Another first-rate political history of Byzantium

books:

	• Byzantium (II): The Apogee John Julius Norwich Knopf, 1992 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good Narrative; Not a True Scholarly Work

In writing this review I am faced with a dilemma:

-- On the one hand there is true dearth of comprehensive and broadly available scholarly works on the Byzantine Empire in the way in which Gibbon's book cover Rome (the one that I would recommend to readers, available through Amazon is "A History of the Byzantine State and Society (Paperback)" by Warren Treadgold A History of the Byzantine State and Society). In that sense Norwich's work seeks to fill a void and in this effort, it is important and praise-worthy.

-- On the other hand, Norwich falls short of writing a real scholarly work, but rather his trilogy is a broad narrative of history (replete with curious points and anecdotes), the likes of which one gets by guides while visiting a historical site. The book lacks any serious discussion on religion, economics, social and political structures, it does not produce any analysis or offer any serous treatments of many of the historical turning points through which the Empire survives. Nor does Norwich offer any particular insights (or opinion) on why the Empire survived significantly longer than its Eastern counterpart, or indeed what is the true achievements and role of Byzantium in European and World history.

What is really disappointing here is that Norwich has produced books of much greater depth and insight -- such as "A History of Venice". In comparison, the Byzantium trilogy disappoints.

In summary, for the uninitiated, this will be a good introduction to Byzantine history, and as such is worth reading (though I would hesitate recommending the purchase of the expensive hardcover edition - see if you can borrow one from a library). For the serious students of history - you have to look elsewhere - Treadgold's book is a good start.

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Byantium II The Apogee

Norwich's narrative can only be described as "Epic". It is difficult to imagine how someone could do the research and gain such insight in one human lifetime. Perhaps it is heresy to compare this work to Gibbon's authoritative work, but I can think of no other comparison to make. I find Norwich to be much easier to read than Gibbon and just as insightful. I would not hesitate to sight Norwich as a source, were I to attempt a treatise on any related subject.

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Norwich makes history fun

I enjoyed reading this 2nd volume of Byzantine history by JJ Norwich. His humor and clear writing style makes, what could be a dry subject for many, interesting and entertaining. Unlike some, who wanted to hear about how people lived during the middle ages, I am more interested in the political trends and situations of the times and the character of those in power in particuliar. I was not disappointed.

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Apogee

John Norwich is an excellent writer. He brings the time period to life. you can almost feel the scenes and the events.

It is unforntuate that the world has lost most of the true Byzantine history. It would be interesting to see how the world would have developed had a few key decsions been made differntly during this critcal period in Byzantine history.

A highly recommended series of Byzantine History for those interested in learning how this extension of the Roman Empire stood alone during the darkest hours of mankind and held the line against radical Islam until the very end.

Baseline material that could make for an outstanding movie epic.

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Another first-rate political history of Byzantium

In _Byzantium: the Apogee_, Norwich continues his excellent history of the Eastern Roman empire, beginning with the regin of Empress Irene (775 - 810) and concluding with the defeat of the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071. While a considerably shorter time span than the previous work (_Byzantium: the early centuries_, a history from 330 - 811), Norwich give the political zenith of the empire meticulous attention.

The role Byzantium played as a major political force in the Mediterannean is frequently overlooked in histories of the early and high middle ages. Norwich does much to remind us that Europe - and the world - owe much to the Byzantines. Beginning with the failed political relationship between Charlemagne and Irene in 802 (and the resulting union of Christendom that would have resulted), Norwich goes on to illustrate the profound impact Byzantium had on the Balkans, Russia and the near east, particularly as the Abbysid Caliphate, il Khanid Caliphate and subsequent Sekjuk Turks grew in power in the region. The brilliant (and frequently mercurial and trecherous) political manoeverings of the Byzantines is the strongest portion of the book.

However, as with his previous book, Norwich's focus is almost exclusively towards the political. While the econcomic issues Byzantium faced are discussed at more length thatn in _The Early Centuries_, they are empahsized primarily as they impacted or were the consequences of political decisions. The role of women or common citizens were scarcely mentioned at all. For this, I had to deduct a star from my rating.

This remains an excellent history on the subject, and I do recommend it particularly to those wanting a broader view of Christendom in the high middle ages; merely be aware of the shortcomings of the historial narrative.

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