Byzantine Books

Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe

William Rosen

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Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A richly told story of the collision between nature’s smallest organism and history’s mightiest empire

The Emperor Justinian reunified Rome’s fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals who had separated Italy, Spain, and North Africa from imperial rule. In his capital at Constantinople he built the world’s most beautiful building, married its most powerful empress, and wrote its most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome’s fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed five thousand people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.

In Justinian’s Flea, William Rosen tells the story of history’s first pandemic—a plague seven centuries before the Black Death that killed tens of millions, devastated the empires of Persia and Rome, left a path of victims from Ireland to Iraq, and opened the way for the armies of Islam. Weaving together evolutionary microbiology, economics, military strategy, ecology, and ancient and modern medicine, Rosen offers a sweeping narrative of one of the great hinge moments in history, one that will appeal to readers of John Kelly’s The Great Mortality, John Barry’s The Great Influenza, and Jared Diamond’s Collapse.

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire

Judith Herrin

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism--gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium--long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium--what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.

Bringing the latest scholarship to a general audience in accessible prose, Herrin focuses each short chapter around a representative theme, event, monument, or historical figure, and examines it within the full sweep of Byzantine history--from the foundation of Constantinople, the magnificent capital city built by Constantine the Great, to its capture by the Ottoman Turks.

She argues that Byzantium's crucial role as the eastern defender of Christendom against Muslim expansion during the early Middle Ages made Europe--and the modern Western world--possible. Herrin captivates us with her discussions of all facets of Byzantine culture and society. She walks us through the complex ceremonies of the imperial court. She describes the transcendent beauty and power of the church of Hagia Sophia, as well as chariot races, monastic spirituality, diplomacy, and literature. She reveals the fascinating worlds of military usurpers and ascetics, eunuchs and courtesans, and artisans who fashioned the silks, icons, ivories, and mosaics so readily associated with Byzantine art.

An innovative history written by one of our foremost scholars, Byzantium reveals this great civilization's rise to military and cultural supremacy, its spectacular destruction by the Fourth Crusade, and its revival and final conquest in 1453.

Decline and Fall: Byzantium at War (Field Of GLory)

Richard Bodley Scott

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Missing some key armies! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The book's format is the same as Osprey's other Field of Glory army lists, which means that each army gets a brief introduction, maybe some pictures from other Osprey books, and detailed lists to let you build your force. The lists don't lend themselves well to other rule systems, so unless you're playing Field of Glory, don't bother.

The book has one key flaw, though. It has army lists for Byzantines of every period, but lacks lists for two key opponents of late Byzantium: the Seljuk Turks and the Volga Bulgars. Presumably Osprey will be publishing lists in other books, but it's cheesy not to include these two very important opponents, especially since Osprey gives us a half dozen different varieties of Islamic Arab armies.

Editorial Review:

Field of Glory provides the historical tabletop wargamer with a new, accessible rules set. Byzantium at War provides an accessible, detailed gaming companion, covering the forces of conflicts during the years of the Byzantium Empire. It includes a well-designed, visually stunning and comprehensive army listing, with detailed historical overviews of each army, supporting maps and Osprey artwork.

Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World

Colin Wells

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Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A gripping intellectual adventure story, Sailing from Byzantium sweeps you from the deserts of Arabia to the dark forests of northern Russia, from the colorful towns of Renaissance Italy to the final moments of a millennial city under siege….

Byzantium: the successor of Greece and Rome, this magnificent empire bridged the ancient and modern worlds for more than a thousand years. Without Byzantium, the works of Homer and Herodotus, Plato and Aristotle, Sophocles and Aeschylus, would never have survived. Yet very few of us have any idea of the enormous debt we owe them.

The story of Byzantium is a real-life adventure of electrifying ideas, high drama, colorful characters, and inspiring feats of daring. In Sailing from Byzantium, Colin Wells tells of the missionaries, mystics, philosophers, and artists who against great odds and often at peril of their own lives spread Greek ideas to the Italians, the Arabs, and the Slavs.

Their heroic efforts inspired the Renaissance, the golden age of Islamic learning, and Russian Orthodox Christianity, which came complete with a new alphabet, architecture, and one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions.

The story’s central reference point is an arcane squabble called the Hesychast controversy that pitted humanist scholars led by the brilliant, acerbic intellectual Barlaam against the powerful monks of Mount Athos led by the stern Gregory Palamas, who denounced “pagan” rationalism in favor of Christian mysticism.

Within a few decades, the light of Byzantium would be extinguished forever by the invading Turks, but not before the humanists found a safe haven for Greek literature. The controversy of rationalism versus faith would continue to be argued by some of history’s greatest minds.

Fast-paced, compulsively readable, and filled with fascinating insights, Sailing from Byzantium is one of the great historical dramas–the gripping story of how the flame of civilization was saved and passed on.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Secret History (Penguin Classics)

Procopius

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Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

amazing historically, humanitarian-ly and literarily 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is one of THE classic primary sources from the Byzantine empire. It was written by Procopius who was the emperor Justinian's offician chronicler. And indeed, in the official histories according to Procopius, Justinian is the holy and wise emperor who could do no wrong. Unable to give his real opinion (or at least the flip side of the coin to any of Justinian's achievements) in this state-sanctioned propaganda, Procopius went on to write a "Secret History" aimed for publication after Justinian's death.

The result is something that reads like an ancient tabloid (see his descriptions on the sexual perversions of Justinian's wife Theodora!), an endless tirade of hyperbole, rhetoric as Procopius claims Justinian to be literally the son of a demon, purposely intent on bringing havoc on Byzantium and as a vicious SOB. It is here that the reader can dismiss the whole thing as the rantings of a lunatic who had a personal grudge against Justinian (which is true). But this does not make it a worthless document.

Firstly, it's genuinely interesting. A quick read made more lively by the extreme rhetoric describing Justinian's viciousness and greed - which is different to many other more "methodical" Byzantine sources. Secondly as you read it, you really do get a good look at some parts of Byzantine life, from prostitution to constant legal disputes over wills in the aristocracy to the attempts to revive/keep up the notion of a Roman empire.

Thirdly and most importantly, I see Procopius in this book as more of a political commentator rather than a historian. The text does read like a modern day op-ed piece criticising a contemporary reader. I did not expect to find in the authoritarian and dogmatic world of Byzantium a voice like Procopius - who opposes torture (even of "heretics"), who thinks that women should marry who they love and who even opposed Justinian's persecutions of the Jews. All of these things make him a unique voice in his era and his work an important milestone in the history of human rights.

Yes, he certainly does exaggerate. But there's no question that a lot of it is due to Justinian really being a murdering SOB and Procopius having a totally different worldview. So, besides being an interesting read, the Secret History revealed to me much about our own world and the ideas of authority, dissent and human rights - not bad for a "historical" work!

Editorial Review:

A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire's official chronicler, and his "History of the Wars of Justinian" proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor's reign. Yet all the while the dutiful scribe was working on a very different - and dangerous - history to be published only once its author was safely in his grave. "The Secret History" portrays the 'great lawgiver' Justinian as a rampant king of corruption and tyranny, the Empress Theodora as a sorceress and whore, and the brilliant general Belisarius as the pliable dupe of his scheming wife Antonina. Magnificently hyperbolic and highly opinionated, "The Secret History" is a work of explosive energy, depicting holy Byzantium as a hell of murder and misrule.

A Short History of Byzantium

John Julius Norwich

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Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Pure Genius 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

It's not often that I'll re-read a book, but this is one of 'em. I first read this condensed version of Norwich's three-volume history a couple of years ago. I've since read the complete 'trilogy', but I keep coming back to the single volume. For a lay person, like myself, this book is unsurpassed in detail, clarity, and layout.

Norwich has a very engaging style that sucks you in; after a few pages, you can almost forget that you're reading a history text. It's obvious that he has a great love for Byzantium, and his enthusiasm is infectious. I challenge anyone to read a couple dozen pages of this book and put it down.

Especially helpful are the detailed maps and family trees, invaluable for keeping all those names and places straight.

If you like this one, you might also try Norwich's history of Venice, which if anything, is even better.

Editorial Review:

Published to coincide with a major exhibition on Byzantium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the spring of 1997, Byzantium tells the dramatic story of Byzantium, from its beginnings in A.D. 330, providing readers with a spirited, gripping, and original account of a great lost civilization and its magnificent artistic heritage. 24 pp. of illustrations, 8 pp. in full color. Size C. 432 pp. 20,000 print.

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (Canto)

Steven Runciman

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Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A sublime account of the demise of the "Greek emperor" and the fall of his city 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Exceedingly well written and utterly fascinating, Sir James Stevenson Runciman's classic account of the siege and fall of Constantinople manages to be thoroughly academically sound and highly entertaining at the same time. Steven Runciman doesn't just deliver the dry facts, which would be alright, no, he tells the story, which is much better. And he does it without forefeiting historical accuracy, and, blessedly, without drawing any politically motivated parallels to "modern" conflicts, be they religious, or political, or both.
This is one of the finest historical accounts I have ever read, and I recommend it 100%. It may be over 40 years old, but it is still unrivalled, the single greatest work on the subject in the English language. Only Roger Crowley's "Constantinople" comes close.

Editorial Review:

This classic account shows how the fall of Constantinople in May 1453, after a siege of several weeks, came as a bitter shock to Western Christendom. The city's plight had been neglected, and negligible help was sent in this crisis. To the Turks, victory not only brought a new imperial capital, but guaranteed that their empire would last. To the Greeks, the conquest meant the end of the civilisation of Byzantium, and led to the exodus of scholars stimulating the tremendous expansion of Greek studies in the European Renaissance.

The Alexiad (Penguin Classics)

Anna Comnena

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Putting the "Byzantine" in Byzantine Politics 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

In this history the Emperor Alexius comes across as a sort of medievil Lee Iacoca or Carlos Gohsn, who through very delicate wheeling and dealing manages to bring back a floundering empire from the brink. Since Anna was the emperor's daughter, we could expect a hagliography from her, but that would discredit her intensely perceptive analysis of the political situation as well as her own personal experiences with many of the major players or others who knew them. It would also ignore the fact that this book is in many ways a treatise by Anna on what it means to be a good ruler, as exemplified through the person of Alexius.

Excellent book for history buffs and people looking for examples of great leadership.

Editorial Review:

Anna Comnena (1083-1153) wrote "The Alexiad" as an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I. It is also an important source of information on the Byzantine war with the Normans, and on the First Crusade in which Alexius participated. While the Byzantines were allied to the Crusaders, they were nonetheless critical of their behaviour and Anna's book offers a startlingly different perspective to that of Western historians. Her character sketches are shrewd and forthright - from the Norman invader Robert Guiscard ('nourished by manifold evil') and his son Bohemond ('like a streaking thunderbolt') to Pope Gregory VII ('unworthy of a high priest'). "The Alexiad" is a vivid and dramatic narrative, which reveals as much about the character of its intelligent and dynamic author as it does about the fascinating period through which she lived.

Byzantium: The Early Centuries

John Julius Norwich

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Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This Book Is One Big Reason I Went To Istanbul (and Loved It) 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

If I'd never read a page of John Julius Norwich's work, I would have saved a lot of money. This isn't a complaint, merely a fact.

Granted, as a history buff who has caught the travel bug, I might have eventually wended my way to Istanbul. But Norwich's "Byzantium" trilogy--especially this first volume--made it clear that Istanbul/Constantinople, was a city with a fascinating, beguiling past, the capital of an empire lasting over a thousand years whose greatest achievements in art and architecture were still very much on display and rivalled their counterparts anywhere. Norwich certainly pushed me to prioritize Istanbul as a destination. It now reigns as my favorite city in the world, and I wonder how much I owe Norwich's work for raising my appreciation of the city's richness. Probably a bunch.

Of course, this wasn't written as a guidebook and won't serve you well as such, at least not by itself. But within a narrative history that manages to be witty whilst galloping at breakneck pace, "The Early Centuries" also provides enough background on people and events to give readers a sense of how the Byzantime Empire functioned at the highest level (often bloodily), and of the centrality of Orthodox Christianity to the culture.

The entire trilogy is open to the charge that it tends to be focused on emperors and courts rather than the "little people." This seems a bit like complaining that this isn't a different book with different goals. The poor author already has to cover more than one year per page. And if many emperors' reigns seem to fly by in an indistinguishable flurry, Norwich is a master of the quick character sketch, offering a telling charcter quirk or deed (or death) for even the least memorable emperors.

Arguably, Norwich's focus on courts and palaces is a boon to the potential tourist because it means a focus largely on Constantinople. This gives readers the "deep background" that provides a wonderful context for any trip to Istanbul. It may be one thing to see the city walls reading only the guidebook descriptions, and another to be aware of the many sieges they repulsed over a thousand years--until the world-changing night they were finally breached (this event not covered til volume 3 of course). It may be one thing to appreciate Aya Sofia as the miracle of architecture it is, and another to know of the riots that led to the burning of its predecessor church on the site (and subesquent massacre of some 30,000 souls in the nearby Hippodrome), thus clearing the way for the construction of what was arguably the grandest place of worship in the world for a thousand years.

This is interesting stuff. After all, this is the empire that was at the height of its riches whilst most of Europe sufferred through "The Dark Ages." Norwich handles this wealth of material adroitly. His prose is simply a pleasure to read. You'll seldom be more engaged by a history full of people and events you haven't heard of before. Unless you proceed to the following volumes of Norwich's trilogy, or give his comparably accomplished (and travel-inducing/enriching) "A History of Venice" a spin, but that's another story.

By the way, the book that those who criticize Norwich's "Emperor-centric" perspective want is Cyril Mango's "Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome," apparently out of print but readibly available used:

Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome

With it's emphasis on economic and population trends, Mango's short, incisive work isn't a narrative and presumes some knowledge of Byzantine history--just the sort of info that Norwich provides.

Editorial Review:

Volume 1 of the series. Includes 32 pages of illustrations, and 11 maps and tables.

Byzantium (II): The Apogee (Byzantium)

John Julius Norwich

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Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Another first-rate political history of Byzantium 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

In _Byzantium: the Apogee_, Norwich continues his excellent history of the Eastern Roman empire, beginning with the regin of Empress Irene (775 - 810) and concluding with the defeat of the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071. While a considerably shorter time span than the previous work (_Byzantium: the early centuries_, a history from 330 - 811), Norwich give the political zenith of the empire meticulous attention.

The role Byzantium played as a major political force in the Mediterannean is frequently overlooked in histories of the early and high middle ages. Norwich does much to remind us that Europe - and the world - owe much to the Byzantines. Beginning with the failed political relationship between Charlemagne and Irene in 802 (and the resulting union of Christendom that would have resulted), Norwich goes on to illustrate the profound impact Byzantium had on the Balkans, Russia and the near east, particularly as the Abbysid Caliphate, il Khanid Caliphate and subsequent Sekjuk Turks grew in power in the region. The brilliant (and frequently mercurial and trecherous) political manoeverings of the Byzantines is the strongest portion of the book.

However, as with his previous book, Norwich's focus is almost exclusively towards the political. While the econcomic issues Byzantium faced are discussed at more length thatn in _The Early Centuries_, they are empahsized primarily as they impacted or were the consequences of political decisions. The role of women or common citizens were scarcely mentioned at all. For this, I had to deduct a star from my rating.

This remains an excellent history on the subject, and I do recommend it particularly to those wanting a broader view of Christendom in the high middle ages; merely be aware of the shortcomings of the historial narrative.

Editorial Review:

Volume 2 of the series. With 32 pages of illustrations, and 7 maps.