The Thracian Sun

The Thracian Sun is the first book in the six part seriestitled The Ottomans. Orhan I one of the founders of theOttoman State appoints Suleiman Pasha as the armygeneral during his reign. The prince came to be calledthe Thracian Sun due to his victorious conquests at ayoung age and enabling passage into Thracian lands. Inthe meanwhile the fight between and for the Byzantinethrone had weakened the state. Constantinople realisedthe magnitude of the approaching danger and attemptedto quash its internal struggles in preparation for attack.However as it was surrounded and had no room tomanoeuvre it found itself in dire straits. SuleimanPasha who left no Byzantine castle unconquered inRumelia died in an unfortunate hunting accident andhis brother Murad I ascended to the throne. All thehistorical characters in this novel are represented intheir individual worlds through Murat Tuncels words.He tells the story of the passage of the last great empirefrom Anatolia to Thrace and the Balkans. Through hismasterly use of epic language Tuncel sometimes givesvoice to a mountain sometimes to the sun the cloudsand also to the fears and hopes of those both inside andoutside a beleaguered castle.Upon receiving the news the feeling that his mansionhad crumbled on top of him overcame Orhan I as hegasped for breath. He struggled out to the gardens as herealised that his body couldnt bear the pain he feltbetween the four walls of his room. Once outside he letout such a yell that even Mount Olympus leaning hershadow over Bursa would take two steps back in fear atthe extent of this pain. As soon as she overcame her fearand saw that this painful scream was none other thanthe outcry of a helpless father she approached warily toconsole him with her shadow.