Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536 Hardcover - 2009

by James Reston

A bestselling historian recounts sixteen years that shook the world-the epic clash between Europe and the Ottoman Turks that ended theRenaissance and brought Islam to the gates of Vienna

In the bestselling Warriors of God and Dogs of God,James Reston, Jr., limned two epochal conflicts between Islamand Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in thatcenturies-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerableand Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by twoastonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles Vand Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though theyrepresented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.Each was a poet and cultured cosmopolitan; each was the mostpowerful man on his continent; each was called "Defender ofthe Faith"; and each faced strident religious rebellion in hisdomain. Charles was beset by the "heresy" of Martin Lutherand his fervid adherents, even while tensions between him andthe pope threatened to boil over, and the upstart French kingFrancis I harried Charles's realm by land and sea. Suleymanwas hardly more comfortable on his throne. He had earned hiscrown by avoiding the grim Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide.Shiites in the East were fighting off the Sunni Turks' cruelrepression of their "heresy." The ferocity and skill of Suleyman'sJanissaries had expanded the Ottoman Empire to its greatestextent ever, but these slave soldiers became rebellious whenforeign wars did not engage them.

With Europe newly hobbled and the Turks suffusedwith restless vigor, the stage was set for a drama that unfoldedfrom Hungary to Rhodes and ultimately to Vienna itself, whichboth sides thought the Turks could win. If that happened, it wasgenerally agreed that Europe would become Muslim as far westas the Rhine.

During these same years, Europe was roiled by constantinternal tumult that saw, among other spectacles, the Dietof Worms, the Sack of Rome, and an actual wrestling matchbetween the English and French monarchs in which HenryVIII's pride was badly hurt. Would-could-this fractiouscontinent be united to repulse a fearsome enemy?