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The Man Who Stopped the Sultan by Edoardo Albert

The Man Who Stopped the Sultan

Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe

Edoardo Albert

Osprey · Print & ebook · January 27, 2026

An extraordinary account of how one man defied the most powerful ruler of his age and in doing so changed the course of European history.

Renaissance History16th-Century HistoryTurkey & the Ottoman Eramilitary
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Who it’s for
Gabriele Tadino’s defence of Rhodes opens onto changing military tactics and fortifications in sixteenth-century Europe.
Genres
16th-Century History, Renaissance History, Turkey & the Ottoman Era
Published
Osprey, January 27, 2026

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About this book

An extraordinary account of how one man defied the most powerful ruler of his age and in doing so changed the course of European history. Throughout the 16th century, wars raged across Europe as kings and republics jostled for wealth and power. Yet one man exceeded all these medieval princes of Christendom: Suleiman the Magnificent. As ruler of the Ottoman Empire, he governed 25 million people from Constantinople, his realm stretching from Persia to the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue reading

Turning his gaze to Europe, Suleiman attacked Rhodes, the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller but was opposed by Gabriele Tadino – an Italian who had risen through the ranks thanks to his genius as a military engineer. This is a fascinating history of crusading knights and gunpowder, of spies and tunnels, and of a crossroads in history when the medieval age gave way to the Renaissance. Delving deep into Italian source material, Edoardo Albert weaves together the story of an ordinary man alive in an extraordinary time and performing extraordinary feats of military genius. Through the lens of his life we discover how military tactics and fortifications rapidly changed thanks to the discovery of gunpowder, and how Europe, divided by power-hungry rulers and religion, almost fell to one of the greatest rulers the world has ever seen, but was prevented by a humble engineer.

Defending Rhodes

Gabriele Tadino’s defence of Rhodes opens onto changing military tactics and fortifications in sixteenth-century Europe.

Come here for

  • Gabriele Tadino’s role in the defence of Rhodes
  • The changing tactics and fortifications shaped by gunpowder

Expect

  • Suleiman’s attack on Rhodes and Tadino’s opposition
  • Knights Hospitaller, spies, tunnels, and gunpowder

Where it sits

Turkey & the Ottoman Era72%
16th-Century History58%
Renaissance History41%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Other Military Conflicts
  • Medieval Warfare
  • Medieval History
Authors
Edoardo Albert
Publisher
Osprey
Published
January 27, 2026
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Other Military Conflicts