The Days of the Warlords [Hardcover]

Paul A. Blaum (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0819196568 | ISBN-13: 978-0819196569 | Publication Date: November 8, 1994

This book, while it deals primarily with civil conflicts between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the warrior-aristocrats Bardas Phocas and Bardas Sclerus, casts considerate light on Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East during the century immediately preceding the crusades. These interactions-sometimes hostile, sometimes surprisingly intimate-occurred during that one period between the mid-tenth and mid-eleventh century when Shi'ite Islam, not Sunni Islam, dominated the Muslim world. The ethnic and secretarian fragmentation that marks present-day Islam was already well in place at the end of the tenth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul A. Blaum is a writer and an editor with the Department of Public Information at Pennsylvania State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 142 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (November 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819196568
• ISBN-13: 978-0819196569
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,715,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book on an overlooked subject., February 21, 1999

By 

Tom Speight ([e-mail]) (Manchester, NH, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Days of the Warlords (Paperback)

This short but very good book is a summary and analysis of mostly internal events in the Byzantine Empire. The main subject is the rise to dominance of the Phokas and Skleros "warrior families," who came to dominate the command positions Empire's army during this, the military apogee of the Empire. The book is fairly concise, though it is a little thin on background details and context, making it most suitable for someone who knows what's going on already. Ostrogorsky's "History of the Byzantine State" can fill in any holes here, though. The in-depth analysis is very good. All in all, a very good book on an often-overlooked period of history.