ANDRE CLOT

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.

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

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.