Justin Marozzi

In just eight years Selim I became ‘God’s Shadow on Earth’

Alan Mikhail describes how, through ruthless cunning, including fratricide, the Ottoman sultan trebled the size of his empire between 1512 and 1520

Sultan Selim I sets out to conquer Egypt. Credit: Alamy
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  • God’s Shadow: The Ottoman Sultan Who Shaped the Modern World

    Alan Mikhail

    Faber, pp. 415, £25

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