VENETIAN AND OTTOMAN CASTLES OF THE PELOPONNESE (13th-19th CENTURIES)

Richly illustrated monograph (250 figures, 12 maps) showcasing castles and fortified towns of the Peloponnese garrisoned up to period of the Greek War of Independence (1820s). These castles were captured and retaken by the Venetians and their arch-enemies the Ottoman Turks during their centuries-long epic struggle for the domination of the southern Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. Several of these seemingly impregnable fortresses (such as Mount Palamede at Nauplia, Modon and the New Castle of the Morea), designed by some of the most brilliant military engineers of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era, were state-of-the-art and to this day remain as a testament to their superb technical expertise. These strategic strongholds commanded the lands, on occasions providing safe havens, in other times forcing the local populations into submission. Newly-discovered material from the Venetian archives, with the addition of a large array of recently-published contributions for the Ottoman periods, combined with an updated examination of each of these fortresses will vastly add to the public's knowledge of Medieval and Early Modern southern Greece.