I want to say that I have already read the short version, "A Short History of Byzantium" which is the author's condensation of this three-volume epic into one single paperback volume. It follows the same general pattern but doesn't go near as in depth and does not contain as many fascinating anecdotes as the long version. I gave the short version four stars, and thought it was awesome, but now that I have finished the first volume (The Early Centuries) of Norwich's long version in three volumes, I can see how superior it is to the condensed book. All I can say is "awesome!!!"
Lord Norwich begins the epic in the year 286 when Diocletian divides the Roman Empire, setting the stage for the rise of Constantine the Great. He then details Constantine's rise to power, the defeat of his co-augustus, Licinius, his "adoption" of the Christian faith (and eventual conversion to Christianity), and the construction of his new capital at Byzantium (from which the empire gets its name, but was never called that by contemporaries). The volume covers the other remaining Roman emperors, up to the fall of the west and the deposition of Romulus Augustulus by barbarian invaders in 476, then continues with the part of imperial history which can truly be called Byzantine and not Roman (beginning with the eastern augusuts, Zeno). There is a quite helpful list of emperors in the back of the book to help you keep track of the narrative.
The narrative is principally concerned with the lives of the emperors, and the political and historical aspect of the Byzantine Empire--rather than the lives of the base subjects of the empire or social and economic trends--which would be more of interest to archaeologists and professional historians. This is because the book is intended for *us*, the average reader who enjoys a good epic tale, rather than for professionals. It is for this reason that it is quite readable and even entertaining, rather than being much like a textbook on Byzantine civilization. Lord Norwich has a decent sense of humor, too which makes the book an absolute pleasure to read.
The only sociopolitical trend covered in the book is early Christianity, because it was such an integral part of the lives of the emperors as well as their subjects, and he details it quite well and in an understandable--rather than theological or dogmatic--manner. Complex ideas like the Arian and Monophysite controversies are well explained and easy to understand in Norwich's writing. As he relies heavily on primary sources and contemporary historians (as he well should), there are parts of the history of Byzantium better and more extensively covered than others. Justinian's reign takes several whole chapters, whereas others are covered in less detail. This is not a flaw, only a reality reflecting the availability of information of a certain period.
Lord Norwich is not Gibbon. He does not look down on the Empire with typical Enlightenment-era contempt of the Byzantines and their religious and political issues, as does Gibbon. He actually greatly admires the Byzantines, a fact reflected greatly in the narrative. He paints a picture of the Empire as one worth discussing and reading about. Who wants to sit through hundreds of pages of Gibbon's scorn for the Empire, when you can read Norwich's more positive and readable assessment of it?
The volume ends with the coronation of Charlemagne by the Pope as western emperor in 800, which dealt a serious and contemptuous blow to Byzantine authority and its emperors' monopoly over the title "Emperor of the Romans", and the deposition shortly after of the Empress Irene. While the first volume seems to end seriously, it actually ends on a note of hope. The best is yet to come for Byzantium, however much territory they might have lost over the years or however serious their military or financial situation might be.
Whether your interest in the Byzantine Empire is professional, amateur or even purely casual, you'll enjoy this wonderful narrative by a very talented author and storyteller. It'll keep you wide awake at night, wanting to read just one more deposed emperor or one more nose-slitting or castration! Not to miss!
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In very rare occasions, historians rise to the level of the history they are narrating. This is one of those occasions.
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2017
I finished reading the last volume, in Folio Society edition, at 11:48pm on Christmas Eve."Our civilization has never adequately acknowledged the debt it owes to the Empire of the East", writes John Julius Norwich in the introduction of this magnificent book. In very rare occasions, historians rise to the level of the history they are narrating. This is one of those occasions. We jump on the glorious vessel captained by Norwich and he takes us to the eastern Mediterranean, the Sea of Marmara, then up the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. The journey is the reward as I never really wanted the book to end. The last volume reads like a tragedy. The inexorable decay caused by Crusaders, the commercial empires of Venice and Genoa, and the geopolitical myopia of the kingdoms of Europe. The last days of The City are charged with valor, beauty, hope, and despair.For the last 200 years, the Byzantine Empire had been the victim of a conspiracy of silence. Norwich recalls that he hadn't heard or read anything about it until he went to Oxford. What little was known of the Empire of the East had been filtered through the opaque lens of Edward Gibbon who saw Byzantium as the decadence of all that was noble in Ancient Greece and Rome. And it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century when travel to the Levant became more accessible that the Byzantine Empire was recognized for what it had been: a worthy and mighty successor and carrier of the Greek and Roman traditions.The quote from Norwich at the beginning of this post is important. Byzantium was the stronghold of Christendom and Greek and Latin culture that kept great empires from the East from invading Europe. What chance would the smaller kingdoms and tribes of Europe would have had against the Persians in the seventh century or the Saracens in the eighth? Constantinople, though sieged several times by the forces of the East or barbarians from the north or west, resisted and ultimately prevailed due to the strength of its emperor and the unity of its people, who drew strength from "a single, unshakeable article of faith: that the Roman Empire was one and indivisible, its ruler chosen by God as His Vice-Gerent on earth."Culturally, too, we owe much to the Empire. After the fall of Rome, cultural progress stalled in Western Europe, and it was in Constantinople that the classical heritage was preserved. Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, Roman Law, would have been lost forever if it had not been for the scholars and copyists of Byzantium.
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2017
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