John Haldon's beautifully illustrated book tracks the checkered history of an oriental enigma, a 'lost empire' which stood for 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.

John Haldon is Director of the Climate Change and History Research Initiative and Emeritus Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the world's leading experts on Byzantine history.