Thomas F. Madden

Perched at the tip of Europe, gazing across to the shores of Asia, Istanbul remains as much a city of crossroads as it has been for the past two millennia. The history of this fabled metropolis--known at first as Byzantion, then Constantinople, and now Istanbul--is glorious, grandiose, and astounding. No other city has stood at the center of world events for so long, a home to great empires and diverse cultures from the Greeks to the Romans, the Italians...

Overview: 'God wills it!' With that cry of medieval knights a new era in European history began. Across Europe a wave of pious enthusiasm led many thousands to leave their homes, family, and friends to march to a distant land in a great struggle for Christ. Yet the crusades were more than simply a holy war. They represent a synthesis of attitudes and values that were uniquely medieval-so medieval, in fact, that the crusading movement is rarely understood...