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- The year is 1526. Suleiman's
Ottoman armies have slain the Hungarian king at Mohacs, ending
all claims to Habsburg possessions in Central Europe. Charles
V has been both Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain since 1519,
the culmination of centuries of shrewd marriages and politics.
But he has also inherited his family's enemies: the Valois of
France, who covet the rich cities of Italy; the Turks, who will
not stop in Hungary; and the English Tudors, always anxious to
curb the power of continental rivals. Underlying these struggles,
a debate begun by a guilt-wracked monk named Martin Luther will
prove the most perilous threat of all. Already German princes
harbor Protestant preachers, and the Low Countries welcome the
new religion with open arms. The stigma of excommunication means
little to those who have renounced papal authority; perhaps Castilian
arms and the riches of the New World can tip the balance ...
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