This book presents in a narrative style, with a rich selection of excerpts from original sources in modern Greek translation, the second part of the early Byzantine period, from the rise of the Justinian dynasty to the ascent of the first Isaurian ruler, Leo III, alongside a detailed examination of the emergence and meteoric rise of Islam within the first hundred years of its history.

Particular emphasis is placed on the political and dynastic history of Byzantium, its internal affairs (administration, society, economy), its foreign policy and diplomacy, its religious issues, as well as the parallel emergence of other medieval states in the southeastern Mediterranean basin.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]