Customer Reviews

Narses, Hammer of the Goths: The Life and Times of Narses the Eunuch

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Narses: Hammer of the Goths is about the Roman general Narses who served the emperor Justinian in his reconquest of the West in the 6th Century AD. He is not as famous or successful as his predecessor Belisarius, but he showed considerable talent for someone who spent most of his life in court. I'm actually rather surprised (and pleased) that somebody bothered to write a book about him. He was undoubtedly an interesting man (how many other fighting eunuchs do you know), and his career comes during a dramatic point in Roman history. In the mid 6th century the emperor Justinian set out to reconquer the Western Roman Empire that had fallen half a century before. He sent his best general, Belisarius, to take back the formerly Roman lands including Rome itself. Belisarius was successful but politics in court led to his recall and replacement with lesser generals who weren't as powerful as he was. Narses was to become the most successful of these generals, despite or perhaps because of his condition and advanced age, and became Belisarius' replacement. He squared off against the Gothic leader Totila and won. The book deals with all of this as well as his administration of Italy after his victory. The book is well written in a somewhat popular feeling style, and it reads very well. I'd actually say that this book was written better than any book available on Belisarius which is really quite a shame. It doesn't go too in-depth but it provides enough details to be interesting. It is a very nice looking book with many maps and some good photos. I'm rather surprised that this book is so hard to find since it reads so well. Here's hoping that they issue a reprint and get this book some of the attention that it deserves. There are several books that came out recently about Belisarius and the Gothic War so now would be a good time for a reissue. Hint Hint.