God's Shadow: The Ottoman Sultan Who Shaped the Modern World

Review Fascinating . . . Gripping. ― The TimesCompellingly readable. ― TLSMikhail makes it his mission to demonstrate how this utterly compelling leader helped define his age. And he succeeds with a flourish. -- Justin Marozzi ― SpectatorAlways interesting . . . The highest praise for a history book is that it makes you think about things in a new way -- Ian Morris ― New York Times Book ReviewAlan Mikhail is a very original and inventive historian. -- Orhan PamukCaptivating . . . A terrific guide to the Ottomans during a period of profound change. -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads Product Description A Times Literary Supplement and History Today Book of the Year'An astonishing and thrilling story.' Stephen GreenblattThe Ottoman Empire was a hub of flourishing intellectual fervour, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the helm of its ascent was the omnipotent Sultan Selim I (1470-1520).Alan Mikhail centres Selim's Ottoman Empire and Islam as the very pivots of global history, redefining such world-changing events as Christopher Columbus's voyages, the Protestant Reformation, and the transatlantic slave trade. Mikhail's ground-breaking account vividly recaptures Selim's life, radically reshaping our understanding of a world we thought we knew. Book Description An explosive global history of Sultan Selim I and how he changed the course of global history. About the Author A leading historian of his generation, ALAN MIKHAIL, professor of history and chair of the Department of History at Yale University, has reforged our understandings of the past through his previous three prize-winning books on the history of Middle East. In writing God's Shadow, he has drawn on Ottoman Turkish, modern Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, and French sources.