Long after Rome fell to the Germanic tribes, its culture lived on in Constantinople, the glittering capital of the Byzantine Empire. For more than 1000 yeras (AD 330-1453) Byzantium was one of the most advanced and complex civilisations the world had ever seen. As the Mediterranean outlet for the silk route, its trade networks stretched from Scandinavia to Sri Lanka; its artists created sombre icons and brilliant gold mosaics; its scholarship served as a vital cultural bridge between the Muslim East and the Catholic West; and it fostered the Orthodox Christianity that is the faith of millions today. This book shows the innovative art that inspired French kings and Arab emirs. It includes a gazetteer of historic Byzantine sites and monuments that travellers can visit today in greece, Italty, Turkey and the Middle East. A chronology of Byzantine history and a list of emperors complete this ideal resource for the student, traveller or generally curious reader.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS: The Empire Transformed (A.D. 284-330); The Disintegration of the West and the Salvation of the East (330-476); An Empire Won and Lost (476-695); Instability and Invasion (695-912); Victory and Disaster (912-1071); The Empire Betrayed (1071-1204); Occupation and Decline (1204-1448); The Fall and After (1448-53); Timeline; Index.