Bøger af John Stoye

The definitive account of the last serious threat to Western civilization by the armies of Islam. The siege of Vienna in 1683 was one of the turning points in European history. It was the last serious threat to Western Christendom--so disastrous was its potential outcome that countries normally jealous and hostile sank their differences to throw back the Muslim armies and their savage Tartar allies. The consequences of defeat were momentous: the Ottomans lost half of their European territories and began the long decline which led to the final collapse of their empire; and the Habsburgs turned their attention from France and the Rhine frontier to the rich pickings of the Balkans. That hot day in September witnessed the last great trial of Cross and Crescent. "Masterly...Stoye follows the action meticulously." --The Wall Street Journal

This volume offers an introduction to a period characterized by diversity and vitality alongside war, plague, revolution and famine. The history of Europe between 1648 and 1688, often associated with the Age of the Baroque, was in fact disturbed by more cross-currents than almost any other period.

Count Luigi Marsigli travelled throughout the Europe of Louis XIV between Istanbul and London. John Stoye follows him through the Balkans and the Hapsburg Empire where his associations with leaders, mapping of the terrain and drawing of boundary lines have repercussions in Bosnia and Croatia today.