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  • Published: 28 January 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141956916
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 600
Categories:

The Holy Roman Empire

A Thousand Years of Europe's History




An astonishingly ambitious and wide-ranging history book that explains the central importance of longevity of what was for ten centuries Europe's largest state - the Holy Roman Empire

A great, sprawling, ancient and unique entity, the Holy Roman Empire, from its founding by Charlemagne to its destruction by Napoleon a millennium later, formed the heart of Europe. It was a great engine for inventions and ideas, it was the origin of many modern European states, from Germany to the Czech Republic, its relations with Italy, France and Poland dictated the course of countless wars - indeed, European history as a whole makes no sense without it.

In this strikingly ambitious book, Peter H. Wilson explains how the empire worked. It is not a chronological history, but an attempt to convey to readers the Empire's unique nature, why it was so important and how it changed over its existence. The result is a tour de force - a book that raises countless questions about the nature of political and military power, about diplomacy and the nature of European civilization and about the legacy of the empire, which has continued to haunt its offspring, from imperial and Nazi Germany to the European Union.

  • Published: 28 January 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141956916
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 600
Categories:

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Praise for The Holy Roman Empire

Reviews of Wilson's Europe's Tragedy: 'Outstanding... succeeds brilliantly' Paul Kennedy, Sunday Times; 'Wonderfully comprehensive and detailed' Tim Blanning, Sunday Telegraph; 'A history of prodigious erudition... a definitive account' Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal; 'Ambitious and accomplished' Blair Worden, Literary Review; 'Historical narrative at its grandest: terrific stuff' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times Books of the Year

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