Exelby, Alan: - Alan Exelby has studied the War of the Holy League, and its background to the origins of Ottoman conquest, for over thirty years. He also has a general interest in all aspects of European military history and international relations, 1648-1802, and previously published a cited article on the Battle of Almansa (1707). He has worked for most of his life as a librarian at a university. A side-interest in classical history led to a period of enthusiastic ancient-Roman-style cooking, though its high acid content led to abandoning this (suggesting another possible reason for the decline and fall).