David Nicolle

This is a rather mixed bag of a book. Due to the fact that I cannot find many books on the subject - military organization of elite units within Ottoman Empire - I am giving it 4 stars but in truth it is more like 3 1/2 stars.

Reason is very simple - for reasons I do not comprehend - Ottoman Empire get constantly represented as so advanced, varied and multinational state where everything was flourishing, everybody had equal rights and was so advanced that even levy-in-flesh (main source of Janissary's recruits) is seen as some sort of study-and-work-abroad program organized for the people of the conquered countries.

I will not go into inner workings of Ottoman Empire - but come on. They were a world power at the time. They had manpower, industrial strength and resources to start their own expansion on both East and West frontiers. They were good fighters and they had the military might. In other words they were powerful state of the time - with their expansionist politics and trigger-happiness not different than any other country/empire/kingdom/duchy of the period. To say that they get supporters in countries that they occupied is ridiculous - you think those people supported them because they believed they will be enlightened by the Ottomans? They allied themselves with them for simple reasons - either because they wanted to gain upper hand in their own country by joining with mighty conqueror or because they wanted to keep their riches by making friends with new power in the area that cannot be contended (yet). Again nothing that did not take place million times in the past through-out the Europe and world, so I always get surprised when I read something like this from respected historians. and to call counter attacks from opposing super-powers at the time as savage and aggressive - again what are we talking about here? Who came where first? In that case we can go way back and get lost because there is no piece of land that wasn't contended at some point in time.

This aside it is interesting work. If you are interested in the period I recommend it.
… (altro)

CUPRINS

1. Originile campaniei - pag. 7
2. Cronologie - pag. 15

3. COMANDANTI ADVERSI - pag. 19
4. Lideri ai cruciatilor - pag. 19
5. Lideri bizantini - pag. 23
6. Lideri musulmani - pag. 24

7. FORTE ADVERSE - pag. 30
8. Cruciatii - pag. 30
9. Buzantinii - pag. 33
10. Armenii - pag. 35
11. Turcii - pag. 35
12. Fatimizii - pag. 39

13. PLANURI ADVERSE - pag. 42
14. Planul cruciatilor - pag. 42
15. Planuri bizantine - pag. 44
16. Planuri selgiucide - pag. 45
17. Planuri fatimide - pag. 47

18. CAMPANIA - pag. 48
19. Ambuscada de la Dorylaeum - pag. 54
20. Divizarea cruciadei - pag. 64
21. Asediul Antiohiei - pag. 73
22. Marsul asupra Ierusalimului - pag. 94
23. Asediul Ierusalimului - pag. 106
24. Batalia de la Ascalon - pag. 119

25.CONSECINTE - pag. 130

26.CAMPUL DE LUPTA ASTAZI - pag. 137

27. Bibliografie - pag. 140
28. Indice - pag. 142… (altro)

The best part of the book is the many drawings of reliefs and artefacts showing Sassanid (or Sassanid-era) soldiers and gear.

I also liked the plates with reconstructions of what Sassanid armies may have looked like in real life. I was less impressed with the main text, partly because while every illustration has an accompanying text identifying what it's based on, the main text provides hardly any indication what the various assertions are based on.

Also, Nicolle seems to have something of an anti-Roman bias, being determined to deny or minimize any Greco-Roman influence on Sassanid Iran, while being perfectly happy to acknowledge two-way influence across the empire's other borders.… (altro)