perseus perseus

Istanbul
Read Excerpt Glasses Icon Icon of eye glasses over an open book

Request Desk/Exam Copy Academic Icon Academic icon

Istanbul

A Tale of Three Cities

by Bettany Hughes

Regular Price $13.99

Regular Price $17.99 CAD

ebook
Hardcover Audiobook Download Unabridged Trade Paperback
ebook
Hardcover Audiobook Download Unabridged Trade Paperback

Regular Price $13.99

Regular Price $17.99 CAD

Also Available From:

Buy Now:

Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Google Play Ebooks.com Kobo

On Sale

Sep 19, 2017

Page Count

856 Pages

Publisher

Da Capo Press Logo

ISBN-13

9780306825859

Genre

Nonfiction / History / Middle East / Turkey & Ottoman Empire

Description

Istanbul has long been a place where stories and histories collide, where perception is as potent as fact.

From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three names–Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul — resonates as an idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, North and South, it has been the capital city of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was the very center of the world, known simply as “The City,” but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city, but a global story.

In this epic new biography, Hughes takes us on a dazzling historical journey from the Neolithic to the present, through the many incarnations of one of the world’s greatest cities–exploring the ways that Istanbul’s influence has spun out to shape the wider world. Hughes investigates what it takes to make a city and tells the story not just of emperors, viziers, caliphs, and sultans, but of the poor and the voiceless, of the women and men whose aspirations and dreams have continuously reinvented Istanbul.

Written with energy and animation, award-winning historian Bettany Hughes deftly guides readers through Istanbul’s rich layers of history. Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence, this captivating portrait of the momentous life of Istanbul is visceral, immediate, and authoritative — narrative history at its finest.

Meet The Author: Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster. She is currently a professor of history and a research fellow of King’s College, London. She is the author of four popular, internationally acclaimed books, including The Hemlock Cup and Istanbul. She lives in London. 
Discover More

A Talk with Bettany Hughes, Author of Istanbul

A Talk with Bettany Hughes, Author of ISTANBUL

How did you first become interested in Istanbul? I first traveled to Istanbul over thirty years ago. Immediately I was enraptured with the place—a truly cosmopolitan city where history constantly breaks through to the surface of the modern metropolis. As a historian, I was in love! This is a city that has been central to…
Read full article
A Talk with Bettany Hughes, Author of ISTANBUL