Sorry, but it falls short of the mark
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Let me begin by saying that I really, really want to like this book. I am a Late Roman/Byzantine history enthusiast and have read no end of books on the subject over the last couple of decades. Any book attempting to bring this sadly neglected area of history into the wider public consciousness, as Herrin is trying to do with this account, is to be applauded. However for me this falls way short of the mark due to problems ranging from numerous annoyances through to inaccurate impressions given through to complete howlers.
I am only 30-odd pages in so far as I write this, but am moved to review already because of these problems. To mention already a few off the top of my head:
- The last Western emperor was NOT replaced by "half-Vandal, half-Roman Stilicho" in 476, but in fact by the Scirian Odovacer. Stilicho, the power behind the throne during the minority of the Western emperor Honorius, was murdered in 408. This unbelievable howler from a professional historian is compounded by the fact that she again mentions "half-Vandal, half-Roman Stilicho", this time in the correct context, just a couple of pages later. A switched-on proof reader even without the historical knowledge should query discrepancies like this, and I would have thought that numerous people in academia would cast their eye over it before publication. It's presumably not been corrected either from the hardback to this paperback edition.
- After incorrectly saying that no Germanic language had a written form in the late 4th century (in fact Gothic did so), a few pages later she does correctly mention that "Ulfila" (sic - it should actually be "Wulfila" in Gothic form or "Ulfilas" in Latin form) translated the bible into Gothic.
- Alaric was not "persuaded to move west" - apart from the fact that the empire had absolutely no bargaining chips to persuade Alaric to do anything whatsoever (the senseless murder of the aforementioned Stilicho two years earlier put paid to that), Alaric died while still in Italy in 410 after a failed attempt to cross the sea to Africa and before he could leave by the northern land route. It can't even possibly refer to the later Alaric II as he was already firmly ensconced in the West in a kingdom encompassing southwest France and northeast Spain.
- The phrasing used seems to imply that Julian attacked the Sassanian empire before becoming emperor (could hardly be so, since he died in the attempt). And despite the regular outbreaks of war between Rome and the Sassanian empire, Julian did not really have any kind of unfinished business to deal with in that regard. His disastrous expedition east was frankly nothing less than a war of aggression.
And so on. It's a real shame because outside of these kind of factual issues, this is a well-written, very readable and entertaining volume with some real insights. For example, the more I read about mediaeval history, the more it seems to me that there is some kind of real tripartite cultural/philosophical division of the former Roman Empire between Western-Latin-Catholic, Eastern-Greek-Orthodox and Southern-Arabic-Muslim; Herrin mentions the same idea.
For a peerless 'popular' account of Byzantium look at the John Julius Norwich trilogy Byzantium: The Early Centuries v. 1, Byzantium: The Apogee v. 2, and Byzantium: The Decline and Fall v. 3. There is also a one volume abridgement of this, A Short History of Byzantium which I have not personally read but is undoubtedly of the same standard as the full version. For a discussion of the cultural legacy to wider European and Islamic civilisation, see Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World.
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Good overview of Byzantium
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By taking a thematic approach to the Byzantine Empire, Ms Herrin illuminates some interesting areas. However, you will need to have some background of the history of the Empire if you are to properly understand the points she makes.
John Julius Norwich's 3 vol history is the perfect place to start.
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The death of a civilisation
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I enjoyed reading this book, but as it drew to the end and the death of Constantine XI defending his city I realized what a loss of a civilisation, that it not taught about in our education systems.
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BYZANTIUM: THE SURPRISING LIFE OF A MEDIEVAL EMPIRE
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Nice to be in such august company when it comes to reviewing a book, especially when I find myself echoing the praise. I'll lay my cards on the table and confess to having studied Byzantine History and have continued a lifelong fascination and love of the subject. Trying to explain what drives that interest as Prof. Herrin found herself trying to do to two working men however, has always been difficult to get across to others to whom it is a blank area of knowledge.
I've nothing but praise for the way she has distilled her professional knowledge into one of the more approachable books on the subject that I have read. Not decrying other books which on the whole are written for readers with at least a basic knowledge of the subject, this by and large succeeds in casting light on what is perceived to be an esoteric subject.
The maps, illustrations and tables are an excellent aid for this primer which seeks to explain on their terms what made the Empire tick without spoon feeding you. It makes you, the reader, think.
Arranged thematically, Icons, Monasticism, Economics, Warfare, Eunuchs, the Imperial Court, relations with the West, the Slavs and the Moslems, the place of women in society, its structure covers the Empires chronology. What to the mdern mind are barbarous practices such as castration and mutilation are placed in context . It looks at those puzzling practices of icon worship and explains the intent. Reaction to pressures such as the rise of Islam and relations with the West and its missionary work to the Slavs are explained together as a whole rather than in isolation in a very readable manner.
I would heartily recommend it to the general reader who wishes to know more and part of me likes to think that somewhere that those two working men are sitting somewhere over a pint imagining light glinting off golden mosaics.
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Sailing to Byzantium
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Philip Pullman - of Dark Materials - has just written to me about Byzantium, the Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, saying:
"This most intriguing of empires is depicted so vividly and so clearly - not only by means of the author's arrangement of subject-based chapters, but also because of her deep scholarship and unobtrusive style - that it's the best introduction to Byzantine history I've seen. I can say with absolute certainty that I shall steal from it several times."
Happy declaration of interest: Philip wrote to me because I live with the author. He gave permission for his words to be used. He does not know and hasn't met Judith - yet!
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