ANDRE CLOT

Mehmed II le Conquérant sempara de Constantinople à 21 ans, mettant fin à lEmpire romain dOrient en 1453. Il posa les bases institutionnelles de lEmpire ottoman qui resteront en vigueur jusquau XIXe

Mehmed II le Conquérant sempara de Constantinople à 21 ans, mettant fin à lEmpire romain dOrient en 1453. Il posa les bases institutionnelles de lEmpire ottoman qui resteront en vigueur jusquau XIXe

Harun al-Rashid, the legendary caliph portrayed in The Thousand and One Nights, was the son of a Yemenite slave who cleared Haruns path to power, very probably by poisoning her eldest son.Harun reigned for a quarter of a century, his empire spreading over south-west Asia and into north Africa. He waged war on the Byzantine Empire, and dealt ruthlessly with the religious and social insurrections which threatened his kingdom, executing almost the entire Barmakid family when they threatened to become too powerful.As well as being a ruthless soldier and politician Harun was also a great patron of the arts, and highly esteemed by Charlemagne. He turned Baghdad into a brilliant centre of culture and learning, which witnessed unprecedented economic development, its merchants and navigators carrying the caliphs renown to the farthest corners of the known world.Surrounded by his wives, concubines, musicians and learned men in his palace in Baghdad, Harun the Good remains a potent symbol of the fabled Orient. In this remarkable account Andre Clot explores the man behind the legend, revealing his development as a ruler of an empire that was shaken to the core by religious and social revolt.

Derniers de ces conquérants venus dAsie qui dévalèrent, dès la fin du premier millénaire, les portes du nord-ouest pour envahir la péninsule indienne, mosaïque dÉtats hindous et musulmans en lutte co

Derniers de ces conquérants venus dAsie qui dévalèrent, dès la fin du premier millénaire, les portes du nord-ouest pour envahir la péninsule indienne, mosaïque dÉtats hindous et musulmans en lutte co

La domination musulmane en Espagne commença en 711 avec le débarquement du berbère Tarik, s''étendit rapidement grâce au prince omeyyade Abdar Rahman, qui fonda l''émirat de Cordoue (756) et culmina

Suleiman the Magnificent, most glorious of the Ottoman sultans, kept Europe atremble for nearly half a century. In a few years he led his army as far as the gates of Vienna, made himself master of the Mediterranean and established his court in Baghdad. Faced with this redoubtable champion, who regarded it as his duty to extend the boundaries of Islam farther and farther, the Christian world struggled to unite against him. The Shadow of God on Earth, but also an expert politician and all-powerful despot, Suleiman ruled the state firmly with the help of his viziers. He extended the borders of the empire beyond what any of the Ottoman sultans had achieved, yet it is primarily as a lawgiver that he is remembered in Turkish history. His empire held dominion over three continents populated by more than thirty million inhabitants, among whom nearly all of the races and religions of mankind were represented. Prospering under a well-directed, authoritarian economy, Suleimans reign marked the apogee of Ottoman power. City and country alike experienced unprecedented economic and demographic growth. Istanbul was the largest city in the world, enjoying a remarkable renaissance of arts and letters; a mighty capital, it was the seat of the Seraglio and dark intrigue.

Symbole de lOrient fabuleux, Haroun al-Rachid, le calife des Mille et Une Nuits que lon voit vivre dans le luxe des palais de Bagdad, au milieu de ses épouses, de ses concubines, des musiciens et des savants, nest pas quune figure legendaire. Fils dune esclave yemenite qui le porta au pouvoir apres avoir assassine son fils aine, il regna pres dun quart de siecle et fut le calife le plus celebre de la dynastie abbasside.Les chroniques arabes permettent de rectifier limage du " bon Haroun " et de retracer les principales etapes de sa politique. Si lOccident le connait par les cadeaux quil envoya a Charlemagne et notamment le fameux elephant Abul Abbas, il fut avant tout un soldat et porta la guerre contre les Byzantins. Il dut affronter a plusieurs reprises les revoltes religieuses ou sociales qui secouerent son immense empire, et nhesita pas a executer les Barmecides, cette puissante famille qui avait fini par constituer presque un Etat dans lEtat et dont il supportait de plus en plus mal linfluence et la richesse.Protecteur des intellectuels, Haroun donna aussi une formidable impulsion au rayonnement culturel de Bagdad, alors la plus grande ville du monde. La capitale abbasside connait un developpement economique sans precedent, cependant que les navigateurs et les marchands repandent le nom du calife jusquaux limites du monde connu.Andre Clot, historien de formation et journaliste, a passe de nombreuses annees dans les pays musulmans du Proche et du Moyen-Orient. Il a publie en 1983 Soliman le Magnifique.

Soliman le Magnifique, le plus glorieux des sultans ottomans, fit trembler lEurope pendant près dun demi-siècle. En quelques années, il conduit son armée _ la première du monde _ jusquaux portes de V

Soliman le Magnifique, le plus glorieux des sultans ottomans, fit trembler lEurope pendant près dun demi-siècle. En quelques années, il conduit son armée _ la première du monde _ jusquaux portes de V