Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire

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Gibbon very unfairly neglects the Byzantine Empire, and Judith Herrin here argues for its rehabilitation as a vibrant civilisation in its own right, until it was dealt a deadly blow by Western Christianity in 1204 (and yet still survived another quarter of a millennium). She avoids doing a straight historical narrative, instead concentrating on different aspects of Byzantine politics and culture, arranged roughly in chronological order; there is an early chapter on the Hagia Sofia, a late chapter on Trebizond and the other post-1204 splinters. I felt that the risks of this approach did not quite pay off - there ends up being some repetition between chapters, and the whole thing seemed a bit show more unmoored from a firm timeline. Of course the risk of going the other way is that you would get too much into the dynastic politics of the people at the top, to the neglect of the rest.

Speaking of the people at the top, I had not appreciated that several women ruled the Byzantine Empire in their own right, or that two of them responsible for ending the two spells of iconoclasm. And having complained about the weak connection to the passage of time, I must say that I was very satisfied with the book’s treatment of the shifting geography of the Byzantine empire, particularly the account of how the Ravenna mosaics came to be in Ravenna. Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors will be enlightened by this book, which may be better absorbed chapter by (short) chapter, rather than reading through in a few sittings. show less

Histories tend to focus on the "men in funny hats", or the kings, emperors, popes and generals that direct civilization. I don't subscribe to this theory. Men in funny hats are influential in history's course, but no more than the culture and societies from which they spring.

So it was with great relish that I read Herrin's book which focused primarily on the culture of Byzantium and not the tedious listing of emperor after emperor. It was rich, colorful, and even I, a hardcore Byzantinist, learned quite a bit from what is ostensibly a book for "Byzantine newbies".

I have a couple of reservations, however. Her method of documenting the "forgotten empire" was different: each topic was given its own chapter and the topic was explored in show more its entirety from Constantine's time to 1453. This is interesting, but confusing. She drops names in an early chapter, but doesn't discuss them in detail until later, or she talks about a person and then name drops them later and expects the reader to remember every detail. In addition, the chapters are so comprehensive that names and dates and facts whiz past your head. Finally, I was served well by this book because I have a mental timeline of Byzantine history, but someone who is not familiar with at least the basics of its rise and fall might struggle a bit.

Regardless, it's still a fantastic book with a great focus and one that will certainly go towards helping those willing to pick it up with understanding the world's "forgotten empire". show less

I do not wish to cast aspersions upon your historical knowledge, but I have to concede that I have a few, never mind grey areas, positive black spots - areas in which my ignorance is even more overwhelming than usual. The time betwixt the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, was a large gap. This book has filled it admirably. Were one to be a scholar, there is, undoubtedly, much more to be taken from this work than I did but, this illustrates the fact that it is written in style that is open to the Don and the dunce.

Byzantium started out as the West Wing of the Roman Empire but then, split off into a semi autonomous empire. It acted as a buffer between Western Christianity and the new, all conquering Muslim faith; not just physically, but show more also as a repository of Western civilisation, at a time when the West was letting its standards slip, somewhat.

The book traces Byzantium from its earliest days until it finally succumbed to Eastern military force (a situation helped by an attack from the Crusaders sent to help protect this Christian outpost!) Judith Herrin gives a biography of the main characters, historical background and a final review of the significance of Byzantium in a succinct style filling a mere 336 pages. I particularly like the way in which Herrin is willing to report the views of the time, without comment. I am thinking specifically of the sieges where Mary, the mother of Jesus, was 'seen' on the battlements at their darkest hour. We might be wiser than to believe such things nowadays (please notice that word 'Might') but, it gives an insight into the mind of the Byzantines at this juncture.

The book is lavishly illustrated with examples of Byzantine art and gives an excellent introduction to this crucial historical empire. show less

A flawed effort, within a noble campaign to explain that Byzantium probably can't be summed up by an incense-bearing eunuch paying off manly masculine men from [wherever the author is from] until finally the whole mess collapsed because of its inherent weakness and, let's be honest, lack of manly masculine men. Byzantium is just the Roman Empire lasting until the fifteenth century. The next time some American neo-conservative complains that such-and-such an event in the USA is redolent of such-and-such an event in Rome just before the empire fell in the fifth century, throw this book at their head. A noble, noble cause.

That said, and for all the strengths of the book--nice detail, wide range--it's a little infuriating that Herrin show more spends so much time talking about things that happened to her when she was a tourist in some part of what used to be the Byzantine empire. It feels like someone (agent? editor? Herrin herself?) decided that this book needed 'livening up.' Herrin, for better and worse, is not William Dalrymple. That's not to say Herrin shouldn't have written this book, only that it could easily have been much better. show less

My knowledge of all things Byzantium was embarrassingly meagre prior to reading "Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire". I knew of the great military generals Belisaurus and Narses ("The Hammer of the Goths"), and the plague that nearly wiped out the Empire but I'm now happy to state that I know a lot, lot more about the Byzantines.

Some of that "lot more" I know about Byzantium contains a lot of references to the differences between Byzantine and Roman religious practices. This was interesting at first but started to tax my patience as Herrin dove into the intricacies of ecumenical council and iconoclasm. Similarly, Herrin's decision to write on topics rather than chronologically led to some confusion, particularly over show more the names of Emperors and Patriarchs (there's only so many Constantine's one can keep track of). On the plus size, Herrin introduced me to Emperor Basil "The Bulgar Slayer". If nothing else, the Byzantines could sure coin a good nickname. show less

“Byzantium” is a beautiful book with a golden mosaic cover and a wealth of photographic plates of Byzantine mosaics, churches, and illuminations (black and white and colour).

Rather than a dry recitation of the history of Byzantium Herrin chooses to focus on interesting aspects of Byzantine History, for example the Empire’s Roman and pagan heritage, the Hagia Sophia, and the eunuchs at the Imperial Court.

She succeeds very well in creating a bigger picture of Byzantine history, society, and culture in the mind of the reader. I should stress that this book is written for a general audience and not exclusively for academics.

If you (like me) have a hole in your general knowledge where the Byzantine Empire ought to be, then I thoroughly show more recommend this book. Indeed who could resist finding out more about the history of a culture that boasted somebody called Basil the Bulgar-Slayer? show less

A competent and readable history of the Byzantine empire. It updates earlier histories, such as the eloquent trilogy of John Julius Norwich, incorporating a more skeptical eye and covering a broader range of topics, albeit in a much briefer work. For example, Herrin argues that the gruesome punishment of Bulgar prisoners captured after the battle Kleidion is most likely a myth, and she does a better job than Norwich untangling the various rulers of the Palaiologan dynasty.

The work is organized in four chronological sections, but the chapters within each section often move across chronology to look at topics such as rise of icons as a Christian art form, the linguistic inventions of Saints Cyril and Methodios, the monasteries on Mount show more Athos, the writings and life of Anna Komnene, and the cosmopolitan nature of the Byzantine Empire. This approach gives a sense of Byzantium as a civilization and stresses its continuity across a 1100-year history.

Much has been made by some reviewers of a slip of the pen that makes Stilicho the successor of Romulus Augustulus in 476 (it was Odoacer). This is clearly an oversight of both author and editor, but it in no way detracts from the scholarship of the rest of the book. show less