Byzantium (I): The Early Centuries

I thoroughly enjoyed all three volumes of Norwich's history of the Byzantine Empire. In spite of myriad complexities such as theological issues, the same names used over, Papal intrigues, etc., I found it this work to be fascinating and narrated with passion and wit. I won't bore you with details, but perhaps my favorite thing that Norwich does (especially in the first volume, less so in the other two) is the manner in which he describes miraculous occurences (ie Constantine's vision) in a totally nonchalant manner and without going overboard trying to debunk them. It gives his work a touch of magic realism at times, and I find that kind of historical approach very refreshing.

John Julius Norwich creates a landscape of blood-soaked battlefields dominated by glorious conquering armies, and glittering marble cities filled with golden churches and restless plebeians who are as passionate about theology as they are about Chariot races. His book is filled with interesting characters: mighty emperors and generals, scheming wives and lovers, and devilishly shrewd nobles and bishops, to name a few. Norwich's story is hard to put down, and he is one of the few writers talented enough to make his historical figures leap into life and remind us that they were real people.Is this an epic movie? A blockbuster novel? No, its history, Byzantine history, to be precise. It's not like any history you have read before. Don't look for endless lists of footnotes, dry re-hashing and reinterpretation of primary source evidence, or some Earth-shattering revelation of the latest archaeological findings. This is not a "scholar's" history, so lower that nose about 45 degrees!And yet, Norwich gives us absolutely no reason to doubt him. His conclusions are reasonable and sound, and he makes occasional references to respected scholars such as Ostrogorsky or Bury to support his work. Norwich's history is the kind of history that inspired Machiavelli to produce a great work of political philosophy: reasonable, yet passionate and human, and above all: READABLE!So turn off the TV, put your kids to bed and kiss your wife goodnight, pour yourself a generous cognac, and ensconce yourself in the comfortable chair by the fire -- while Viscount Norwich enthralls you into the wee hours of the morning with his masterpiece which is too good to be history!

Norwich's three volume history is the definitive narrative history of the Byzantine Empire from Diocletian to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. This first volume begins with the original division of the Roman Empire by Diocletiona and ends with the crowning of Charlemagne as the Roman Emperor.Norwich shows us the first five centuries of Byzantine history as a continuation of the Roman Empire. We see the Justinian administrative reforms and his reconquest of Italy and Africa; Heraclius's successful (short term, as he points out) war against the Sassanid Persians; the influence of early Islam and the loss of the wealthiest Imperial territories to the Arabs; and, finally, the way that Byzantium was viewed from western Europe.Along the way he comments on the "what-if's" of history through the lens of perfect hindsight. We learn that despite Justinian's "greatness" his megalomania began the long decline of the Empire; that Heraclius's amazing victory over the Sassanids resulted in long-term failure to defend Egypt and Syria from the Arabs; and that the very wealth and ostentation that made Constaninople glorious created many jealous enemies.If you are looking for a good history through which you can learn the major outline of events in early Byzantine history your search is over. If you are looking for elegant historical prose and a thoughtful historical narrative, your search is over, too. Norwich's work cannot be too highly regarded.

If you love history, and exploring unknown territory, this book is a winner! This historical narrative, complete with excellent and detailed maps, useful family trees, an extensive bibliography, and even a "List of Byzantine monuments surviving in Istanbul" (!) makes one feel like one is awaking from a coma. John Julius Norwich states: "During my five years at one of England's oldest and finest public schools, Byzantium seems to have been the victim of a conspiracy of silence. I cannot remember its being mentioned, far less studied... " This book is the cure! ---- Norwich's narrative is witty, fascinating, and informative and makes clear the huge debt Western European civilization owes to Byzantium, which shielded Europe first from the Persians, and then from Islam. (Look at your maps!) The first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great founded The Eastern Roman Empire (aka Byzantium) in 330. The Eastern Empire fell -- 1,123 years later -- in 1453 (quite a big educational gap!) This first volume (Byzantium is a trilogy!) ends at the coronation of Charlemagne as Roman Emperor of the West in the year 800. Norwich demonstrates that the Roman Empire never fell; it divided. His story is that of the Eastern Empire, but he fully examines Byzantine relations with the Papacy, Byzantium's presence in Italy, and military and diplomatic actions involving the remnants of the Western Roman Empire ----- Lord Norwich's writing style could be likened to a thread of gold (narrative) strung with countless jewels (anecdotes). This book covers five centuries and 88 rulers - and it is full of fascinating vignettes. It recapitulates the adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire. It details wave after wave of barbarian invasion: the Vandals, the Huns, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Avars, the Bulgars, the Lombards, the Slavs, and others. It walks us through military campaigns, battles, sieges, and massacres. It tells chilling stories of court intrigue. It shows humans at their best and most bestial. It recounts the long struggle with the Persian Empire (which seems as current as the 20th century's battle with "the evil empire."). And it documents the rise of a new desert religion which swept out of Arabia and swallowed the Byzantine eastern provinces just after the Persian threat had been finally ended, i.e. Islam. --- Norwich is witty and fun to read (be prepared for subtlety and easily missed "zingers"). A word of warning - Christians without a sense of humor and a thick hide may not like Norwich's approach to issues of theology and church history. Today many may find the theological contests he scrutinizes seem absurd and esoteric. His depictions of religious figures are frequently NOT flattering. But believers and non-believers alike with a thirst for truth will find this work to be a refreshing drink! It is a book to be savored, and like any classic, to be read again and again.

A sumptuous historical bon-bon from an unreconstructed Orientalist, "A History of Byzantium" is armchair travel, history, and royal chicanery at its finest. A prevoius reader likens the book's breakneck pace to the Blitkrieg, but I'm not sure this--or the lack of an overview of "everyday life in Byzantine"--is a detriment to Norwich's smitten non-specialist's approach. Instead, we encounter a dizying number of palace intruigues, administrations, wars, battles, regicides and mutilations, all undertaken by deftly sketched charcters. Norwich has a veddy veddy British style--upper crust without being stuffy, grand yet humorous. Churchillian perhaps. He's great company, and a wonderful tourist guide. Reading Norwich is not unlike visiting with a long lost but friendly relative from the landed gentry. Based on the other books readers of this book have bought, he seems to be habit-forming.Certainly Norwich is susceptible to criticism: he's not an expert and is more rewardingly read for his narrative and style than his insight, but these are reproaches about the book that this isn't rather than than the book it is--a richly entertaining, fast-paced, overview of the trials and tribulations of the Byzantine emporers told by a tremendously engaging, enthusiastic companion.