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God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, his Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World
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59
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
37/100Critics
81/100Scholars
Author:
Alan Mikhail
Publisher:
Liveright
Date:
August 18, 2020
Mikhail presents a recasting of Ottoman history, retelling the story of the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470â1520).
What The Reviewers Say
Readers gain insight into the incredible influence of the Ottoman civilization at the dawn of modern history. But Mikhail goes even further, placing Ottoman civilization in its global context. He shows that it is no accident that Columbus’s 1492 voyage coincides with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, or that Martin Luther could use the Sultan’s long shadow as fuel against the Pope. Global economics and politics are well illuminated, as are the connections and relationships between Eurasia and the Americas. Excellent maps and illustrations throughout detail the cities, societies, and cultural regions in circa 1500.
... full of fine details of this cross-cultural encounter, but its most arresting aspect is Mikhail’s second claim: that 'the Ottoman Empire made our modern world'.
... very original and wide-ranging.
... richly detailed, epic.
