A new book has come out about that most famous of Byzantines. It’s called Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint by Peter Sarris and it is excellent. It is not a dramatization of his career but a brilliantly researched account of his life and time in office.
Track his evolving thinking through the amazing range of sources we have for his reign and gain a deeper understanding of the interesting times he lived in.
The book is on sale everywhere including on Audible.com. To listen to the book for free check out Audible’s service here.
Stream: Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint with Peter Sarris
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The History of Byzantium 
Full disclosure, I’m an unabashed Justinian and Theodora fan, and it was fantastic to hear a largely favorable commentary on his reign. The man dreamed big dreams. I wish we had a glimpse of an alternate timeline where there was no plague to see how the next century would unfold.
For example — it seems crazy to think Justinian and New Rome could hold on to places as far away as Carthage and the Spanish coastal strip, but, a small group of Arab led people will do just that a few decades later. I’m not convinced healthy Roman Empire couldn’t reproduce what the Umayyads accomplished.