The Emperors of Byzantium

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A compelling and vivid narrative history of one of the founding civilizations of the modern world, the Byzantine empire, evocatively told through the lives of its 92 emperors

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Based in the great city of Constantinople, the Byzantine empire was one of the most successful civilizations of the Middle Ages. The continuation of the Roman empire, but in its new iteration as a Christianity centred organization, its dominion straddled Europe and western Asia for more than a millennium. Yet its history remains largely unfamiliar.

Byzantine expert Kevin Lygo vividly chronicles this majestic and turbulent period through the lives of its ninety-two emperors, telling gripping tales of political survival, religious devotion, sexual intrigue and artistic brilliance. The cast includes both men and women, ruthless usurpers and soaring intellectuals; the profound impact of their collective rule can still be felt today.
Extent: 304 pp
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: 30
Publication date: 2024-08-01
Size: 19.8 x 12.9 cm
ISBN: 9780500297995
FOREWORD by Robert Peston
INTRODUCTION by Bettany Hughes

Constantinian Dynasty (306–363)
Non-Dynastic Ruler (363–364)
Valentinian Dynasty (364–379)
Theodosian Dynasty (379–457)
Leonid Dynasty (457–518)
Justinian Dynasty (518–602)
Non-Dynastic Usurper (602–610)
Heraklian Dynasty (610–695)
Twenty Years of Anarchy (695–717)
Isaurian Dynasty (717–802)
Nikephorian Dynasty (802–813)
Non-Dynastic Ruler (813–820)
Amorian Dynasty (820–867)
Macedonian Dynasty (867–1056)
Non-Dynastic Ruler (1056–1057)
Komnenian Dynasty (I: 1057–1059)
Doukid Dynasty (1059–1081)
Komnenian Dynasty (II: 1081–1185)
Angelid Dynasty (1185–1204)
Latin Constantinople and the Empire in Exile (1204–1461)
The Empire of Nicaea (1208–1261)
Palaiologan Dynasty (1261–1453)

Press Reviews

I love this book. The strangeness, the darkness, the madness, the gruesomeness, the politics, the families, the feuding, the deaths! It makes Game of Thrones look like a scrap in the playground
Russell T. Davies

This revelatory and brilliantly researched book opens the door to one of the best-kept secrets in art – the magnificent empire of Byzantium
Waldemar Januszczak

Kevin Lygo is a connoisseur, collector and specialist in the Byzantine era, which when combined with his flair for storytelling, make this a publication to savour
Will Gompertz

Highly readable ... Lygo has succeeded brilliantly in bringing this fascinating but strangely neglected subject to life
Paul Lay, Editor, History Today

About the Authors

Kevin Lygo is an expert in Islamic and Byzantine art who has travelled across Europe and the Middle East extensively. He has previously edited the publications Portraits of the Masters: Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages (2003) and Pages of the Qur’an. A study of Islamic Calligraphy (2011). He is Director of Television at ITV and was formerly Director of Television at Channel 4. Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. Robert Peston is a journalist, writer and the Political Editor of ITV News.

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