About the book: 2017 / Emerging from the ruins of the great Roman Empire, Byzantium was the scene of constant invasions, sieges and wars throughout its more than thousand-year history. The border of the West and the East, the symbol of the Christian world - Constantinople - attracted invaders, striking with its wealth and splendor. How did the Byzantine Empire, which once owned half the world, despite all the upheavals, last for an amazingly long time and why did it eventually disappear almost without a trace, as if dissolved? The ancient power was saved neither by a powerful army, nor by the skill of its politicians, nor by the impregnable walls of Constantinople, nor by the belief that God would not abandon the first Christian empire on earth, which spread the new religion not only across its vast territory, but also in neighboring states. British historian Jonathan Harris talks about how Byzantium was born, ruled the world and died, as well as what legacy it left to the modern world..