Several posts on this sub have asked for the “best” books on on the Byzantine Empire—typically from the perspective of a student or aspiring historian.
I’m asking from a bit of a different lens:
Can you think of a book on Byzantine that is:
— Gripping — Engaging — Narrative, or has narrative aspects — Possibly biographical
I’m a layperson, not a historian or student of history in any real sense, but have recently discovered a keen interest in western classical history presented through a narrative perspective by absolutely lovvvving Philip Freeman’s biographical works on Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Hannibal. They were complete page turners, while still feeling balanced and factual.
At this point, learning about the Byzantine Empire seems like the somewhat chronological next step.
I realize there’s a ~1000 year history here. Any period—or a high level overview of the whole empire—is of interest as long as the book is entertaining, and not simply a dry factual work.
Thank you!
Hi!
I know this is a (relatively) old post, but thought I'd comment anyways and hope you'd see it.
I think finding a narrative that both covers the entire history and is entertaining is going to be difficult, as most history books that cover a large period tend to inevitably read dry after a while.
However there are some books focusing on specific periods or topics that are both entertaining and scholarly: Anthony Kaldellis' Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 AD to the First Crusade is one of the best and most entertaining nonfiction books I've read overall, not just on the Byzantines. I wrote about it in detail here
To cover the later periods or continue from the period left off in Kaldellis' book then I would recommend Byzantium and the Crusades by Jonathan Harris, which is also dense and scholarly but written in an exciting and gripping style.
If you still want a full comprehensive history, then I have heard great things about the Cambridge History of Byzantium, I can't vouch for or comment on its entertaining factor but you can read summaries of the chapter premises here