Books about Byzantium

Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. Fo...

The architectural jewel of Constantinople is the church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), constructed 532–537 CE. Although the edifice built by Justinian remains almost intact, only some of its original mosaics survive. In the first comprehensive study, Natalia Teteriatnikov describes the original mo...

Mostly religious in function, but preserving the classicism of Greco-Roman art, Byzantine buildings and art objects communicate the purity and certainties of the public face of early Christian art. Focusing on the art of Constantinople between 330 and 1453, this book probes the underlying motives an...

By now a classic, it presents in a single volume a coherent overall view of the history and the changing character of Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, from Rome and Milan to North Africa, from Constantinople to Greece and the Balkans, and from Egypt and Jerusalem to the villages and monas...

A Complete Overview of One of the Most Important Military Forces in the History of the WorldThe Byzantine Art of War explores the military history of the thousand-year empire of the eastern Mediterranean, Byzantium. Throughout its history the empire faced a multitude of challenges from foreign invad...

This book accounts for the tumultuous period of the fifth to eleventh centuries from the Fall of Rome and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire through the breakup of the Eastern Roman Empire and loss of pan-Mediterranean rule, until the Turks arrived and seized Anatolia. The volume is divided in...

This series on Byzantine monumental painting in Greece presents mosaics and wall-paintings from the 7th to the 15th century. It includes complete monographs on each monument, written by specialists in Byzantine art, plans and drawings, rich photographic material and bibliography. Table of Contents: ...