The Man Who Stopped the Sultan
Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe
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3 Months Free
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Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
The Man Who Stopped the Sultan
Narrated by:
Chris Courtenay
Buy Now for £15.40
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Narrated by:
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Chris Courtenay
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By:
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Edoardo Albert
An extraordinary account of how one man defied the most powerful ruler of his age and in doing so changed the course of European history.
Throughout the 16th century, wars raged across Europe as kings and republics jostled for wealth and power. Yet one man exceeded all these medieval princes of Christendom: Suleiman the Magnificent. As ruler of the Ottoman Empire, he governed 25 million people from Constantinople, his realm stretching from Persia to the Atlantic Ocean. Turning his gaze to Europe, Suleiman attacked Rhodes, the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller but was opposed by Gabriele Tadino – an Italian who had risen through the ranks thanks to his genius as a military engineer.
This is a fascinating history of crusading knights and gunpowder, of spies and tunnels, and of a crossroads in history when the medieval age gave way to the Renaissance. Delving deep into Italian source material, Edoardo Albert weaves together the story of an ordinary man alive in an extraordinary time and performing extraordinary feats of military genius. Through the lens of his life we discover how military tactics and fortifications rapidly changed thanks to the discovery of gunpowder, and how Europe, divided by power-hungry rulers and religion, almost fell to one of the greatest rulers the world has ever seen, but was prevented by a humble engineer.©2026 Edoardo Albert (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
There is so much here to enjoy: geopolitics at the dawn of the modern age; the advances in science and military engineering with tunnels, forts and gunpowder; the splendour of Constantinople in the years after its conquest by Mehmed II; the strategic island of Rhodes. This is a book full of glorious fighting spirit.
Edoardo Albert’s book, with its arresting title, brings to life a significant and largely forgotten player in the changing values and emerging military technologies of late medieval and early modern Europe… [Albert] leads us through the complexities of the age in a lively conversational style.
A fascinating portrayal of a talented military engineer... Albert has brought his amazing story to life with considerable flair.
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