Tells the dramatic history of Byzantium from its beginnings in AD 330 when Constantine the Great moved the imperial capital from Rome to the site of an old Greek port in Asia Minor called Buzantium and renamed it Constantinople, to its rise as the first and most long-lasting Christian empire, to its final heroic days and eventual defeat by the Turks in 1453.
A comprehensive history of the culture, political alliances, trade, and religious movements of the Mediterranean region from the early Phoenicians to the twentieth century.
Traces the history of the papacy, recounting the lives and legacies of selected popes, and discussing Innocent I, Leo I, Pope Joan, Paul III, John XXIII, and Benedict XVI.
