A really enjoyable trilogy. I felt like I was relaxing in front of a fire, listening to my favourite uncle tell me this history.

Fascinating account of the early years of the Roman Empire in the East. Constantine the Great set up a more strategic location to be the second capital on the Greek city of Byzantium at the location of the intersection of Asia Minor and Europe so he could more adequately respond to threats coming from the East. His decision both helped and hurt the Empire. An interesting read, explaining facts I had not be aware of. Which Emperors were good, which were bad. Which helped sustain the Empire until 1453, when the Ottoman Turks finally conquered Constantinople. It discusses the Crusades, Norsemen, treachery, and whose teams in the races went by what color. If Byzantium is of interest to you, this is an excellent resource.

Great book, weaves together a bunch of stuff flawlessly.

John Julius Norwich makes history come alive. Read all you can by him and you will not regret it.

There’s a ton of information in this book. Honestly, the writing wasn’t the most engaging, though it was interesting. To me, the history all runs together after a couple hundred years of coups, revolts, and wars - no fault of the author. I just found it a bit of a difficult read, though I did really enjoy reading about Justinian I, Belarus, and Heraclius.

A compelling broad history of Byzantium. From the founding of the new Imperial Capital by Constantine through the upheavals of dynastic strife, religious infighting, court intrigue, the rise of Islam and closing with the crowning of a rival emperor in the west.

Well written, very throughly sourced with insightful and often amusing footnotes, covering a large span of time and offering a broad stroke insight into one of the most fascinating polities of world history.

John Julius Norwich is an engaging writer and storyteller, and he brings life, energy, and context to an era of history that is far too often ignored. In some respects, Norwich's approach does seem dated, especially in its sometimes Western-centric biases, Orientalist dismissals of "barbaric" cultures, and under-emphasis of the roles of women. Additionally, I would appreciate if Norwich incorporated more about Byzantine culture and art into his narrative.

Fun and not written by a historian. Skips over most historiography and just gives you the juicy details. If you don't know anything about ancient/early medieval history you'll probably get lost in the names and events.

Hayatımda okuduğum en iyi anlatılmış tarih eserlerinden olabilir. Sir Norwich'in amacı bu gizemli ve herkesin çok şey bilmediği imparatorluk hakkında hikaye tadında tarihi olayları anlatarak, okuyucuya Doğu Roma hakkında bilgiler vermektir, ve inanın bunu çok iyi yapıyor.

İlk kitap da Büyük Constantine den başlayıp, Roma İmparatorluğunun başkentini Konstantinopolis'e taşıması, iç isyanlar ve Roma İmparatorluğunun ayrılmasından bahsediliyor. Özellikle Jüstinyen ve karısı Theodora nın kısımları inanılmaz.

Dünyanın en büyük ve inanılmaz kilisesi olan Kutsal Bilgelik Kilisesi(Ayasofya) çok kısa bir süre içinde yapıldı, I. Jüstinyen kilisenin kapısından girdiğinde ise bir şeyler mırıldıyordu:
"Seni geçtim Süleyman."

Having read John Julius Norwich’s „A Short History of Byzantium” and having concluded that it whetted my appetite without providing the desired level of detail, I decided to reach for the author’s antecedent trilogy. The first part of the trilogy certainly did not disappoint. Written with as much grace and in as clear a language as the all-in-one book, it sheds extensive light on the period from the founding of Byzantium by Constantine in 330 A.D. until the toppling of Empress Irene in the year 802.

The amount of detail is right. The history unfolds smoothly based on preceding periods with the causal relationships clearly explained. What amazes is the degree to which the fortunes of the Empire were dependent on the quality, or more adequately– perceived quality, of the various emperors. Perceived, as in several cases the quality was not to shine due to the coups which toppled the rulers. It would seem that, very much akin to the modern day, the objective quality was not enough to secure power in the face of palace intrigue, and the populace needed to be bought with something (typically proverbial games or bread), lest it actively participated in the toppling of its sovereigns.

Another remarkable observation, which can easily be transposed to the modern day is that it was not so much the external enemies which weakened the empire (although the opponents like the Sassanid Persian Empire, or the Goths, or Lombards, or Bulgars, ought not to have been taken lightly), as the internal strife and mismanagement. The crowning example of the former is most certainly the continuous debate, flaring out to outright violence, about the nature of Christianity. Or rather the nature of Christ himself, as this was the predominant axis of Christian debate during the first centuries of Byzantium. Arian, Nestorian, or Monophysite strands of Christianity and the resultant search for the one unifying formula of the nature of Christ caused permanent division and, ultimately, led to many Christians (particularly the monophysites) welcoming the invading Arab muslims with open arms, as a preferred option to the intolerant orthodox Byzantium. To Western Christianity, much more pragmatic, and coping with down to earth survival issues, these mystical debates probably seemed hardly worth the time, not to say definitely not worth the Empire. While the Emperor Constantine’s pragmatic search for the unifying definition of Christianity, culminating in the Council of Nicaea, can be easily understood (he sought a religion around which to rally the Empire in lieu of the demising pagan religion), it is much harder to understand the centuries-old iconoclast – iconodule debacle which weakened the Empire immensely.

Straight onto the second part now – “Byzantium: The Apogee” awaits. Quite looking forward to it…

This wonderful first volume of trilogy about Byzantine touches people like Maximian Daia, who fight with at Constantine the great Battle of Milvian Bridge, persecuted the Christians and tried to revive paganism.

About Lucius Septimius Severus.

Sexsus Aurelius Victor who was historian solely of the Empire, he has wrtten History of the Caesars, a summary of the history of the empire to the reign of Theodosius the Great, Origo gentis Romanae - a treatise on the origin of the Romans, De viris illustribus - the history of Rome during the monarchy and republic, based on Hygin and Livius.

Theodosius the Great, who was Theodosius was a strong adherent of the Christian doctrine of consubstantiality and an opponent of Arianism. He faced and overcame a war against the Goths and two civil wars, and was key in establishing the creed of Nicaea as the orthodoxy for Christianity.

The Massacre of Thessalonica (Thessaloniki) in Greece was a massacre of local civilians by Roman troops.In response, imperial soldiers killed a large number of citizens when they were assembled in Thessalonica's hippodrome. Modern historians have had difficulty discerning the details of the massacre and its aftermath.

Was an atrocity carried out by Gothic troops under the Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 390 against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, who had risen in revolt against the Gothic troops.

About Magnus Maximus, Welsh hero who inspired King Arthur.

He was a prominent general in the Roman army, particularly in the province of Britain. In 383 CE he usurped the Western throne, rebelling against the legitimate emperor Gratian

In AD 383, Magnus Maximus, a Roman officer in Britain, was illegally proclaimed emperor. Determined to capture Rome, Maximus took an army to Gaul where he fought and killed the emperor Gratian.

The Battle of the Save was fought in 388 between the forces of Roman usurper Magnus Maximus and the Eastern Roman Empire.

About Theodoric the Greate on whom Dietrich von Bern is based.

King of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526).

This legend also has a connection with the Middle High German epic Nibelungenlied.

About the Nika Revolt which was a devastating riot that took place in early medieval Constantinople, in the Eastern Roman Empire. It threatened the life and reign of Emperor Justinian.

Nika revolt or Nika sedition took place against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD.

They are often regarded as the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of Constantinople being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.

About The Byzantine scholar and writer Photius (ca. 820-891) was patriarch of Constantinople and leader of the Orthodox Byzantine Renaissance. Photius was trained from his early years to be a philosopher and scholar. He taught at the Imperial Academy at Constantinople.

About Macedonian Renaissance in Byzantine and do remember that Macedonian Greeks are most Slavic, so Alexander the Great, and Ptolemy and his whole dynasty including Cleopatra are of Slavic origin.

The most important of the works of Photios is his renowned Bibliotheca or Myriobiblon, a collection of extracts and abridgements of 280 volumes of classical authors (usually cited as Codices), the originals of which are now to a great extent lost. The work is especially rich in extracts from historical writers.

About Totila, original name Baduila, (died 552), Ostrogoth king who recovered most of central and southern Italy, which had been conquered by the Eastern Roman Empire in 540. ... When Totila left to fight the Byzantines in Lucania, south of Naples, Belisarius retook Rome and rebuilt its fortifications.

And about Phocas (Latin: Focas; Greek: Φωκᾶς; 547 – 5 October 610) was Byzantine emperor from 602 to 610. ... Phocas deeply mistrusted the elite of Constantinople, and therefore installed his relatives in high military positions, and brutally purged his opponents. Phocas is widely regarded as a tyrant and usurper.

As a leader in the revolt against Emperor Maurice. Phocas captured Constantinople and overthrew Maurice on 23 November 602.

And about Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great known also as saint Vldimir, who originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized the Kievan Rus'. He is thus also known as Saint Vladimir.

By 980, Vladimir had consolidated the Rus realm from modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads.

Magistralmente escrito, muy recomendable a quien le interese ese período. Primero de tres tomos que aborda toda la historia del imperio Bizantino.