The Golden Throne: The Curse of a King.

I complained to one of our local councillors about the ageing stock in our local library the other week. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find Christopher de Bellaigue's new book about the later reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (Lawgiver) on the shelves and snapped it up as my library pick this month.

Despite having several books on the arguably greatest Ottoman sultan on my book shelves, I might have bought this given the excellent reviews. 

Suleiman ruled from 1520 to 1566, the longest reign of any Ottoman sultan. In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver because he reorganised the Ottoman legal system, codifying secular and religious laws into a comprehensive legal code. He earned the title 'the Magnificent' in Europe mainly due to his military conquests. Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire reached its territorial peak, stretching from Hungary to the Persian Gulf and North Africa to the Caucasus. These included major victories at Belgrade (1521), Rhodes (1522) and Mohács (1526). His navy also dominated the Mediterranean under the leadership of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha.

This is not a conventional narrative history. It is told more as a novel or a play, with the narrative darting about the empire, bringing in the key players in the story. These include his most famous consort, Hurrem (also known as Roxelana) and her rival Mahidevran. His sons, who in the Ottoman tradition would compete for his throne, and the various officials, including Grand Vizier, Lufti Pasha, Barbarossa and Sinan the architect. External influences are not ignored. These include the French King Francis I, who was loosely allied to the Ottomans in competition with Charles V of Spain. Looking eastwards, the Iranians were led by Tahmasp, Shah of Iran.

The author doesn't just stick to the personalities. The governance of the empire is explained, including the tax on boys (devshirme) to recruit into government service and the Janissaries. I knew Jews and Armenians were exempt, but also exempt were tall boys who were not taken because they were known to be stupid and anyone who was conceited or full of himself. That would probably have excluded me on both counts! I am curious why boys who knew Turkish or had been to Istanbul weren't eligible. The book is full of snippets like this, so there is something, even for those who think they have read all there is to know on this subject. I had read Luther's entertaining take on the Ottomans: 'The Turks are to be endured like floods, forest fires, plagues and famine, all sent by God to try his people.'

I hadn't realised that Sinan, the architect of many fine buildings I have visited, including the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne and the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul, started as a military engineer in the Janissaries. His bridge over the Prut in 1538 was his breakthrough. Having recently driven down and studied the campaigns along this river in modern-day Romania, you can appreciate the importance of this achievement when so many others failed.

Overall, I'm afraid I didn't like the style. It jumped around too much, and the narrative didn't flow. I appreciate that it may draw others into the period, and that's a good thing. In the West, Suleiman's contemporaries, like Francis and Henry VIII, are better known, without this fascinating sultan's achievements. 

I was playtesting Simon Miller's new variant of his To the Strongest rules, Lust for Glory, at the club yesterday. So my Janissaries were getting a good workout against Peter the Great's Russians. A threat Suleiman didn't face.