Since there are some people who specialize in Byzantine history I was wondering whether you could recommend some good books dedicated to this period, with emphasis on Heraclius and the last war plus aftermath (rise of Islam).
Thank you!
Here are some of my recommendations for books in English, all four are published within the last decade or so, so they are all very up-to-date with the historiography :)
W Kaegi, Heraclius - A fantastic biography of the emperor, highly recommended. As it was written by a military historian, the bulk of the book is dedicated to the war against the Persians and later the Arabs.
M Whitby, Rome at War AD 293-696 - A more general book on Roman warfare, but as the Persian Wars dominate the late-sixth and early-seventh centuries, it has a lot of good stuff on the things you are looking for.
G Greatrex and S Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 363-628 - a sourcebook full of extracts from the relevant sources, along with explanations and an overarching narrative from two excellent historians.
J Howard-Johnston, Witnesses to a World Crisis - a book that covers the last Byzantine-Sassanian War and the Arab Conquests, but source analysis is where it shines, since Howard-Johnston re-examined carefully each source to construct a slightly revisionist narrative. This is a very academic book though and so might not be easily available/understandable for the general reader!
I guess that first and second volume of "Świat Bizancjum" (translation of three volumess "Le Monde Byzantin – L'empire byzantin") would be good enough.
EDIT: I forgot about classical book - have you tried "Dzieje Bizancjum" by Georgij Ostrogorski?
An excellent book from the perspective of Persian civilization is this one:
Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, by Kaveh Farrohk
http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Desert-Ancient-General-Military/dp/1846031087