The Oxford History of Byzantium is the only history to provide in concise form detailed coverage of Byzantium from its Roman beginnings to the fall of Constantinople and assimilation into the Turkish Empire. Lively essays and beautiful illustrations portray the emergence and development of a distinctive civilization, covering the period from the fourth century to the mid-fifteenth century. The authors - all working at the cutting edge of their particular fields - outline the political hist...

From its foundation, the city of Constantinople dominated the Byzantine world. It was the seat of the emperor, the centre of government and church, the focus of commerce and culture, by far the greatest urban centre; its needs in terms of supplies and defense imposed their own logic on the development of the empire. Byzantine Constantinople has traditionally been treated in terms of the walled city and its immediate suburbs. In this volume, containing 25 papers delivered at the 27th Spring...

In times of war and in peace, from the earliest days of the Roman Empire to our own, Westerners have journeyed to the lands of the middle east, bringing back accounts of their adventures and impressions. Yet it was never a one way exchange. From the first Arab embassy to the Vikings in the 9th century to the internet musings of the Taliban, A Middle East Mosaic collects a rich, boisterous literature of cultural exchange.We see the American Revolution through the ey...

This revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidenceIncludes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliographyIncorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studiesDemo...

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle)We in the West share a common narrative of world history. But our story largely omits a whole civilization whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed through the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the events of 9/11 and beyond.In Destiny Disrupted,...

A brilliant survey of the history and civilisations of the Middle East by one of the world's greatest authorities on the subjectIn this immensely readable and wide-ranging book, Bernard Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East, beginning with the two great empires, the Roman and the Persian, and covering the growth of Christianity, the rise and spread of Islam, the waves of invaders from the east, the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan, the rise of ...

The problems with the Bible that New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman discussed in his bestseller Misquoting Jesus—and on The Daily Show with John Stewart, NPR, and Dateline NBC, among others—are expanded upon exponentially in his latest book: Jesus, Interrupted.This New York Times bestseller reveals how many books in the Bible were not written by their traditional authors, and that the New Testament itself is filled with c...

A history of the Dark Ages "explain[s] very clearly why people in the early Christian era were so passionately concerned with issues of high theology.( The Economist ).Jesus Wars reveals how official, orthodox teaching about Jesus was the product of political maneuvers by a handful of key characters in the fifth century. Philip Jenkins argues that were it not for these controversies, the papacy as we know it woul...

'Asbridge can't help but tell a ripping yarn, often breezily dramatic, whipping the narrative along' The TimesA superb and definitive one-volume account of the Crusades, the impact of which still resonates to this day.In the eleventh century, a v****ast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the Pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a...

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'A stunning blockbuster' Robert Fisk'A brilliant tour de force of revisionist scholarship and thrilling storytelling' Simon Sebag Montefiore'A compelling detective story of the highest order' Sunday Times'Tom Holland has an enviable gift for summoning up the colour, the individuals and animation of the past' Independen...

“A fascinating romp through the feminine side of the infamous Khan clan” (Booklist) by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan“Enticing . . . hard to put down.”—Associated PressThe Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. The daughters of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the first truly international empire, fostering trade, educa...

An order of warrior monks founded to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem, the Templars were among the wealthiest and most powerful bodies in the medieval world. Yet two centuries later, they were arrested, accused of blasphemy, heresy and orgies, and their leaders were burnt at the stake.Part guide, part history, this book investigates the Templar legends and legacy - from the mysteries of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, via nineteenth century development of the Freemasons, through to Tem...