The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe

Andrew Wheatcroft’s history of the Great Siege of Vienna in 1683, The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe, is a great account of one of the key moments of conflict between Christianity and Islam in Europe.

As with Roger Crowley’s Empires of the Sea, which concentrates on an earlier period than this book, it shows how much of Europe’s history was shaped by this conflict without lapsing into simplistic stereotypes about one side being the good guys or any inevitable clash of civilisations. Indeed, Wheatcroft is particularly good on the way in which myths were deliberately created in order to suit the political interests of those in power and how the past was reshaped to suit contemporary political needs.

Though focused in the events in 1683, Wheatcroft gives the reader plenty of background and post-siege context, ranging over several centuries in total in this very readable narrative history.

The maps, alas, are not really up to guiding the reader through the text and regular recourse to an atlas or online maps is required to fully understand the importance of geography or indeed the layout of fortifications in shaping events.

That aside, this book is a great way to learn more about one of the key battles in Europe’s history, being both informative and enjoyable.

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Buy The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe by Andrew Wheatcroft here.