Giles Milton
Hardcover | Pages: 426 pages Rating: 4.19 | 574 Users | 77 Reviews
Details Books Supposing Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
| Original Title: | Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922, The Destruction of Islam's City of Tolerance |
| ISBN: | 0465011195 (ISBN13: 9780465011193) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rendition To Books Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
On Saturday, September 9, 1922, the victorious Turkish cavalry rode into Smyrna, the richest and most cosmopolitan city in the Ottoman Empire. The city's vast wealth created centuries earlier by powerful Levantine dynasties, its factories teemed with Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and Jews. Together, they had created a majority Christian city that was unique in the Islamic world. But to the Turkish nationalists, Smyrna was a city of infidels.In the aftermath of the First World War and with the support of the Great Powers, Greece had invaded Turkey with the aim of restoring a Christian empire in Asia. But by the summer of 1922, the Greeks had been vanquished by Atatürk's armies after three years of warfare. As Greek troops retreated, the non-Muslim civilians of Smyrna assumed that American and European warships would intervene if and when the Turkish cavalry decided to enter the city. But this was not to be.On September 13, 1922, Turkish troops descended on Smyrna. They rampaged first through the Armenian quarter, and then throughout the rest of the city. They looted homes, raped women, and murdered untold thousands. Turkish soldiers were seen dousing buildings with petroleum. Soon, all but the Turkish quarter of the city was in flames and hundreds of thousands of refugees crowded the waterfront, desperate to escape. The city burned for four days; by the time the embers cooled, more than 100,000 people had been killed and millions left homeless.
Based on eyewitness accounts and the memories of survivors, many interviewed for the first time, Paradise Lost offers a vivid narrative account of one of the most vicious military catastrophes of the modern age.
Mention About Books Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
| Title | : | Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922 |
| Author | : | Giles Milton |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 426 pages |
| Published | : | July 8th 2008 by Basic Books (first published 2008) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. War |
Rating About Books Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
Ratings: 4.19 From 574 Users | 77 ReviewsComment On About Books Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
If you would like to learn about what happened in Symrna at 1922 from almost independent sources, this book has plenty of information about it.I chose to read this book to augment my research for the novel I'm writing on the Chios Massacre. In addition to my particluar interest, I found this book an excellent explanation and description of one of the major upheavals of the 20th century. A beautiful,wealthy, and cosmopolitan city in Turkey was destroyed, at least 260,000 people were slaughtered, and over 300,000 were refugees that finally escaped from the huge conflagration set by the Turks. Mr. Milton successfully wove together the
This book explores the Levantine community (descendants of Europeans) who lived in Smyrna up to the occupation and destruction of this magnificent city by the Kemalists. It is the first work that was written about this community. An excellent account based on archival sources. I recommend this book. I enjoyed reading it.
Beautiful, tragic history of Smyrna (now Izmir), the only majority Christian city in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The author begins by giving the lead-up to World War I, focusing on the wealthy Levantine families of Smyrna and their luxurious Edwardian lifestyles. He then covers the war, explaining that many of the city's residents supported the allies over the Central Powers (on whose side the Ottoman Empire fought). Next, the book covers the aftermath of the war,
Excellent read about a series of horrendous massacres which occurred in the Anatolian city of Smyrna (now Izmir) in the years following the 1st World War. No country and few individuals come out of the story with any credit. The only hero was a hitherto insignificant American missionary who single handedly organised a fleet of ships to evacuate the city when it appeared that thousands more would perish on the quay.The "Paradise" was largely that of the Levantine trading elite, mainly European in
This book chronicles the final years of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, great Levantine city of Smyrna (now Izmir) during the final few years of the Ottoman Empire, when it all ended in an enormous tragedy with the collapse of the Empire after WW1 and the emergence of the Turkish Republic from its ashes.Milton writes in fascinating detail of the fairy-tale-like lives of the Smyrna Levantines, mainly the people of British, French, and Dutch origin, the fabulous wealth that they accumulated as a
The London-based journalist, Giles Milton provides an insightful look into the tragic story of post WWI Smyrna (present-day Izmir, Turkey) in his latest work Paradise Lost. The destruction of the rich, diverse city of Smyrna is a tragic tale of expansionist political goals, mass population exchange, the formulation of modern Turkey, and what became one of largest humanitarian efforts in world history. Located on the Aegean Sea, the ancient cosmopolitan city was overtaken and burned down in 1922
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