Browsing Tag

Constantinople

The Sack of Constantinople, Sorta

Three events in the last few months has reinforced an idea that’s been percolating. They have also reminded me how much we can learn from our past.

The first event was during my book promotion. I was a guest on a podcast, and the host was amazed to hear people of faith actually lived and worked in Silicon Valley. Seriously, he was stunned to hear bible studies actually happened in the corporate offices of places like Google, Facebook, and Apple. I was equally stunned that this informed and well educated man in the Midwest perceived Silicon Valley as so, well, …

Random Thoughts,

History is written by the losers?

Recently finished a book on the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Or the conquest of Constantinople, depending on how you look at it.

Curious insight from the author of the book (Roger Crowley). He writes, “…the Ottoman perspective often has to be constructed by reading between the lines of Christian accounts: 1453 is unusual in being history largely written by the losers.”

Apparently, most of the stories about the battle for the city were recorded by the losing Christians. Specifically the Greeks and Italians. The Ottoman Empire, which won the battle, wrote very little about the battle. Only later did …