstrong, William. "Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453-1924". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  4. ^ a b c d Lee, p. 62.
  5. ^ a b Lee, p. 61.
  6. ^ Ash, John (1997-02-02). "Gateway to Byzantium". The Washington Post. p. X07. Retrieved 2020-04-09.

External links