Norwich second installment about the Byzantines is an absolute atom bomb of a book that cannot be missed. The book covers the years 800-1081, and it is on par with the greatest page-turning fiction story out there.I recently rated Norwich's first Byzantine book and wrote my top five memories from it. If I may continue the tradition, here are my top five from "The Apogee" (SPOILER alert):5) The death of Leo V. Like something out of a Jason Statham movie, the Emperor is attacked on Christmas Day, 820, on a church altar, by men in black cowls with weapons hidden underneath. After defending himself with a huge Cross, a guy cuts his arm off (with his arm still grasping the Cross, spinning across the floor), Leo V drops in pain, and another guy decapitates him. Brutal!4) The East/West Schism, which was the first serious break in Christianity in 1054, was a debacle of diplomacy. The Emperor Constantine IX, the Patriarch Cerularius, and Humbert, the messenger of the Pope, were all to blame. Also I found it fascinating to note how Zoe almost married Otto III to possibly re-unite the Western and Eastern Christian empires but Otto III died of a fever.3) Zoe and Theodora were an interesting pair. Zoe had some crazily unsuccessful marriages, including marrying a boy toy adolescent who dropped her like a bad habit in a few months. The boy toy, Michael IV, in his own right had an amazingly brave death by personally leading the army against the Bulgars despite having horrible swelling and feeling pain all over his body.2) The Seljuk Turks, seemingly like another barbarian horde at first, won the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 which shockingly signaled the beginning of the end of the Empire. Emperor Romanus IV fought "like a lion until the end," but was tragically captured, humiliated, lost his power in a coup, and finally blinded like countless other characters in this book.1) Speaking of blinding, after defeating the Bulgars, Basil II, a plain-dressed, boorish, yet supremely successful Emperor and military leader, blinded 99 out of 100 Bulgar POWs (leaving one eye in 1/100), and sent them home packing. Coincidentally or not, the Bulgar leader literally died when he saw them come home in this state.Overall, Norwich writes a masterpiece. If you are a fan of ancient history or just a good story in general, by all means read this series!
This second book in Norwich's trilogy eloquently takes the reader through Byzantium's tangled and complex high period. The journey is intriguing, at times hair-raising (most memorably the desperate and sorry end of Michael V: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_V) and beautifully written throughout.The author writes with an obvious passion, critical eye and at times a dry wit as he takes the reader over the years starting with the crowning of Charlemagne, through the phases of Iconoclasm and then the Great Schism between the eastern and western churches then on past the pivotal Battle of Manzikert. All through this the Byzantine imperial families are ever restless, making both sound and ludicrous tactical and political decisions that see the empire's borders continue to change in an almost fluid fashion. As I turned the last page I felt just as hooked as I ever have been on any work of fiction.A fine piece.
What do You think about Byzantium: The Apogee (1992)?
I found this to be a fascinating book as it finally revealed to me the glorious story of the Byzantine Empire during the period when it was at its height of prestige and power from 800 to 1110 A.D. I had wanted to know this history for a long time but had not read anything about it, and this satisfied me greatly. It is a tale of courage and cowardice, of heroes and knaves, of great victories and terrible defeats, all told within the story of the rise and fall of so many who sought to take over the throne of this last surviving part of the Roman Empire.
—Bob Fowler
The second volume in Norwich's highly-touted trilogy on Byzantium, this work takes the civilization from 800 through 1081 A.D. - or roughly the start of the crusading influences - and contains a good deal more detail than the first. (Apparently, around the year 800, Byzantians began to see the worth in actually writing things down.) While not quite as melodramatic as Seutonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars, there's enough high-handed behavior here to have kept the gossips fed for centuries. Norwich remains a pleasant read; he had a lot of ground to cover and he did not dawdle.
—Antigone
