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The era of the Emperor Justinian (527-68) intersects the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire in the fifth century and the collapse of the east in the face of rampant Arab invasions in the seventh. Determined to reverse the losses Rome suffered in the fifth century, Justinian's stubborn aggression in the face of all adversity, not least the plague, led the eastern Empire to overreach itself, making it vulnerable to the Islamic takeover of its richest territories in the seventh century, which turned the great East Roman Empire of late antiquity, into its pale Byzantine shadow of the Middle Ages. Rome Resurgent promises to introduce to a wide readership this fascinating but unjustly overlooked chapter in ancient warfare.
List of contents
- PREFACE: Procopius and the Reign of Justinian
- CHAPTER 1: "In This Sign Conquer"
- CHAPTER 2: The Military Fiscal Complex
- CHAPTER 3: Regime Change in Constantinople
- CHAPTER 4: The Last Desperate Gamble
- CHAPTER 5: Five Thousand Horse
- CHAPTER 6: Rome and Ravenna
- CHAPTER 7: The Culture of Victory
- CHAPTER 8: "My Brother in God"
- CHAPTER 9: Insurgents
- CHAPTER 10: The Western Empire of Justinian
- CHAPTER 11: The Fall of the Eastern Empire
About the author
Peter Heather is Professor of Medieval History at King's College London, and author of The Fall of the Roman Empire, Empires and Barbarians, and The Restoration of Rome.
Summary
Between the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century and the collapse of the east in the face of the Arab invasions in the seventh, the remarkable era of the Emperor Justinian (527-568) dominated the Mediterranean region. Famous for his conquests in Italy and North Africa, and for the creation of spectacular monuments such as the Hagia Sophia, his reign was also marked by global religious conflict within the Christian world and an outbreak of plague that some have compared to the Black Death. For many historians, Justinian is far more than an anomaly of Byzantine ambition between the eras of Attila and Muhammad; he is the causal link that binds together the two moments of Roman imperial collapse. Determined to reverse the losses Rome suffered in the fifth century, Justinian unleashed an aggressive campaign in the face of tremendous adversity, not least the plague. This book offers a fundamentally new interpretation of his conquest policy and its overall strategic effect, which has often been seen as imperial overreach, making the regime vulnerable to the Islamic takeover of its richest territories in the seventh century and thus transforming the great Roman Empire of Late Antiquity into its pale shadow of the Middle Ages.
In Rome Resurgent, historian Peter Heather draws heavily upon contemporary sources, including the writings of Procopius, the principal historian of the time, while also recasting that author's narrative by bringing together new perspectives based on a wide array of additional source material. A huge body of archaeological evidence has become available for the sixth century, providing entirely new means of understanding the overall effects of Justinian's war policies. Building on his own distinguished work on the Vandals, Goths, and Persians, Heather also gives much fuller coverage to Rome's enemies than Procopius ever did. A briskly paced narrative by a master historian, Rome Resurgent promises to introduce readers to this captivating and unjustly overlooked chapter in ancient warfare.
Additional text
While [Rome Resurgent] is required reading for the specialist the Late Empire and early Middle Ages, it is also a good read for the layman with a passing interest in the period.
