The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History by Colin McEvedy
This is the lightest of books put together like a small booklet. However it’s one of my favourite history books and taught me the outline of European history. Its brilliant maps show you the major political developments with a pithy, entertaining narrative alongside them. There are also versions which cover Europe in the Ancient, Modern and early-Modern periods. There is one on Africa and America and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Byzantium: The Early Centuries (286-802)
Byzantium: The Apogee (803-1080)
Byzantium: The Decline and Fall (1081-1453) by John Julius Norwich
If you know nothing about Byzantium and want to hear the story then this is where you should begin. Norwich has that old fashioned mastery of writing where he can turn a phrase beautifully and make the tale funny and engaging. It is not up to date with modern scholarship though.
A History of Byzantium by Timothy E Gregory – closest thing to a high school textbook that I’ve found
Rulers of the Byzantine Empire from Kibea – modern illustrations of the Emperors
A thousand page book that will give you a detailed narrative and end of each era analysis. The closest thing to the podcast in book form.
The Making of Orthodox Byzantium: 600-1025 by Mark Whittow
If you don’t want to wade through every decade with Warren Treadgold but want to cover all the important issues to do with Byzantium then this is the best book I’ve found. Whittow is easy to read and gets to the point quickly. He really cuts through the fripperies to the core of why things happened the way they did. Excellent on the Empire’s neighbours.
The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire
A collection of articles on every era and neighbour across the Empire’s history. An essential resource for students.
The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 by Chris Wickham
An excellent modern book covering developments across Europe from the fall of Rome to the end of the Millennium.
Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome by Cyril Mango – similar to Whittow, older, different angles
The Roman Empire Divided: 400-700 by John Moorhead – textbook style, good on this period
Justinian’s Flea: Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe by William Rosen – this is where all the plague details came from
The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power by J.A.S. Evans – poorly written but very thorough
Justinian II of Byzantium by Constance Head
The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and his Reign: A Study of Tenth-Century Byzantium by Steven Runciman
Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World by Arnold Joseph Toynbee (Author)
Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204 by Linda Garland
Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin
In God’s Path by Robert Hoyland – easy to read account of the rise of the Caliphate
The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates by Hugh Kennedy – Islamic political developments from 6th to the 11th c in only 400 pages
Empires and Barbarians by Peter Heather – final German and original Slavic movements
Byzantium and Bulgaria 775-831 by Panos Sophoulis
The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century by John Fine
Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250 by Florin Curta
The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500-1453
A History of the First Bulgarian Empire by Steven Runciman
Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World 565-1204 by John Haldon – the most complete survey of military matters
The Byzantine Wars by John Haldon – analysis of various famous battles and the changing tactics of the army
The Fortifications and Defense of Constantinople by Byron Tsangadas
Byzantine Military Unrest, 471-843: An Interpretation by Walter Kaegi
The Age of the DROMON: The Byzantine Navy ca 500-1204
Byzantium and Its Army 284-1081 by Warren Treadgold – don’t believe every number
The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire by Edward N. Luttwak – fascinating but wonky
The Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce AD 300-900 by Michael McCormick
A fascinating book. Unusual studies of reliquaries, pilgrims and coins point to the recovery of European trade after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian edit by Michael Maas – 500 pages of in depth analysis
Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era 680-850 by Leslie Brubaker and John Haldon – comprehensive, massive
Byzantium in the Seventh Century by John Haldon – important but a bit dry
Witnesses to a World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century by James Howard-Johnston
Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium by Walter E. Kaegi – very dry and detailed
Basil I, Founder of the Macedonian Dynasty: A Study of the Political and Military History of the Byzantine Empire in the Ninth Century by Norman Tobias
The Reign of Leo VI (886-912): Politics and People by Shaun Tougher
Origins of Islam
The Early Islamic Conquests by Fred McGraw Donner – largely Muslim sources
Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests by Walter E. Kaegi – largely non-Muslim sources
Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins by Robert Spencer – he is controversial but an invaluable resource
In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland
Holland writes beautifully but he doesn’t hold your hand. Unless you already know a lot of the detail this may be difficult to get through. However it’s worth the effort as it draws together the mysteries surrounding the origins of Islam.
Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook
Patricia Crone is one of the most fascinating historians I’ve ever read. Here she and Michael Cook make incredibly sweeping (in both a positive and negative way) statements about Roman identity and how exactly Syria and Egypt both succumbed to and briefly resisted the advent of Islam. As well as presenting a compelling theory on the development of Islamic theology.
Slaves on Horses by Patricia Crone
See above for more on Patricia Crone. Here she effortlessly rolls through a century of Islamic history to explain how the Arab state was held together and why it ultimately moved from Damascus to Baghdad and from local recruits to foreign slaves.
Arab-Byzantine relations in early Islamic times edited by Michael Bonner – vital collection of articles
Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs by Nadia Maria El Cheikh – collection of accounts of Byzantium by Arab historians and writers.
Byzantium’s Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204 Paperback by Paul Stephenson
Identity and political culture
Hellenism in Byzantium by Anthony Kaldellis – who were the Byzantines?
The Byzantine Republic by Anthony Kaldellis