Brahm_K wrote:
emperorblackdoom wrote:
KBrahm-Yes it is the Penguin version. I'm a Byzantine guy but lately I've wanted to know more about what started it all. I already started peeking into the Caesar section---good stuff indeed! I admit I am most looking forward to the Marius section: he seemed the most fascinating based on those superficial wikipedia blurbs.
Well, then you can help me. I'm a Roman guy (and to a lesser extent, an ancient greek guy) and I've been wanting to check out the Byzantines. I've read Procopius and some other stuff on Justinian, and a book or two which talked about the fourth crusade, but nothing else. Any reccomendations?
Sure. Btw, out of curiosity what book on the 4th crusade was it?
For particularly Byzantine books, I first read Micheal Psellus/Micheal Psellos' 14 Byzantine Emperors. This collection basically covers the stories of mostly incompetant and depraved rulers that usually reigned for a couple years and managed to bankrupt and half the empire. It spans from the death of one of the greatest Byzantine Emperors, Basil II in 1025, to 1078, shortly before the accession of Alexius Comnenus/Alexios Komnenos, another magnificent ruler. Psellus is extremely biased at points, and because of politics blames the defeat at Manzikert wrongly. He can also be incredibly smug and arrogant. But he also is a talented writer at points, and gives some real insight into the rampant treachery and carelessness which he seems to realize was a real sign of the empire's decline. Overall a good read.
I also have Anna Comnena's Alexiad, based on her father Alexius but I haven't read that yet.
Sadly eyewitness Greek sources translated into English aren't all that available for the Byzantine period, perhaps because no one thought the empire was worth studying until recent decades.
For a more general history, I'd recommend John Julius Norwich's Short History of Byzantium (400 pages) or if you are willing to pay the 3 volume, nearly 1200 page set that the Short History is based
on. I have both, I bought the short history first and then liked it enough to get the full version. Norwich is a pretty gifted writer---his description of General John Tzimisces winter night conspiracy in the palace against Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas is very gripping, and he gives an extremely powerful description of the siege that late spring in 1543, when Constantinople finally fell. His sentences are overly complex sometimes but I'd definitely recommend him. I'd probably get the short version before I decide to get the long.
I've also read some more Europe themed books that prominently feature the interactions of the Empire with it, but I'll only mention those if you are interested.
If I bored someone, sorry.
