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The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453 (Fortress) Paperback – October 22, 2004

by Stephen Turnbull (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 41 ratings
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The walls of Constantinople are the greatest surviving example of European medieval military architecture in the world. They withstood numerous sieges until being finally overcome by the artillery of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, and exist today as a time capsule of Byzantine and Medieval history. This book examines the main defensive system protecting the landward side of the city, which consisted of three parallel walls about 5 miles long. The walls defended the city against intruders, including Attila the Hun, before finally being breached by European knights during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and, ultimately, destroyed by Turkish artillery in 1453.
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  1. Part of series
    Fortress
  2. Print length
    64 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Osprey Publishing
  5. Publication date
    October 22, 2004
  6. Dimensions
    7.25 x 0.17 x 9.88 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    9781841767598
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1841767598
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Turnbull is recognised as one of the world's foremost military historians of the Medieval and Early Modern periods. He first rose to prominence as a result of his extensive writings on the samurai, and has since written on less familiar areas of military history such as Korea, Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 184176759X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing; Illustrated edition (October 22, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781841767598
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841767598
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 0.17 x 9.88 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Turnbull

Stephen Turnbull

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Welcome to my Amazon page!

My name is Stephen Richard Turnbull. I have a lifelong interest in Japan, and I write books about military history and religious studies. Many are about Japan, but I also have an interest in European history and folk religion.

My latest samurai book is The Samurai Art of War as illustrated in Hojo Godai ki. It contains all 90 pictures from the 1659 edition of the great samurai classic.

Just published too is The Onin War, the first authoritative military history of the important turning point in Japanese history

I have been interested in Japan for over fifty years. I took my first degree at Cambridge and have two MAs (in Theology and Military History) from Leeds University. In 1996 I received a PhD from Leeds for my thesis on Japan’s Kakure Kirishitan, the ‘Hidden Christians’ whose brave ancestors were persecuted. In its published form the work won the Japan Festival Literary Award in 1998.

Having lectured in East Asian Studies and Theology I am now retired with the nice titles of Honorary Lecturer at Leeds, Research Associate at SOAS and Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University. I have published 86 books and many journal articles.

My expertise was put to use in helping design the award-winning computer strategy game Shogun Total War.

You can contact me via my website at www,stephenturnbull.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
41 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

MD
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2005
This book beautifully combines maps and photos with illustrations of Byzantine Constantinople. Also, in this relatively short book, Turnbull gives a fairly comprehensive sketch of the history of Byzantine Constantinople, in relation to the city's fortifications.

The book begins by giving the reasons for the construction for the Walls of Theodosius II, then goes on to describe their design. Turnbull then makes a thorough survey of the different sections of the walls before talking about how the walls were part of the life of Constantinopolitans. The book then briefly tells the stories of the various sieges of the city and finishes by describing the walls in contemporary times.

Turnbull and the illustrator Peter Dennis have created an excellent book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Byzantine history, ancient fortifications, or anyone wanting to travel to Istanbul.
12 people found this helpful
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J. Carpenter
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Illustrations
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2015
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The illustrations and then actual picture comparisons are just what I was looking for.
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JPS
3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly good overview despite a number of glitches
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2013
Despite quite a number of flaws, to which I will come back shortly, this is a quite valuable overview of the rather unique and massive Walls of the "Queen of Cities". I found that it has at least three main qualities.

First of all, this book, and particularly its second and third section, made me want to return to Istanbul and revisit the Walls, possibly with this little book in hand. Granted, it is only an overview and the materials are drawn from other works, but nevertheless they are put together in such a way as to make the subject particularly attractive, at least for me and with regard to these two sections.

The second section is about the design and development of the Walls from their initial construction between 405 and 413 (and not 423, as indicated in the chronology) by Anthemius, Praetorian Prefect of the East, until the last repairs almost at the very end of the Empire over a thousand years later. This section is good, concise, and very readable and makes all the essential points. It is also a rather fascinating one, showing in particular how sophisticated the defence system was.

The third section - "Tour of the site" - is just as interesting and the plates are rather gorgeous, especially the one depicting the Golden Gate. It is a guided tour of the whole perimeter of the land Walls starting from the Sea of Marmara and finishing at the Golden Horn. Together with the section on "the Walls of Constantinople today", it provides a guided for any Byzantine loving tourist wanting to visit them.

Other sections, however, are more uneven, and faulty editing means that the text or the chronology contains some flaws. In addition to the slip mentioned above, at one point page 8, the text mentions that the Avars attacked and besieged the City in AD 627 whereas the chronology on the opposite page shows, correctly, that the siege took place the year before.

Then there is a tendency to "cut corners", at the risk of making a few incorrect statements, and there are also a few mistakes that have not been picked up and edited. One example of the former is the statement that Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in AD 324. This is in fact when the work started, but the city was only consecrated in May 330. As an example of the later, the triumphal arch built by Theodosius in AD 390 which is now part of the Golden Gate was to commemorate his victory over Magnus Maximus, and not, as indicated page 21, over Maxentius who had been defeated by Constantine the Great almost eighty years before.

While the section on the Walls' garrison (or lack of it) and the City's supply is good (and partly derived from "Constantinople and its Hinterland - collection of studies edited by Cyril Mango and Gilbert Dagron published in 1995), the section on the various sieges is much more uneven. It may even be the worse one. Rather than limiting himself to a short summary of each siege, the author has used various quotations from the sources. This is where the lack of available space defeats the purpose, because the quotes are often insufficient and often do not explain why the various sieges were defeated. The two successful sieges (1204 and 1453) are however mostly well explained even if the first siege of the Fourth Crusade in 1203 is only mentioned in passing.

Finally, there is the bibliography, and here again there are a couple of problems. Contrary to the author's statement, according to whom "little exists beyond the standard work of Van Milligen" (which dates back to 1899) on the Walls themselves, there is a 1980 monograph by Tsagandas (Columbia University Press). Although it is out of print, this seems to be the most recent comprehensive treatment of the Walls, although Cyril Mango and others have also published quite a bit on the Walls as well.

Then there is this tendency that Osprey authors seem to have to cross-reference other Osprey publications, including their own, even when the topic is only indirectly linked to the one they are covering. This is for instance the case of Stephen Turnbull's publication on the Ottoman Empire (1326-1699).

On the other hand, other titles that could have been expected are not included, especially those from Treadgold (his massive 1997 History of the Byzantine State and Society, for instance) or from Haldon (Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture). Also missing is the book from Gerard Friell and Stephen Williams ("The Rome that Did Not Fall", at least partly because of the Walls).

So while I much liked three of the books sections that make up about half of its size, I was rather less impressed with the rest which could have been better. Three stars.
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Bayard B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Worth a 5-Stars minus / 4-Stars plus rating.
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2022
I thought this was a great book on the Constantinople walls / fortifications, gates, and towers. The only reason I gave it a 4-Stars rating instead of 5-Stars is because it is so short (60+pages). The text describes the construction and reconstruction efforts over the centuries by various Emperors. The text also discusses the general designs and materials of construction of the walls. The text is accompanied by many black and white photos, color photos, color renderings, and a couple of small-scale maps of specific areas. There is a nice half-page map on page 6 showing the overall extent of the walls.

Most of the text discusses the land walls across the western neck of the Constantinople peninsula. The sea walls receive only a short description on pages 15 - 16. Pages 47 - 57 discuss the various sieges of Constantinople that occurred over the centuries.
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Eric
1.0 out of 5 stars Crusaders defeated Constantinople's walls twice and ousted two byzantine emperors in 1203 and 1204.
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2020
This book, like many others, understates to the vanishing point the accomplishments of the Fourth Crusade, and perhaps overstates the strength of Constantinople's walls. The author missed the part about how in 1203 and again in 1204 French crusaders and their Venetian auxiliaries stormed and defeated Constantinople's walls twice in less than a year. In mid 1203 the crusaders restored a deposed byzantine emperor by force, but, once emperor again, he and other byzantine leaders betrayed the crusaders who had put him back in charge. Based on this thankless betrayal by the byzantines, the crusaders decided to take Constantinople for themselves this time. According, in April of 1204 the walls were again fairly easily overcome, and the emperor fled. This time the French decided that they should govern Constantinople, and the Byzantine Empire, themselves. Over the decades a series of French knights appointed themselves as emperors of Byzantium and fairly successfully ran that empire from Constantinople. Without reinforcements or financial support from the West, the French relinquished Constantinople after about 60 years spent resisting attacks throughout much of the Empire from Bulgars and their allies who mostly were composed of various dispossessed byzantine leaders. The hyperbole about the strength of Constantinople's walls also ignores the strength and majesty of castles built by the French, English, and Germans. In fairness, however, the 13th c. crusader forts such as Chateau fort des Hospitaliers (Krak des Chevalier) are amazing architecturally in a way that Byzantine fortified city walls cannot be.
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Top reviews from other countries

Art Booklover
4.0 out of 5 stars ... drawings give a 'feel' for The City during its greatest era.
Reviewed in Canada on May 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
The drawings give a 'feel' for The City during its greatest era.
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Pelagio
4.0 out of 5 stars A great companion to the history of 1453
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2010
Verified Purchase
This is a great book with excellent drawings and pictures of the wall.

Is an excellent companion to the books addressing the great sieges of the city.

The cross sections and plans of the walls are very accurate and impressive.

The author adds his own pictures of sections of the wall that are still standing.
6 people found this helpful
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