Theodore Spandounes: On the Origins of the Ottoman EmperorsTheodore Spandounes belonged to a Byzantine refugee family who had settled in Venice after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. He wrote an account of the origins of the Turkish rulers and of their phenomenal rise to power. It was partly a plea to the Popes and princes of western Christendom to unite against the infidel and one of the earliest works of its kind. The first version of the book, written in Italian, appeared in 1509 and was translated into French in 1519. The final version was made in 1538 and a full Italian text was published in 1890 though without any historical commentary. This book presents an English translation of the full text with a preface, commentary and notes; a discussion of the sources which Spandounes might have consulted and an assessment of the value and interest of this hitherto neglected and undervalued treatise. |
Common terms and phrases
Adrianople Ahmed Albania Andrea Andronikos Angiolello army attack Babinger Barbarossa Bassa Bayezid Bayezid II Belgrade Beylerbey Bosnia brev brother Byzantine Family called captain captain-general captured Carabogdan Carlo Cephalonia Chalkokondyles Christian princes Chron church command Constantine Constantinople Corfu CSHB daughter death Demetrios died ducats Duke Ecthesis Chronica Eirene Emperor eunuchs father fleet galleys Gallipoli Gedik George Branković Grand Grecu Greece Greek Historia Politica honoured Ibrahim island Ismail Janissaries John Cantacuzene John Zápolya Kadi killed King of Hungary Ladislas Lascaris Leonardo lord Manuel married Mehmed II Mehmed's Morea Murad Musachi Mustafa Naples Natalia Nicol Orhan Ostrovica Ottoman Empire Palaiologos Paleologo Papacy and Levant Pasha Patras Peloponnese Persia Pesaro Pope prisoners Rhodes Rome Sachatai Sanjak bey Sathas Selim sent Serbia Setton ships Skanderbeg sons Spandounes Sphrantzes Stephen Suleiman Sultan Sultan Mehmed Theodore Spandounes Tocco took Turc Turkish Turks Ursu Uzun Uzun Hasan Valona Venetian Venetian Senate Venice wife