History of the Wars, Volume III by Procopius

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.

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. 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. 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. Rome Resurgent Book in PDF, Epub and Kindleīetween 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. Besides narrating the course and outcome of these wars, Michael Whitby analyses the Roman army of the period, considering its equipment, organization, leadership, strategy and tactics, and considers the longer-term impact of Justinian’s military ventures on the stability of the empire. This is the only book available devoted to analysing all of Justinian's campaigns on the basis of the full range of sources. These grand schemes were largely accomplished through the services of two talented generals, Belisarius and Narses, and in spite of the distractions of wars against the Persians in the east for most of his reign and the devastation caused by bubonic plague. His was the will and vision behind campaigns that saw the reconquest of Rome itself and Italy from the Ostrogoths, North Africa from the Vandals, and parts of Spain from the Visigoths. His long reign (527-565) was devoted to the challenging project of renovatio imperii, that is the renovation of Empire. Justinian I was the last great conquering Roman emperor, who dramatically increased the size of his realm although he never actually led an army in person. The Wars of Justinian I Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

History of the Wars, Volume III by Procopius