The clash of civilizations
Just got done reading a great book: Roger Crowley’s EMPIRES OF THE SEA, a fascinating account of the battle for control of the Mediterranean during the sixteenth century between the Ottoman Empire and the Hapsburgs of Spain/Austria. Crowley’s first book, 1453, came out in 2006: it was a well-executed account of the fall of Constantinople, but I’ve read a bunch of those before. EMPIRES OF THE SEA breaks new ground, however, documenting the relentless expansion of the Ottoman Turks westward after Constantinople’s fall.
Initially, the main thrust was on land—but after the Ottomans were turned back from Vienna (!) in 1529, the sea war took on new life. Everything came to a head at the siege of Malta in 1565; following the Ottoman failure there, the Holy League (an alliance of the Hapsburgs, the Papacy, Venice and Genoa) outfitted a gigantic fleet and defeated the Turks at Lepanto, an absolutely colossal contest of which Cervantes (who was wounded there) was to write, “The greatest event witnessed by ages past, present, and to come.”
And maybe he was right. God knows history has seen plenty of epic stuff since then. But Lepanto was the last serious challenge that Europe would face in its rise to global domination. Prior to that point, Islam and Christiandom had been at each others’ throats for almost a thousand years—but with the decline of the Ottomans, Islamic expansion was effectively over. But historical verdicts are always subject to appeal, and it’s worth bearing in mind that, as much as 9-11 seemed like the inauguration of a whole new era of history to so many of us, those who unleashed it saw it merely as the continuation of a much deeper, older struggle.
Tags: civilization, history, islam, novel, roger crowley
July 25th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Uhm, David, the last serious challenge was Vienna, September 11, 1683, and that was a pretty shaky matter. And yes, the date is not a coincidence…
July 26th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I was wondering if someone would call me on this. My own view is that 1683 was pretty much the Ottoman last gasp, and that even if they’d taken Vienna, they didn’t really have the strength to push any further into central Europe. The factors that would eventually turn them into the “sick man of Europe” were already well underway. But at the time that was a long way from obvious, and it’s entirely correct to say that this was thus the REAL “last serious challenge” Islam was able to pose until more recent events . . .
And speaking of: was the battle really fought on 9.11? All the references I can find have it as 9.12.
Anyway, Wired wins this post’s history prize, and I don’t give out those things lightly.
July 26th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I’ll have to check this one up again with regards to the date difference. Possible that the 12th coincides with the actual battle and the 11th with the successful disarmament of the decisive mine beneath the Loebel Bastion.