Book Review: The Byzantine World War

The Byzantine World War

by Nick Holmes

Matador

History , Nonfiction (Adult)

Pub Date 28 May 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Byzantine World War through Matador and Netgalley:

There is no doubt that the Crusades shook the world in the Middle Ages but why did they happen?

In this book their origins are revealed in a new light. As part of a medieval world war that stretched all the way from Asia to Europe. At its centre was an ancient empire –Byzantium.

The story of the Crusades is told for the first time as a single linked narratives the three linked events that changed the course of history As part of a medieval world war that stretched from Asia to Europe. At its centre was an ancient empire — Byzantium.

The first crusade began on a cold wintry day on November 27 1095 in Clermont in Southern France.

Nick Holmes presents the First Crusade in a wider global context but he also puts forwards new interpretations of the original sources, suggesting that its success was in fact largely accidental, and that the central role of Byzantium in the Crusades has been underestimated.

I give The Byzantine World War five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!