Byzantium: A History 3 Revised edition

John Haldon's beautifully illustrated book tracks the checkered history of an oriental enigma, a 'lost empire' which stood for a 1,000 years against the might of Islam. He retells the story of the cycle of conquest and re-conquest of its lands by Goths, Arabs, Slavs, and Crusaders, and finally its complete destruction by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.