this is a necessary survey, and thus a brick in the foundation of your enquiries. ( )

This book, published in 1933, provides an overview of the history of the Byzantine Empire and then devotes chapters to specific topics including the emperor, the administration, religion, art, the army and the navy and the economy.. Interestingly, this seems to be a pretty standard way to approach Byzantine history. Charles Diehl’s Byzance: Grandeur et Decadence, which was published a few years before Runciman’s book, takes a similar approach. J. Hussey’s short book on the Byzantine World, published later in the 1950s, does likewise. While there is of course a lot of overlap on basic themes among these books, each of the authors also provides interesting insights. ( )