Mrs. Judith Herrin – British researcher of the history of the Eastern Roman Empire, known more widely as Byzantium, offered her readers an unusual book about this very country. The title of this work, written under the influence of contacts with a non-specialized audience, is “Byzantium. The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire”.
It is a book divided into thematic chapters and it is difficult to find a longer chronological story within its pages. Nevertheless, this work contains a lot of interesting information about the country, which was in fact the Eastern Roman Empire with its preserved tradition and structure, which, of course, changed over time. My only problem while reading this work was the author’s truly propagandistic, and therefore unhistorical, attitude towards the Holy Inquisition and passing as historically plausible reports from pseudo-scientific books by Mr. Gavin Menzies. As you can see from these examples, it’s very hard to find something without a teaspoon of tar.
Nevertheless, this study is worth reading, especially for those who start their journey from Byzantium. Then, after reading this, more persistent seekers of knowledge should reach for the classic work of Georgy Ostrogorski.
