JOHANNES CUSPINIANUS: DE TURCORUM ORIGINE, RELIGIONE AC IMMANISSIMA EORUM IN CHRISTIANOS TYRANNIDE DEQUE VIIS PER QUAS CHRISTIANI PRINCIPES TURCOS PROFLIGARE ET INVADERE FACILE POSSENT… ANTVERPIAE 1541 First edition.Small 8vo,near contemporary hard painted covers slightly rubbed, text clean and bright, complete,overall in very good condition,particularly for a book 500 years old. A landmark piece of the 16th-century body of literature exploring the history,the culture of the Levant, and the threat of the Ottoman Empire. Printed in Antwerp, this edition appeared posthumously,Cuspinianus died in 1529 and was aimed at a European audience desperate to understand how a relatively small nomadic tribe had risen to become a superpower threatening the gates of Vienna.The full title of this edition reflects the urgency and fear of the period: On the origin of the Turks, their religion, and their most monstrous tyranny against Christians, and of the ways by which Christian princes might easily defeat and invade the Turks. Cuspinianus (Johannes Spießhaymer),was a diplomat, physician, and advisor to Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. Cuspinianus was not just a scholar; he was a diplomat who had spent years on the Balkan frontier. His perspective was uniquely practical: unlike many other chronicles, this book contains a section specifically dedicated to how to defeat the Turks. He analyzes Ottoman military logistics, the Janissaries, and their reliance on speed, proposing specific counter-strategies for European monarchs. It is considered more reliable than the sensationalized newsletters of the time.It includes also at the end a chapter Constantinopolitana expugnatio,The Fall of Constantinople, with contemporary eyewitnesses information.The book essentially served as a Know Your Enemy manual for the 16th-century European ruling class.A precious very early account.