Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520 - 1536

James Reston

Penguin Group USA, 2009 - History - 407 pages

A bestselling historian recounts sixteen years that shook the world— the epic clash between Europe and the Ottoman Turks that ended the Renaissance and brought Islam to the gates of Vienna

In the bestselling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston, Jr., limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar. Each was a poet and cultured cosmopolitan; each was the most powerful man on his continent; each was called “Defender of the Faith”; and each faced strident religious rebellion in his domain. Charles was beset by the “heresy” of Martin Luther and his fervid adherents, even while tensions between him and the pope threatened to boil over, and the upstart French king Francis I harried CharlesÂ's realm by land and sea. Suleyman was hardly more comfortable on his throne. He had earned his crown by avoiding the grim Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide. Shiites in the East were fighting off the Sunni TurksÂ' cruel repression of their “heresy.” The ferocity and skill of SuleymanÂ's Janissaries had expanded the Ottoman Empire to its greatest extent ever, but these slave soldiers became rebellious when foreign wars did not engage them.

With Europe newly hobbled and the Turks suffused with restless vigor, the stage was set for a drama that unfolded from Hungary to Rhodes and ultimately to Vienna itself, which both sides thought the Turks could win. If that happened, it was generally agreed that Europe would become Muslim as far west as the Rhine.

During these same years, Europe was roiled by constant internal tumult that saw, among other spectacles, the Diet of Worms, the Sack of Rome, and an actual wrestling match between the English and French monarchs in which Henry VIIIÂ's pride was badly hurt. Would—could—this fractious continent be united to repulse a fearsome enemy?

What people are saying

Review: Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536

User Review  - Jen - Goodreads

Given the lack of any real aspirations in my life, I make up small quests that give me something to strive for--a windmill against which to joust. (Please note the previous sentence is in jest..mostly ...

Review: Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536

User Review  - Daniel Farabaugh - Goodreads

In some respects this book does not achieve its stated goal. The two stories that it tries to pull together never come together. This is due to the fact that Charles V and Suleyman never directly ...

About the author

James Reston, Jr., is the author of fourteen previous books, including Warriors of God, Dogs of God, Galileo: A Life, and The Conviction of Richard Nixon. Winner of the Prix Italia and the Dupont-Columbia Award for his 1983 documentary, “Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown,” his books have been translated into thirteen languages.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520 - 1536
• Author: James Reston
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA, 2009
• ISBN: 1594202257, 9781594202254
• Length: 407 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / General; History / World; Religion / Christianity / History