This is a thoroughly rewarding study that fully delivers on its promise. Well written a it traces Constantinople,Byzantium,Istanbul’s violent history as a strategic crossroads between East and West, where evolving forms of siege warfare repeatedly shaped its fate. Ranging from antiquity to the early 20th century, it scrutinises the city’s long continuum of conflict. Insightful, wide-ranging, and engaging throughout, it is essential reading for understanding both the medieval past and today’s Middle East