This series delves into the rich and complex history of the Byzantine Empire, an entity that shaped the Western world for over a millennium. The narrative comes alive through engaging prose, uncovering the political intrigue, military struggles, and cultural evolution of this captivating civilization. It offers a sweeping perspective on an empire that spanned centuries, leaving an indelible mark on history whose legacy continues to resonate.
'He is brilliant ... He writes like the most cultivated modern diplomat attached by a freak of time to the Byzantine court, with intimate knowledge, tactful judgement and a consciousness of the surviving monuments' IndependentIn this exciting narrative history, John Julius Norwich, one of most accomplished popular historians, reveals the beginning of Byzantium. He tells of the five formative centuries of an empire that would enthral the western world for more than eleven hundred years.
"Norwich is always on the lookout for the small but revealing details. . . . All of this he recounts in a style that consistently entertains."-- The New York Times Book ReviewIn this magisterial adaptation of his epic three-volume history of Byzantium, John Julius Norwich chronicles the world's longest-lived Christian empire. Beginning with Constantine the Great, who in a.d. 330 made Christianity the religion of his realm and then transferred its capital to the city that would bear his name, Norwich follows the course of eleven centuries of Byzantine statecraft and warfare, politics and theology, manners and art.In the pages of A Short History of Byzantium we encounter mystics and philosophers, eunuchs and barbarians, and rulers of fantastic erudition, piety, and degeneracy. We enter the life of an empire that could create some of the world's most transcendent religious art and then destroy it in the convulsions of fanaticism. Stylishly written and overflowing with drama, pathos, and wit, here is a matchless account of a lost civilization and its magnificent cultural legacy."Strange and fascinating . . . filled with drollery and horror." -- Boston Globe
