Early summer 980. Otto II, son and successor of Otto the Great, is under pressure to succeed. With few significant opponents left north of the Alps, the young emperor plans to establish himself as the protector of Christendom through a victory over Islam. Sicily is in Arab hands, and from there they are ravaging the Byzantine provinces of Calabria and Apulia. If he were to drive them from the mainland, he could finally rule all of Italy; his claim to be a descendant of the Roman emperors would be validated. Theophanu, his wife, is skeptical. The battlefield lies some 1,000 miles away, leaving the emir ample time to avoid a decisive battle. That is, unless he can be lured out of hiding with a bluff... Decisions made in Aachen, Rome, Constantinople, and Palermo also draw the land between the Oder and Elbe rivers into the maelstrom of events. An event that foreshadows the harshness and drama of the later Crusades. The reign of Otto II is one of the least documented chapters of German and European history. Yet it marks an important turning point in the relationship between East and West.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
David, Wolfgang
Title
Der bleiche Tod der Sarazenen
Details
451 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Historischer Roman
Salon Literaturverlag Volkartstr. 2c 80634 München Deutschland
