Memoiren eines Janitscharen oder Türkische Chronik

A classic of the history of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans: The "Memoirs" of the Kosovo Serb Constantine (ca. 1435), who was educated in Anatolia to become a janissary. As a member of this elite troop he took part in the campaigns of Mehmed II, who permanently changed the social and religious order of the Balkans. Constantine's records, written at the end of the 15th century, oscillate between Christian and Islamic perspectives. His vivid depiction of Turkish tactics, weapons and siege techniques was intended to serve the Christian armies in their fight against the Turks. A source of great cultural and military historical significance.