Confrontation at Lepanto : Christendom vs. Islam

by Hopkins

• ISBN13: 9780765305381
• ISBN10: 0765305380
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-06-27
• Publisher: Forge Books

Summary

Like an angry lion, the Turkish menace growled at the frontiers of Europe. In 1453, the last remnant of the mighty Roman Empire was obliterated when Turkish forces overran Constantinople. Western civilization was being threatened by medieval Islam. By 1570, a huge Turkish fleet had begun to turn the Mediterranean into a Muslim lake. A year later Pope Pius V created an anti-Ottoman alliance known as the Holy LeagueChristendoms answer to Jihad. One morning in October 1571, the fleet of the Holy League met the Ottoman Turks in the waters at the mouth of the Gulf of Patros. The future of a despairing, fragmented Europe was about to be decided. . . . By four oclock that afternoon the naval battle had become a mle, and the sea had literally turned from blue to red. When the smoke cleared, the Turkish fleet had been broken. In sheer numbers of casualties there has never been a more costly naval battle than Lepanto. The Crusaders lost 17 ships and 7,500 men; the Muslims lost more than 200 warships and nearly 20,000 men. For the first time in more than a century, West had defeated East. The Christians had successfully taken the offensive. Lepanto was one of the greatest turning points in history, though the centuries to come would see many more battles in the continuing conflict between Christianity and Islam. Confrontation at Lepanto is a fascinating account of that decisive battle on a very human level. Drawing on meticulous research, the author brings to life personalities, tactics, and details, making the narrative as fascinating and compelling as a novel. The result is a book whose lessons resonate today.

Author Biography

T. C. F. Hopkins has studied history for more than forty years and has a special interest in cultural anthropology as well as military history. The pseudonym for a famous and beloved author of dozens of fantasy, horror, and young adult novels, she has been nominated for the Edgar Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. This is her first book as T. C. F. Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Map of the Mediterranean Basin	10	(2)
Map of the Gulf of Patmas	12	(1)
Preface	13	(80)
1. The Eve of Battle	19	(10)
2. The Ottoman Empire	29	(10)
3. The Venetians	39	(10)
4. The Hapsburgs	49	(6)
5. Meanwhile, in the Rest of the World	55	(4)
6. Getting Personal	59	(16)
7. Opening Gambits	75	(6)
8. First Lull	81	(6)
9. Famagusta	87	(6)
10. A Change in Fortune	93	(4)
11. Reneging	97	(6)
12. European Preparation	103	(12)
13. Complications iii
14. Ottoman Preparation	115	(4)
15. Finding the Foe	119	(6)
16. The Point of No Return	125	(6)
17. Opening Moves	131	(6)
18. Uchiali	137	(6)
19. Interludes	143	(2)
20. Battle's End	145	(4)
21. First Reckoning	149	(8)
22. Developments	157	(6)
23. Reactions Spread	163	(4)
24. In Constantinople	167	(6)
25. More Repercussions	173	(8)
26. Don Juan de Austria	181	(6)
27. Venetian Denouement	187	(4)
28. Don Juan's Denouement	191	(6)
29. Afterthoughts	197	(2)
Index	199