Peter Sarris

After surviving the fifth century fall of the Western European Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire flourished as one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe for a thousand years. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Sarris introduces the reader to the unique fusion of Roman political culture, Greek intellectual tradition and Christian faith that took place in the imperial capital of Byzantium under the emperor Constantine and his heirs. Using examples from Byzantine architecture, art and literature, Sarris shows how their legacy was re-worked and re-invented in the centuries ahead, in the face of external challenges and threats. Charting the impact of warfare with the Persian and Islamic worlds to the east, Sarris explores the creativity of Byzantine statecraft and strategy, as well as the empire's repeated (but ultimately forlorn) attempts to enlist aid from the Christian powers of Western Europe to ensure its survival. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research, Dr Peter Sarris provides a panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East from the fall of Rome to the rise of Islam. The formation of a new social and economic order in western Europe in the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, and the ascendancy across the West of a new culture of military lordship, are placed firmly in the context of on-going connections and influence radiating outwards from the surviving Eastern Roman Empire, ruled from the great imperial capital of Constantinople. The East Roman (or 'Byzantine') Emperor Justinian's attempts to revive imperial fortunes, restore the empire's power in the West, and face down Constantinople's great superpower rival, the Sasanian Empire of Persia, are charted, as too are the ways in which the escalating warfare between Rome and Persia paved the way for the development of new concepts of 'holy war', the emergence of Islam, and the Arab conquests of the Near East. Processes of religious and cultural change are explained through examination of social, economic, and military upheavals, and the formation of early medieval European society is placed in a broader context of changes that swept across the world of Eurasia from Manchuria to the Rhine. Warfare and plague, holy men and kings, emperors, shahs, caliphs, and peasants all play their part in a compelling narrative suited to specialist, student, and general readership alike.

WINNER OF THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARDA Sunday Times, BBC History Magazine, and Evening Standard Book of the YearMajestic, sparkling Peter FrankopanSuperb and gripping Simon Sebag MontefioreEffortlessly erudite Rory StewartMasterful Anita AnandSpectacularly good Dominic SandbrookThe definitive story of the Roman Emperor who shaped modern times.This groundbreaking biography gives us an intimate insight into Justinian, a man who, from the humblest beginnings, rose to become ruler of much of the known world achieving an almost god-like status. An emperor who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual significance. A gifted administrator obsessed with detail. A middle-aged lover who fell for a dancing girl, ruling with empress Theodora by his side for over twenty years. A brilliant military strategist who was never on the frontline. The challenges he faced - climate change, battles over culture and identity, the first recorded global pandemic - and many of the solutions he found still resonate with us today. His legacy remains all around us. In this tour de force, Sarris shows us that in all his complexity and contradictions Justinian was, in many ways, a very modern emperor.

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Tras sobrevivir a la caída del Imperio Romano de Europa Occidental en el siglo V, el Imperio Bizantino floreció como una de las fuerzas económicas, culturales y militares más poderosas de Europa durante mil años.En esta breve introduccion, Peter Sarris introduce al lector en la singular fusion de la cultura politica romana, la tradicion intelectual griega y la fe cristiana que tuvo lugar en la capital imperial de Bizancio bajo el emperador Constantino y sus herederos.Utilizando ejemplos de la arquitectura, el arte y la literatura bizantinos, Sarris muestra como su legado fue reelaborado y reinventado en los siglos siguientes, frente a los desafios y amenazas exteriores. A traves del impacto de la guerra con losmundos persa e islamico en el este, Sarris explora la creatividad del arte de gobernar y la estrategia bizantinas, asi como los repetidos (pero en ultima instancia infructuosos) intentos del imperio de conseguir la ayuda de las potencias cristianasde Europa occidental para asegurar su supervivencia.

La historia definitiva del emperador romano que sentó las bases de la modernidad. *Galardonada con el London Hellenic Prize* «Sarris ha escrito la gran biografía del más grande de los emperadores biz