After surviving the fifth century fall of the Western European Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire flourished as one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe for a thousand years. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Sarris introduces the reader to the unique fusion of Roman political culture, Greek intellectual tradition and Christian faith that took place in the imperial capital of Byzantium under the emperor Constantine and his heirs. Using example...

After surviving the fifth century fall of the Western European Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire flourished as one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe for a thousand years. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Sarris introduces the reader to the unique fusion of Roman political culture, Greek intellectual tradition and Christian faith that took place in the imperial capital of Byzantium under the emperor Constantine and his heirs. Using example...

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 ...

Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research, Dr Peter Sarris provides a panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East from the fall of Rome to the rise of Islam. The formation of a new social and economic order in western Europe in the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, and the ascendancy across the West of a new culture of military lordship, are placed firmly in the context of on-going connections and influence radiating outwards fro...

A definitive new biography of the Byzantine emperor JustinianJustinian is a radical reassessment of an emperor and his times. In the sixth century CE, the emperor Justinian presided over nearly four decades of remarkable change, in an era of geopolitical threats, climate change, and plague. From the eastern Roman—or Byzantine—capital of Constantinople, Justinian’s armies reconquered lost territory in Africa, Italy, and Spain. But these military exploits, h...

A definitive new biography of the Byzantine emperor JustinianJustinian is a radical reassessment of an emperor and his times. In the sixth century CE, the emperor Justinian presided over nearly four decades of remarkable change, in an era of geopolitical threats, climate change, and plague. From the eastern Roman—or Byzantine—capital of Constantinople, Justinian’s armies reconquered lost territory in Africa, Italy, and Spain. But these military exploits, h...

Brought to you by Penguin.Less than a month after it marched into France in summer 1870, the Prussian army had devastated its opponents, captured Napoleon III and wrecked all assumptions about Europe's pecking order. Other countries looked on in helpless amazement. Pushing aside further French resistance, a new German Empire was proclaimed (as a deliberate humiliation) in the Palace of Versailles, leaving the French to face civil war in Paris, reparations and the l...

Ancient Rome matters.Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today.SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists. It explores not only how R...

The contribution of the Ancient Greeks to modern western culture is incalculable. In the worlds of art, architecture, myth, literature, and philosophy, the world we live in would be unrecognizably different without the formative influence of Ancient Greek models. Ancient Greek civilization was defined by the city - in Greek, the polis, from which we derive 'politics'. It is above all this feature of Greek civilization that has formed its most enduring legacy, spawning such key terms as ari...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERBLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023'Extraordinary ... a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries' TelegraphWhat was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world?...

**PRE-ORDER AGRIPPA NOW: THE THRILLING NEW NOVEL FROM ROBERT HARRIS, COMING AUGUST 2026****THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLERA RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB AND A SUNDAY TIMES SUMMER READS PICK 2025A WORLD ON THE BRINK OF WAR. AN AFFAIR ON THE EDGE OF SCANDAL.**‘A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession’ SUNDAY TIMES‘His most enthralling yet . . . extraordinary’ NICHOLAS COLERIDGE**,** ...

The instant Sunday Times bestsellerA Times, New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year'Simply the best popular history of the Middle Ages there is' Sunday Times'A great achievement, pulling together many strands with aplomb' Peter Frankopan, Spectator, Books of the Year'It's so delightful to encounter a skilled historian of such enormous energy w...