Hello everyone and welcome to the history of England, episode 254, Europe 10,

Couriers and Danger. Last week we called off Charles the luckiest, but we did so

before we talked about the third of his priorities. The first, you may or may not

remember, was to squish the Valloia, the second, you may or may not remember, was to

squish the Prots, the third, was to fight for survival against the Beast from the

East, the Ottoman Empire. Now because we know what happens in the end, it's easy to

downplay the threat and sense of danger that the Ottomans presented to Europe. But also,

they presented something of an opportunity it has to be said. Different religion they

might be, but it didn't mean they were not now part of the European political and diplomatic

system. So, I'd like to try and put that right and present a brief review of their history,

which might help with our understanding of the threat, danger and opportunity they presented.

Also, they're super interesting so, uneaten excuse. Last time we talked about the Ottomans,

we had seen them beginning to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean and thereby the trade routes

to the East. Salim the Grim had taken Egypt in 1517 and note that by Egypt in this sense,

what we mean is the Mamluk Empire, which therefore included most of the Levant. It prompted a

seriously vexed Pope Leo X to work his worry beads and mutter, now that the most atrocious

Turk has captured Egypt and Alexandria and the whole Eastern Empire. He will cover not just

Sicily and Italy, but the whole world. So, someone at least was already worrying that the Ottoman

threat was an existential threat. A little rude though, I think you'll agree. Anyway, Salim the Grim

was a conqueror who expanded the Ottoman Empire by over 70%. By the way, I quite fancy the Grim,

as an epithet, should any of you be tempted. Right up there with Bloodhacks.

Salim's conqueror had included North Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including

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