A Short History of Byzantium"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 Review In 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 |
Contents
Julian the Apostate 33763 OOONY W N N | 29 |
The Rise of Justinian 493540 | 57 |
Justinian The Last Years 54065 | 74 |
Copyright | |
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Alexius Anatolia Andronicus Antioch Armenia army arrived Asia Minor attack Bardas Bardas Phocas Basil basileus battle Belisarius bishops Blachernae Bosphorus brother Bulgaria Bulgars Byzantine Byzantium Cantacuzenus capital captured century Christian Church co-Emperor command Comnenus Constantine Constantinople crowned Crusade daughter death died Ducas East eastern Emperor Empire Empress enemy exile expedition fell finally fleet Genoese Golden Horn Goths Greek hand Heraclius Holy immediately imperial Irene Isaac Italy Jerusalem John John Cantacuzenus John Tzimisces Justinian King later Manuel March Marmara marriage Meanwhile Mehmet Michael Michael Palaeologus monastery monophysite never Nicaea Nicephorus once palace Palaeologus papal Patriarch Pechenegs Persian Phocas Photius Pope Prince prisoner Ravenna refused reign remained Roman Rome Saracens Seljuk sent ships Sicily siege soldiers soon St Sophia Stilicho successor Sultan Theodore Theodosius Thessalonica Thrace throne took trans Turkish Turks Tzimisces Venetian Venice walls West Western wife young